Female Tropes We’re Tired of Seeing On Screen

There’s no denying that the entertainment industry is slowly but surely headed in the right direction where the roles of women are concerned. Whether it be through empowering representation (shout-out Little Mermaid live action) or the dispelling of certain stereotypes, it sure is lovely to get a breath of fresh air that makes us really connect with the characters on our screens.

Unfortunately, there still seems to be some of the same old tropes regurgitated to us and honestly, we could probably do without them. 

Here are some of the tropes we are so over:

The cold-hearted career woman

Why is it that big shot career guys in films are always hard to get hold of (because they’re on some luxury holiday or out for golf) but the women are slaving away at their careers, often neglecting every other aspect of their lives? Strong and successful women in movies are notorious for being the irrational ice queens (think Meryl Streep in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ or Sandra Bullock in ‘The Proposal’) whereas men are the ‘big boss’ that everyone aspires to be. NEXT.

A movie doing it right: Anne Hathaway in The Intern plays a kindhearted woman and founder of a successful business who also balances career and family time.

The “extra” / OTT fat friend

The reason that almost every fat woman we see on screen needs to be the “extra” and candid/ overtly sexual character is beyond me. The roles of Melissa McCartney and Rebel Wilson (no offense, ladies) come to mind, where their characters are often a source of comic relief rather than the other characters who simply go about their lives and aren’t made a spectacle of. 

A show doing it right: Barbie Ferreira from Euphoria is a total badass who dispels this silly trope with her iconic line, “there’s nothing more powerful than a fat girl who doesn’t give a f***.”

The ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’

A term coined by Nathan Rabin, this refers to the girl that “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.” Think Natalie Portman in Garden State. This essentially refers to the woman that the male protagonist falls in love with. She is seemingly perfect, adventurous, and fuels him to become the best version of himself, but there is no focus on her story, often ignoring what makes her human. 

A movie doing it right: Zooey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer is often thought to be a Manic Pixie dream girl, but the movie itself dispels the trope as it shows how the male protagonist projects his fantasies onto her and completely ignores her flaws/ the things in her story that show us she is human. 

The damsel in distress

Storylines that revolve around the whole ‘women need men to rescue them’ and help them sort out their life even when they are perfectly capable is extremely outdated by now- always the men swooping in to save the day (yawn). 

A show doing it right: Brienne of Tarth from Game Of Thrones can certainly hold her own. Honestly, I stan any movie with a strong leading lady who can save herself and anyone else who needs it. Why let the men take all the credit?

The sidekick black friend

It’s pretty sad that off the top of my head, I can’t think of a single movie or TV show where the ‘popular girl’ in the group or the leading lady is black. Somehow, they always end up being the sidekick to their white counterparts. Let’s consider uh, almost every teen movie- ever. Give black women leading roles, PERIOD. 

A show doing it right: While it might not be the teen girl group dynamic I’m thinking of, Zendaya’s character in Euphoria being the lead sure is lovely to watch. No sidekick over here.

All I’m saying is, give us something we haven’t seen before.