March is National Women's History Month, and the Teen Board is celebrating through a series of blog posts! Every Thursday this month, a different Teen Board member is writing a post that somehow relates to women and literature, so make sure you keep an eye out each week! The third one is by Ashley L., where she talks about the rise of the female heroine in YA books (and the movies they inspire).
Recently, Lionsgate announced that Catching Fire became the first movie with a sole female lead to bring in the highest domestic gross of the year since The Exorcist in 1970. Turns out people will turn out in droves to see Katniss Everdeen, the "girl on fire", set aflame what I hope is the beginning of a revolution: the age of the teenaged heroine. Take that, old-fashioned Hollywood ideals.
Not only that, but within the last few years, a slew of heroines from our favorite young adult novels have made their way onscreen. Rose Hathaway, Clary Fray, Lena Duchannes, Katniss Everdeen and Tris Prior are all strong female characters that have found their way into mainstream media. And I, for one, am ecstatic.
I grew up reading mystery and adventure books, but there weren't that many female characters that acted as role models. Sure, I wanted to be best friends with Nancy Drew or Alanna the Lioness, but it wasn't until recently that the young adult genre has given us a varied and diverse cast of heroines. They come from all walks of life, different family backgrounds, and demonstrate that strength can be shown in so many different ways.
I think it's important for me to see teenage girls and women represented in this way --- that strength can be emotional, mental or physical, and that it can be shown through acts of bravery or empathy or compassion. I find it empowering to know that I have the ability to influence my own world --- whether by leading a revolution or changing the path of my own life. I think it's important for girls growing up to see that women can be caregivers and nurturers and mothers, but also fighters and scholars and revolutionaries. I'm hoping the rise of female YA lit heroines in mainstream media will change the way society perceives teenage girls and how teenage girls
see themselves. After all, we've started revolutions before. Why not start one more?
