Markup View

Author: swallowfeather

Jul 1st 2012 at 12:52:35 PM

I've considered for a long time adding a trope that's basically "in fantasy/historical movies, women who fight almost always use bows." To me, that's what's going on here. Some are ladies of war and some are more outdoorsy/tomboyish/badass... but how many fighting women have you seen with any other weapon in a fantasy/historical movie? (Or--to include Katniss--any movie where guns are not on the weapons list.) Definitely a minority.

It's a paradox because, like so many TheArcher characters, the women in those movies are generally slender, and it takes way more upper body strength than people think to draw a bow heavy enough to kill people at a distance. So it's not that realistic. I don't know how to make a trope about this without sounding sexist though. (And I'm a woman. Who can't draw a hunting bow.) The first time I tried it I clearly failed.

There ''is'' an odd relationship between archery and femininity. The question is what to call it. I don't think this trope is quite it, but it's a start. Would ladygem consider adjusting?