how to avoid fridging female characters

). Learning how to avoid female stereotypes and clichs will strengthen your writing and make your work more enjoyable to read. As with other codifiers for sexist trends in media, like Alison Bechdal's more recent Bechdal Test, and Nathan Rabin's Manic Pixie Dream Girl, fridging began as an observation about a particular medium. The absence of female authors and the large majority of male readers has potentially skewed the comic book industry. Don't just do a cursory scan of TV tropes on fridging and related tropes. Women need bras. Write several important female characters. She wants to cure the disease that killed her mother. If you are writing a story for a mixed-gender audience, your cast should be about 50% female, and the women should get about equal screen time. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); Copyright 2023 STANDOUT BOOKS Powered by STANDOUT BOOKS. What John Wick proves is that audiences actively appreciate creators deviating from the fridging norm, and the reasoning is pretty simple; fridging is a great justification for a revenge thriller, its an immediate shot of rage and purpose, and if you do it without adding to or drawing from a legacy of sexist decisions, readers get to dodge the attendant guilt and just buy into the thrills. This was taken quite literally in 2009'sBlackest Night #3, when Firestorm (Jason Rusch) is forced to watch helplessly as his girlfriend Gen is tortured, turned into salt and has her heart ripped out so that his anguish can power the Black Lantern Corps. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Tip: A character is "fridged" if the thing that happens to her permanently places her in the victim role. Simone received numerous e-mail responses from comic book fans and professionals. She received a B.A. Or let a woman save another woman. Location and Maps Their brother rather than their wife? wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. This may happen to the hero's romantic interest, a family member, or even someone he doesn't know well. Gamora's murder in Avengers: Infinity War successfully builds Thanos into the mournful maniac that the Russo brothers promised us he would be. Mary Sues tend to have many things handed to them (e.g. His parents didnt even give him time to breathe after losing the wife he loved. If it seems like it might feel forced, then don't give her someone to date. Unfortunately, despite the film's post-credits retcon, the image was already done, and no amount of jokes in the opening credits can make it go away. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. NEWSFLASH: female friendships do not revolve around men. Last night, St. Louis voters, or should I . In Lord of the Rings, Boromir had the want of the One Ring as his flaw. But in both cases, it boils down to female characters being disproportionately cast as disposable pieces of meat who can only contribute to the plot when they're stuffed inside a refrigerator. She soon commits suicide. It would be nice to see different motivations, even more complex ones, but there is a danger in reaching a point of complexity that pushes the character and the story out of genre channels. Finally, a little lampshading might be useful. The mythic gods and folklore champions that superheroes are descended from frequently went through hell because drama and tragedy go hand in hand. To wrap female characters up in cotton wool and protect them from bad things wouldn't be good representation (or good drama) but fridging is the opposite extreme. They may be murdered, raped, disfigured, beaten up, or forced to suffer through overall horrifying things just so the hero can be sad. So, to avoid fridging, make the character, a character basically. A talented author can turn pretty much any event into a justifiable reason to follow a character through to the end, but there are also stock options easy, tried and tested choices, that have benefits, drawbacks, and perhaps more problems than we realize. "[13], Within the comics medium, during the 2009 DC storyline "Blackest Night", Alexandra DeWitt was one of many deceased characters temporarily brought back to life as part of the Black Lantern Corps. As the Women In Refrigerators site proves, women are more likely to be fridged through a combination of the trope's roots in damselling and the aforementioned explanations offered by Geoff Johns and Marv Wolfman. He didnt know how to ask her out either, and whenever he got the slightest bit of courage to, he immediately backed out. (Be aware that women do read "men's books!" Anything but trendy. Sometimes, this is done by careless authors, but its also a trap for the well-meaning, who choose to motivate their characters with this because its the worst thing they can imagine. The term was coined by comic book writer Gail Simone. Nayanika (Geetanjali Thapa) - the actress and 'kept woman' of felon Bunty Shinde (Jatin Sarna) has to die to . A woman can still be traditionally feminine (dressing girly, liking pop music, dating) while being successful and awesome. ", RELATED: 'The Killing Joke' Revisited: How The Graphic Novel Stands Up 28 Years Later. Give your women different roles, different personalities, and different skills. When she falls, the whole world rushes to her aid. Happiness is not always a man. You could add another mean girl or nice Islamic character to balance it out, but I think a better choice would be keeping the girl's "mean" characteristics separate from her religion. Its a classic pulp trope, and one thats incredibly common, as chronicled on Gail Simones site Women in Refrigerators, which chronicles its frequency in the media that spawned in. I hope youre still active, or that somebody else sees my comment and lends some advice, as I really want to know if Im not fridging. And that if I am, not too badly. The other subcategory is Stuffed Into The Fridge, which is when harm inflicted to a character of either gender is done purely to cause another character trauma. Not all of these women are poorly written, but it is a red flag. However, her husband keeps a necklace around his neck, and the inside locket on it holds her wedding ring inside.He was also left to raise their son. That's it! Contributor to Digital Spy, The Mary Sue and Anime Feminist. No. Unfortunately, it's all beholden in the eye of the audience. These cookies do not store any personal information. Cookies are delicious and ours help make your experience here better. Hmm, I know it can't be considered fridging if any female died, especially since I'll have to kill off girl characters too. Furthermore, characters who are fridged often have little to no personality or backstory. Overall, however, he focuses on the present. The term comes from the world of comics, describing an issue of Green Lantern in which the heros partner is killed and stuffed in a refrigerator for the protagonist to find. But she told him him hes not a killer. The list is infamous in certain comic book fan circles. Wicks wife is still dead recently dead, in fact but that happened before the events of the film. Please verify all form fields again. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. In the movie John Wick, the premise is simple: the title character is the most capable assassin ever, forced out of retirement to right an unforgivable wrong. In most cases, main characters, 'title' characters who support their own books, are male. In both cases, women are reduced to plot devices and their bodies to objects; either serving as the reward for a job well done or as the brutalized impetus to inspire a man to action. Chief of the Philippine National Police, retirement | 297K views, 1.1K likes, 812 loves, 1K comments, 873 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Radio. With regards to whether you can/should do it with two women, or in reverse, well that really depends on the story. Im currently writing a book in which the MCs wife dies 2/3s into the story. In those cases, what can you do? in Scriptwriting for Film & Television from Bournemouth University. I'm in the beginning stages of writing a screenplay, it's a detective story, plays around with a lot of the old noir tropes etc. I talk about that more in Improve Your Story By Hanging A Lampshade On It, but the basic idea is that you call something out so you can discuss it a little bit with the reader. In terms of further checks, the first thing Id suggest doing is gender-swapping some key chapters and reading them through. I do have a question, well is more if this is fridging. Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Miranha-Pae, Feb 1, 2019. Its here that the sexism of fridging (seen more starkly in fiction such as Death Wish) is most apparent; when a role traditionally taken by a woman can be filled by a car or pet, that woman wasnt really being treated as a human (or, at least, her humanity clearly wasnt relevant). I have looked at my storys plot over and over and after informing myself of the fridging trope, I am scared that is what people will think of if they see my book. we need to do away with the word of DOOM! Former Anime/Manga Features Lead for CBR. Then up-and-comer Geoff Johns pointed to a "long history of the majority of male creators," while Marv Wolfmanput it down to an attempt by writers to create higher emotional stakes, explaining, "I think it generally means killing female heroes is supposed to elicit more emotions from readers than killing male [ones.]" You already said it causes him to act. It is worth providing an explanation first, I think. Of course, it has since become a facet of feminist criticism across pop culture with a universally-accepted definition. Avengers: Infinity War, the most recent comic book movie prior to Deadpool 2, had fans and critics discussing Gamora's death as an example of fridging, for example. The how isn't important. 3 #54 (1994), written by Ron Marz, in which Kyle Rayner, the title hero, comes home to his apartment to find that the villain Major Force had killed his girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt, and stuffed her in a refrigerator. 9) Stop thinking female characters only talk about men. Its writing that takes the easy way out, and while it can be effective, it doesnt ask anything of the characters. You can also subscribe without commenting. Over time, individual authors treating women as objects to motivate men feeds into a larger societal narrative of men as dominant, active people and women as passive, reactive objects. With traditionally marginalized groups, it can be better to either restructure the moment or else take care to ensure the character appears as an equal. "I'm curious to find out if this list seems somewhat disproportionate, and if so, what it means, really. If she's out running for her life, give her a damn sports bra! If you only have one major female character, you may be tempted to make her hyper-competent, to show that you believe women can be capable too. It's about how the story treats the character. Females are equal to males in both good and bad aspects, they can be as heroic, virtuous, powerful, inspiring and competent as any man. By using our site, you agree to our. The love interest who dies has her own story, motivations, likes, dislikes, etc. Consumer Information. Ill be sure to go through all the points you made . Stories about women losing men in their lives are about grief and moving on. 1. Approved. This isn't meant as, for example, a defense of the poor writing of the "come home to find a . Show that it's okay to wear skirts or dresses, and success doesn't mean becoming more masculine. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Women_in_Refrigerators&oldid=1148200018, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Brian Joines Writer of the independent comic, This page was last edited on 4 April 2023, at 17:43. Their son should be properly disciplined and taught right from wrong. She stops looking down on people who aren't as smart as her. % of people told us that this article helped them. Over time, the trope has evolved to encompass not only the damage done to a female character, but the consequential effect the damage has on her closest male ally, be it her friend, boyfriend, husband, father, brother or son. Based on what you've said here, I'm not completely sure if this would qualify as fridging, but it seems dangerously close. Respondents often found different meanings to the list itself, though Simone maintained that her simple point had always been: "If you demolish most of the characters girls like, then girls won't read comics. In the course of their attack, the villains also steal Wicks car. As a standalone story,The Killing Joke is textbook fridging. You can replace fridging with pretty much any slight, and as an author who can control the entire universe, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. If a protagonist is hurt or wronged, most writers communicate that hurt or wrong as something thats happening to that character. Generally, fridging is used in application to the murdered character theyre fridged or stuffed in the refrigerator. If there's something sad about the sacrifice being female (as far as printed text can actually. In terms of motivating a protagonist, fridging is a blunt tool poorly suited to more complex stories or characters. Generally, fridging refers to killing off a female character not because of anything to do with them, but because of how it will affect other (typically male) characters. As for Wonder Woman? You know, to actually end up growing into a kind adult who appreciates the privileges he has. [3] This may happen by relegating her to the less exciting B-fight during the climax. Plus, given the frequency with which women have seen female characters (wives, daughters, sisters, mothers) fridged to give male protagonists some motivation, theres a genuine sense of gratitude towards writers who deliberately dont make that choice. I guess Im going to be one of those that Fridge my protagonists love interest. The character may be constantly falling down, tripping, hurting themselves and bumping into everything and everyone just to show oh-how-awkward the character is. Similarly,Earth 2's Lois Lane's death appeared to have been crafted solely to amp her husband up a few gears towards his noble self-sacrifice, but wound up giving her new robotic life as Red Tornado. The Joker shows up at Barbara Gordon's apartment, physically and sexually assaults her, and as a direct result Batman is finally pushed over the edge (or so it seems) to give readers what is considered to be one ofhisgreatest stories. But if they are unwilling to kill off their heroes, they need to stop acting like they are. for more on this topic. Some responses were neutral and others were positive. The name Women In Refrigerators, usually shortened to just fridging or fridged, was coined by comics writer Gail Simone in 1999. This article was co-authored by Lucy V. Hay. This is comparable to the MacGuffin in being a part of the story that is more or less pointless. If a character can be replaced in the narrative by a possession, theyre not a character. Thanks for commenting. However, I do think that genre fiction often requires simple and easy to understand motivations for characters. Consider a teen classic movie like Mean Girls. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Diversity and Inclusion, Help Central Stories about men losing the women in their lives are about their world being shattered and seeking revenge with nothing to lose. Do You Need To Rewrite Your Inciting Incident? Many curly-haired women and/or women of color like to see curly-haired female characters and/or female characters of color. The reason the device is treated differently for men and women is that theres a long history of it being used to sideline women and little to no history of it being used to sideline men. Fridging is the most simplistic, yes, and I dont like the sexist shadows it has acquired through constant use. Fridging is a lazy device digging deeper will usually leave you with a stronger story. Mary Sues can also be male. As if I want to improve, I cant keep trying to teach myself, or else Ill be stuck in the same place. Intentional or not, having a woman locked up like an object the male protagonist keeps is a perfect encapsulation of how Nolan often fails his female characters. Great question, thanks for asking. While showing women who succeed in STEM is great, succeeding in STEM isn't the only way to be successful or strong.
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