I think The Maiden may cover that (playful, carefree, feeling of invulnerability). There's always the option to interchange female and male archetypes to fit your characters' needs. That may be where a tomboy type character may fit in.
Based on a book I'm reading now that T. Allen Smith recommended 45 Master Characters, it lists several archetypes of male and female characters. I'm sure there can be some overlap, but this is how they stack up (for heroines anyway, there are other inverses of these archetypes for villainous characters):
1. The Seductive Muse-uses sexuality and creativity as her driving force
2. The Amazon-a protector of women, strong physically, loves traveling and exploring, competitive
3. The Father's Daughter-feels she is an exceptional woman that does things others can't, smart and strategic
4. The Nurturer-has a sense to help others, loves children and motherhood, needs purpose by taking care of others
5. The Matriarch-a woman that takes charge and commands respect, stands up for those she loves and herself
6. The Mystic-introspective, loves solitude and simplicity, sometimes attracted to the other-worldly or spiritual
7. The Female Messiah-the path to love and enlightenment, life is for one purpose, usually a higher one
8. The Maiden-never worries, playful and carefree, feels invulnerable
These archetypes are being paraphrased of course. For deeper understanding of them, I highly recommend the book I suggested above. Each of these archetypes has an inverse, or a dark side, so they can be explored further or combined with other archetypes to make richer characters.
I'm curious if anyone thinks there are any types of women that aren't being represented by the above archetypes? What else could be added?
I think The Maiden may cover that (playful, carefree, feeling of invulnerability). There's always the option to interchange female and male archetypes to fit your characters' needs. That may be where a tomboy type character may fit in.
The most obvious omission I see is that there's no type that corresponds to an atoning ex-villain. (I know there are a LOT of female redeemed villains in Japanese fantasy, but I'm not sure how common they are in the U.S.) It also lacks science heroines (like Agatha from Girl Genius) and more cunning heroines (like Lyra from His Dark Materials, unless you want to force her into "Father's Daughter".) And probably whatever Granny Weatherwax is--her type isn't usually used as a protagonist, but she fills the role pretty well.
She's there. I'd say the Tomboy would be a mix of The Maiden & The Father's Daughter ("one of the guys" archetype). The book is too detailed to understand from just a list of names.The most glaring omission I see: The tomboy! Hah!
There's a big difference between archetypes & character story.The most obvious omission I see is that there's no type that corresponds to an atoning ex-villain. (I know there are a LOT of female redeemed villains in Japanese fantasy, but I'm not sure how common they are in the U.S.) It also lacks science heroines (like Agatha from Girl Genius) and more cunning heroines (like Lyra from His Dark Materials, unless you want to force her into "Father's Daughter".) And probably whatever Granny Weatherwax is--her type isn't usually used as a protagonist, but she fills the role pretty well.
The Mystic, or her flip-side, The Betrayer depending on story role.Well, what I was specifically thinking of was that there doesn't seem to be anything on that list that a Dark Magical Girl might comfortably fit into. (I suppose they might better fit something on the villain list, since they tend to start as villains, but I think of them as heroines because they're almost always redeemed.)
This could probably be spun off into an entirely different thread about archetypes (characters with relatively fixed story roles and somewhat fluid personalities--e.g. the Temptress) and stock characters (characters with relatively fixed personalities and somewhat fluid story roles--e.g. Harlequina.)
This video discusses damsels in distress as relates to video games, but is relevant here too:
*snip*
Oh. Her. Ugh. Her Lego/toys video pissed me off. Apparently, making Lego sets based on Batman and Lord of the Rings means that Legos are sexist and eeeevil. And so are action figures, nerf guns, and absolutely anything cool marketed to boys. She can keep her rhetoric, and I'll keep my Transformers thank you very much.
Ad hominem arguments aren't very effective. If you disagree with what she says about damsels in distress in the video Chilari linked, why not address those points specifically and tell us why you disagree with them?
I'm not making an argument, ad hominem or otherwise. I'm merely expressing my distaste for her work and giving fair warning that all my responses will be colored by that distaste.
However, if you do want me to construct an actual argument regarding her videos (specifically the ones on toys as I haven't watched the others), I can do so.
My biggest issue with the video of hers in this thread is that she unnecessarily characterizes this as a difference between male and female characters when in reality I think it's more a difference between primary/main characters and secondary characters.
But if you have a situation where, in the genre, you've got an 80/20 split of these characters along gender lines, then whether you call it "primary/secondary" or "male/female" you've still got the same underlying problem.
Not really. Most of the video games she discusses are marketed toward boys. Boys typically want to play as male characters. I know this from experience. Therefore, by default, any female characters who appear will be secondary characters. To criticize female secondary characters for being secondary characters in such a situation seems absurd.