As a fantasy reader, I can 100% attest to the notion that fantasy women tend to represent characteristic ideals that women in our reality often covet, making their stories so much more interesting and important to us. From ethereal fairies to cunning sorceresses, fantastical women often reflect ideas of absolute autonomy, empowerment, beauty, intelligence, and charisma. The emphasis on these characteristics in fantasy fiction sadly tend to reflect a lack of these traits in our reality, whether it be personality traits or symbolic ideals which often leads us to idealize them and their inherent strength as representations of womanhood.
Often, fantasy women reflect and embody a sense of freedom and power that can be difficult to attain in reality. From fierce warrior women to magical seductresses, women in fantasy live beyond societal constraints through the rejection of traditional gender roles, expressions of desire, and the freedom to make uninhibited choices. Through idealizing these fantasy women and their ability to live beyond the constraints that society traditionally holds them to, these books provide women who are seeking their own sense of freedom, a way to live vicariously through these fictional characters – whether that be inherent empowerment, the ability to foster duality, or even vulnerability, void of shame or consequence. Female leads in this genre are able to express these characteristics without foregoing their femininity in favour of strength, or the possibility of being viewed as inherently masculine – a balance that many women strive for in reality.
Despite this clear rejection of societal expectations and gender roles, fantasy women maintain the ability to embody perfection, flawlessness, and beauty. This flawlessness however, often exceeds physical appearances and serves to represent divine femininity – which, while often desired in reality, can set a near impossible standard. This apparent flawlessness that women in fantasy embody is often reflected in their inherent power and control over their characteristic indestructibility or the way she presents herself as untouchable, and most importantly, the way she often defies and exceeds expectations.
Fantasy women have the ability to be unapologetically complex, or even rebellious. This rebellion fosters a space where expressions of intense emotion, such as rage, vengeance or even the expression of intense ambition are celebrated and positively regarded, rather than seen as shameful or as defying femininity as they often are in reality.
Overall, fantasy women serve to reflect a lack of desire of women in our reality. Women in fantasy represent and embody power, resilience, autonomy, and divine femininity, inspiring a sense of escape that women in reality covet, and idealize. Without hesitation, I would say that fantasy books are my favoured form of escapism, as fantasy women represent an inherent strength, complexity, and unapologetic severance from social norms while maintaining their femininity in a compelling balance of power and grace that resonates with many female readers. Most importantly, women in fantasy reflect and symbolize the potential for women to embrace their inherent strength, vulnerability, and desire without feeling as though they are compromising their femininity, ultimately fostering an aspirational womanhood that we desire to achieve in reality.