It’s about time our girls had better role models

FINALLY girls have heroes they can be proud of. But don’t cheer yet. We need more, much more.

Jennifer Lawrence

FINALLY! In a world of butt-kicking role models for boys, we have two action heroines for our daughters to be proud of.

Tris from the Divergent/Insurgent series and Katniss from The Hunger Games trilogy take on roles usually assigned to male characters. They’re tough, powerful, proactive. They fight and they even kill. I love that they are defined by their personalities rather than their looks, or their relationships with other male characters.

Insurgent star Shailene Woodley, who plays Tris.

In the social media age, the world is awash with the cult of empty celebrity. Young girls are encouraged to be self-obsessed, materialistic and egotistical. Teenage girls are pressured into becoming obsessed with their looks and encouraged to believe that having a boyfriend is the most important thing a girl can achieve. And girls are sexualised at such an early age now. They’re no longer allowed to be just kids.

The internet, TV and magazines constantly send out the message that physical appearance is more important than character. That it’s better to be famous than smart. Reality television gives socialites like Kim Kardashian the opportunity to become icons. They’re not famous for any particular talent or achievement. They’re worshipped simply because they’re famous. Is this what we want our young girls to aim for?

Kim Kardashian isn’t someone we want our girls aspiring to be.

It has never been more important for young girls to have strong female characters in fiction. To show them what they are really capable of. Young readers are particularly impressionable. Something about a particular character you loved as a child will have rubbed off on you. Inspired you in some way. Our teenage years are when we experience everything on a much higher emotional level. A time when we are most open to be influenced by what we read in books and see in the movies.

When I talk about “strong” female characters, I don’t mean strong in the physical sense. She doesn’t have to wield a weapon, or engage in death-defying feats. I mean strong as in interesting, or complex, or well-written. I’m talking about girls who exhibit great resilience and courage in the face of adversity. Girls who are brave, resourceful and complex. Whose depth of conviction is never allowed to be undermined by any romantic involvement. Their ability to act independently, to make their own free choices, is far more important than “strength.”

Why can’t all female characters be like Katniss?

That’s the sort of character we need to keep writing for our girls.

When Katniss Everdeen first exploded onto the movie screens in The Hunger Games, all mothers of young girls must have let out a resounding cheer: “At last! A female lead who drives all the action. Who couldn’t care less about glamorous makeovers or clothes!” Katniss sacrifices herself to save her younger sister. Shoots flaming arrows and helps bring down an evil government. This is a female warrior worth celebrating.

But the reason why characters like Katniss and Tris are important for young girls, is not just because of their physical prowess. It’s also about their mental strength. These are ordinary young teenagers who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. It’s about how they find the courage to stand up for what they believe in, whatever the cost, and without fear of the consequences. And how, when needed, we all have that potential in us. We must remember that inside every one of our young girls, there is a hero.

Lorraine Campbell is the Author of the book, In Mortal Danger (Palmer Higgs $24.95), – a YA historical fiction novel about the French Resistance.