Feminist Frequency Radio

86: Strong Female Character

Episode Summary

Your battle-hardened hosts gather in the Thunderdome to discuss Strong Female Characters in our media. What kinds of aesthetic and narrative features tend to mark someone as a “strong female character”? Which genres seem most invested in the presentation of a specific kind of sexualized female badass? How do we celebrate the presence of authentic strong female characters while keeping our critical goggles attuned to their more problematic incarnations?

Episode Notes

Your battle-hardened hosts gather in the Thunderdome to discuss Strong Female Characters in our media. What kinds of aesthetic and narrative features tend to mark someone as a “strong female character”? Which genres seem most invested in the presentation of a specific kind of sexualized female badass? How do we celebrate the presence of authentic strong female characters while keeping our critical goggles attuned to their more problematic incarnations?

Time Stamps:
1:39 - Your favorite pop culture dissidents engage in a little thoughtcrime and talk about Independence Day demonstrations of American military might (we recorded this episode on July 4th)

6:10 - Strong Female Characters

38:15 - What’s Your FREQ Outs: Super Mario Maker 2; Courtney Milan's entire oeuvre; Gato Roboto

Links Mentioned:
https://supermariomaker.nintendo.com/
http://www.courtneymilan.com/
https://gatoroboto.com/
What to the Slave is the 4th of July: https://www.thenation.com/article/what-slave-fourth-july-frederick-douglass/

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