"Oh, leave fandom out of it: we hate it when women are portrayed as not good enough because so much of our culture tells us it's true. "
Yes, but fandom tells us that that's true. And...honestly, so much of it, no matter how it's put, really does just seem to be not wanting a character you like to be all about/committed to someone that's actually good for them.
Which, really, is another factor. In so many pairings, or at least the ones I go for, there's the element of him not being good enough for her, but he loves her enough to make up for it, but also the element of her being good for him, but not necessarily him being good for her.
Which, IMO, is a part of the backlash against female characters..they're able to do something good for the guy, and you know that usually, he benefits more from it, from a technical perspective. Even if people don't want to realize it, when a character you think is hot/awesome/great/etc. needs someone to given them purpose or drive or help them control themselves or ground them or whatever, that means there's something to that character that isn't perfect" that there's a flaw in them that they need help with. No one wants to admit the person they like is flawed, and combine that with the "my woobie/hottie" reaction most women have to males in fiction, and there's a backlash. Then, of course, there's the fact that female characters tend to acknowledge their flaws and weaknesses more than males do, which tends to point out the flaws and weaknesses of the reader/viewer.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Yes, but fandom tells us that that's true. And...honestly, so much of it, no matter how it's put, really does just seem to be not wanting a character you like to be all about/committed to someone that's actually good for them.
Which, really, is another factor. In so many pairings, or at least the ones I go for, there's the element of him not being good enough for her, but he loves her enough to make up for it, but also the element of her being good for him, but not necessarily him being good for her.
Which, IMO, is a part of the backlash against female characters..they're able to do something good for the guy, and you know that usually, he benefits more from it, from a technical perspective. Even if people don't want to realize it, when a character you think is hot/awesome/great/etc. needs someone to given them purpose or drive or help them control themselves or ground them or whatever, that means there's something to that character that isn't perfect" that there's a flaw in them that they need help with. No one wants to admit the person they like is flawed, and combine that with the "my woobie/hottie" reaction most women have to males in fiction, and there's a backlash. Then, of course, there's the fact that female characters tend to acknowledge their flaws and weaknesses more than males do, which tends to point out the flaws and weaknesses of the reader/viewer.
(I hope that made some sort of sense.)