Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

60%
+1 −0
Q&A What are the standard genre characteristics of contemporary women's fantasy

This is an interesting question, and while I don't believe there is a "prototypical" plot, let me try to find the answer by defining a contrast between typical male and typical female protagonist. ...

posted 6y ago by Alexander‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T08:07:23Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/33699
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Alexander‭ · 2019-12-08T08:07:23Z (almost 5 years ago)
This is an interesting question, and while I don't believe there is a "prototypical" plot, let me try to find the answer by defining a contrast between typical male and typical female protagonist. I beg everybody's pardon in advance if my generalization will look offensive. Please keep in mind that the following is my personal observation of genre's tropes and by no means an advice to follow these trends.

1. Female protagonist usually starts from a weaker position than a male protagonist. While both genders can find themselves in a bit of trouble early in a story, boys more often than girls find the ability to turn the situation in their favor starting from the very beginning. Stereotypical situation is when female protagonist is controlled by an evil figure like stepmother, and there is nothing that she can do until she gets an outside help or makes an important discovery;
2. Female protagonist is often established as somehow exceptional from the very beginning. It can be a noble birth, or unique talent, but then the protagonist is falling on hard times despite (or because of) this special distinction. Boys, by contrast, often start as total commoners and only later reveal special talents or royal blood;
3. Female protagonist is more often driven by passion or compassion than by a need of ultimate justice or out of competitive spirit;
4. Romance plays a greater role. While modern heroine is no longer a "Damsel in Distress" who needs a Prince Charming to rescue her, there's still a need for a male who is in some respect stronger than the protagonist. By the way, having a lesbian protagonist is not entirely out of question;
5. During Hero's Journey, female protagonist finds new strength, but she still remains gentle and vulnerable at some level.
#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-02-22T18:13:30Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 16