NYCC 2014: How To Write Believable Female Characters in Comics
This weekend, New York City (or at least the Jacob Javits Center) was filled to the brim with comics, movies, TV, games, toys, sci-fi, cosplay and other delightfully nerd-centric delights at New York Comic-Con 2014. Naturally, I was there mostly for the manga, and to see what’s new and cool in comics. What I didn’t quite expect was to get caught up in a somewhat involved online conversation about what it takes to create “believable female characters in comics.”
For whatever reason, my Friday at NYCC seemed to include several instances where panelists were talking about, or were asked about what it takes to create interesting, multi-dimensional, believable female comics characters. It seemed harmless enough. I mean, this question comes up quite frequently — frequently enough that it has become a bit of a running joke / sore point with some female comics creators and male comics creators who are known for writing solid/interesting/multi-dimensional female characters. True, most of these questions come from a relatively harmless intent/need to know, but when you think about it, do many female aspiring comics creators ask male pros in panels how to write male characters? Hrm.
New York Comic-Con
For the benefit of those of you who may have missed this Twitter conversation on Friday and Saturday, here it is for your enjoyment.
So what do you think? Add your two cents in the comments below, or chime in via Twitter at me, at @debaoki.
I wonder if the kind of guys who ask these questions just don’t have women in their lives to whom they are really close. Even if you didn’t feel confident going with the “write them as if they’re people” approach, couldn’t you base the personality of a female character on someone you know in real life? I also have the nagging feeling that if you have to ask such questions, you probably cannot write believable characters of any gender, ethnicity, age, or planet of origin.
I know I am a little late in the game responding to this article, but I think that the lack of three-dimensional female characters, leads, heroes and role models in pop culture is greatly contributing to the mass confusion about how to create them. It’s cyclical–female creators are discouraged from entering the field and few find their way there despite the odds because of the lack of existing female characters and creators, the male-dominated field doesn’t have incentive to create interesting female characters, the male audience members who want to enter the field don’t have any proper examples of how to make it work, and women are further discouraged to enter the field, continuing the lack of dynamic female characters.
I think it is slowly changing for the better–the first step to solving the problem is identifying it and tackling it when and where you are able–but I think it will be many years before we see anything that looks like headway.