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If you read the original Grimm's fairy tales, there are a lot of weak, stupid women in them. However, sometimes those weak, stupid women wise up and get themselves out of the jam they got into.

Disney movies aren't all that bad. And the heroines do more than you think. Really the only one who does nothing to help her own cause is Sleeping Beauty. The prince does everything in that movie.

Beauty and the Beast: Beauty volunteers herself in place of her father so that he doesn't stay in a cell and get sick. She later stands up to an angry mob and tries to tell them the Beast is a good person.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel goes out and gets herself legs! If that's not a huge leap of faith, I don't know what is. Then she has to overcome her inability to tell Eric how she feels. Proactive woman right there.

Cinderella: She cooks, cleans, mends, and does every little chore thrown at her. She doesn't even have time to make her dress for the ball. So what if the mice do it for her? Doesn't everyone have to rely on friends every now and again?

Snow White: Finds out her step-mom hates her enough to kill her so she runs off and starts a new life cleaning up after 7 men. The fact that she doesn't become a shrew says something about her backbone.

These are just the classic characters, but even Disney didn't make them total wimps. (Other than Sleeping Beauty.)

Well Keladry from the Protector of the Small series was a great heroine, but Alanna from the Song of the Lioness series is the best heroine I've ever read about; she's feminine to the liking, but is strong enough to take care of herself!! She doesn't need a man to protect her (Though I'm glad she chose George over Jonathan...)!!!! Also, Cate Tiernan's Sweep series was a great series, with Morgan being a strong heroine!! Sure, I wasn't sure if I liked the fact that she was so naiive in the beginning, but otherwise she was a great witch!!! Oh and by the way, why is it that every book I've read with a strong heroine, the heroine's got some magic power in some way, shape, or form?

Though the most cliched way to go.

I actually like Kel better. She's more like me, and femininity is NOT one of my qualities.

Maybe we should get back on topic....

Nah.

To be honest... I don't remember anything about that book. n.n"

I think a lot of it has to do with who is doing the writing. Female writers tend to make their heroines a lot stronger or more realistic (like clumsy) while men give them a passive, pretty-as-a-picture roll. Also, when the older Disney movies were made, women pretty much resembled those characters in society's eyes (or at least they wanted them to). Now that women have more power in society and are considered equal to men and just as capable, the characters start to resemble them because society no longer restricts them. --- I'm kind of tired so this sounds like babble, but I hope it makes sense.

About the Disney picking on females, the reason why a lot of women weren't really likable or evil or helpless is because Walt Disney himself had an 'evil stepmother' and that obviously bled into his work. I mean look at disney movies most of the villains are female and most of the stories involve a main character who loses or only has one parent or has no parents whatsoever.
Sorry had to get that in their and there are always going to be the helpless damsel as well as the chick who has to save everybodies elses butt, its just the way it is.