Episode 289: Women, Swords and Trauma - the Backstory of the Female Warrior in Speculative Fiction

The dragons have discussed how a thinly characterised 'female warrior' has become a slightly cringey trope in previous episodes. This week, Jules and Madeleine zero in on a specific aspect of the character - her backstory. Female fighter type characters are often given specifically gender-related violence as background, which is partly why when the trope is poorly done, it's really poorly done. The dragons take a look at why this often happens and how to avoid it yourself so that your own sword wielding warrior woman is a fully rounded character. On the slab this week - Black Widow, Red Sonia, Game of Thrones and many more.

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic