Based on age and mental development, what kind of female protagonist do you prefer?

[Eldoria]

Based on Age and Mental Development, What Kind of Female Protagonist do You Prefer?​

The world of fiction is no longer dominated by male protagonists; female protagonists are beginning to find a place in fiction, each with their own life stories written in novels. I personally like female protagonists because they often show human qualities that relate to the real world, such as tenderness, warmth, compassion, and even a willingness to show vulnerabilities and weaknesses that male protagonists rarely display. My question is, what kind of female protagonist do you prefer based on their age and mental development? Age and mental development are important because they determine the character traits of the female protagonist. Age and mental development can be divided into:

1. Infants/toddlers - babies (0-5 years): just babies who don't know anything about the world.
2. Children - little girls (6-12 years): cute, sweet, and spoiled little girls.
3. Teenagers - girls (13-18 years): young girls who are beginning to find their identity and are beginning to experience love.
4. Early adulthood - women (19-25 years): women who are psychologically and biologically mature.
5. Middle adulthood - young mothers (26 - 40 years): women who are ready to start an independent life (either married or living alone) and (if married) usually already have young children (babies or little girls/boys).
6. Late adulthood - elderly mothers (40 - 65 years): women who have had their fill of life experience, accept their lives as they are, and (if married) usually already have teenage children.
7. Elders - grandmothers (65+ years): wise older women who like to give advice to the younger generation, and (if married) usually have grown children.

Critical Note:

• You can select up to three options.
• This thread only discusses famales in fiction in general.
• Real-life females are certainly more complex and human than this thread discusses.

 

[Maya_Dere]

Madam, are you perchance gathering data for FBI?

 

[Eldoria]

Madam, are you perchance gathering data for FBI?

If I were the FBI, I would definitely arrest any reader/writer who sees little girls with sparkling eyes. lol

 

[AstreiaNyx]

 

[CodeCrisis]

Depends on the story. Is the character going to a school of some kind? Probably teens. Is the character the captain of the guard? Well, a teenager wouldn't make sense. But someone who's been a guard for 20+ years, now it would make sense.

 

[Amelia-chan]

Based on Age and Mental Development, What Kind of Female Protagonist do You Prefer?​

The world of fiction is no longer dominated by male protagonists; female protagonists are beginning to find a place in fiction, each with their own life stories written in novels. I personally like female protagonists because they often show human qualities that relate to the real world, such as tenderness, warmth, compassion, and even a willingness to show vulnerabilities and weaknesses that male protagonists rarely display. My question is, what kind of female protagonist do you prefer based on their age and mental development? Age and mental development are important because they determine the character traits of the female protagonist. Age and mental development can be divided into:

1. Infants/toddlers - babies (0-5 years): just babies who don't know anything about the world.
2. Children - little girls (6-12 years): cute, sweet, and spoiled little girls.
3. Teenagers - girls (13-18 years): young girls who are beginning to find their identity and are beginning to experience love.
4. Early adulthood - women (19-25 years): women who are psychologically and biologically mature.
5. Middle adulthood - young mothers (26 - 40 years): women who are ready to start an independent life (either married or living alone) and (if married) usually already have young children (babies or little girls/boys).
6. Late adulthood - elderly mothers (40 - 65 years): women who have had their fill of life experience, accept their lives as they are, and (if married) usually already have teenage children.
7. Elders - grandmothers (65+ years): wise older women who like to give advice to the younger generation, and (if married) usually have grown children.

Critical Note:

• You can select up to three options.
• This thread only discusses famales in fiction in general.
• Real-life females are certainly more complex and human than this thread discusses.

the people who voted for the first three are definitely on a list.

If I were the FBI, I would definitely arrest any reader/writer who sees little girls with sparkling eyes. lol

If you did, then you wouldn't get hired by them

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I have no issue with Teen or "Mature" heroines (or heroes) and Children can be fun if well-written, but I prefer most of my heroes to be "young adult" - though I tend to define that as 19-30 for both genders.

 

[NineHeadHeavenDevouringSerpent]

Age is just a number, what I want to see in a fmc is her willingness to be ruthless and cold hearted like the male mc's. No interest in reading something already expected, I want the odd one out of the bunch that borders on becoming a serial killer

 

[Golden_Hyde]

certainly from teenager to early adulthood, and that's regardless of gender.

 

[Zagaroth]

I slightly dislike including maternal status in the age categories, as being a mother is highly optional and shouldn't really be seen as a default.

Anyway, I chose teen/young adult/middle adult, which fits my writing so far. one FMC starts at 36 (though half-elf, so effectively younger than that life-span wise) and the other starts at 20. And there is a secondary but somewhat prominent female character who starts at 14, and will be an MC in the sequel series.

 

[Eldoria]

I slightly dislike including maternal status in the age categories, as being a mother is highly optional and shouldn't really be seen as a default.

Being a mother is not a must; I wrote (if married) as optional, but based on developmental psychology, at that age range, people usually become mothers.

 

[Deleted member 166465]

Based on Age and Mental Development, What Kind of Female Protagonist do You Prefer?​

The world of fiction is no longer dominated by male protagonists; female protagonists are beginning to find a place in fiction, each with their own life stories written in novels. I personally like female protagonists because they often show human qualities that relate to the real world, such as tenderness, warmth, compassion, and even a willingness to show vulnerabilities and weaknesses that male protagonists rarely display. My question is, what kind of female protagonist do you prefer based on their age and mental development? Age and mental development are important because they determine the character traits of the female protagonist. Age and mental development can be divided into:

1. Infants/toddlers - babies (0-5 years): just babies who don't know anything about the world.
2. Children - little girls (6-12 years): cute, sweet, and spoiled little girls.
3. Teenagers - girls (13-18 years): young girls who are beginning to find their identity and are beginning to experience love.
4. Early adulthood - women (19-25 years): women who are psychologically and biologically mature.
5. Middle adulthood - young mothers (26 - 40 years): women who are ready to start an independent life (either married or living alone) and (if married) usually already have young children (babies or little girls/boys).
6. Late adulthood - elderly mothers (40 - 65 years): women who have had their fill of life experience, accept their lives as they are, and (if married) usually already have teenage children.
7. Elders - grandmothers (65+ years): wise older women who like to give advice to the younger generation, and (if married) usually have grown children.

Critical Note:

• You can select up to three options.
• This thread only discusses famales in fiction in general.
• Real-life females are certainly more complex and human than this thread discusses.

I feel like this is gonna put a lot of people in some kind of list...

 

[Eldoria]

I feel like this is gonna put a lot of people in some kind of list...

There is no obligation to answer, this thread is only intended for discussion.

 

[Deleted member 166465]

There is no obligation to answer, this thread is only intended for discussion.

I know, I am just following on the tradition of the mandatory FBI/lolicon joke.
Is the law.

 

[Eldoria]

I know, I am just following on the tradition of the mandatory FBI/lolicon joke.
Is the law.

Oh... I see what you mean. I didn't even realise this thread could be read that way. Lol

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Whatever age Calanthe from The Witcher books is.

 

[Mystic_Grasshopper]

I find this whole thread kind of weird. To answer the question, I think I don't like any female protagonists enough to have a preference of age other than beyond teens, since those are the only ones with relatable enough or interesting enough personalities to follow a story about. Anything younger would be targeting a demographic I am not nor have ever been a part of. Most of the time though I find that age is not really the factor behind the story or how it's told as much as what the author is talking about. If anything I've seen women protagonists as having more of a static character regardless of age though and it's always been explained as intentional.

Honestly though, the whole premise(everything you said before the question) comes off as sexist.

 

[Eldoria]

I find this whole thread kind of weird. To answer the question, I think I don't like any female protagonists enough to have a preference of age other than beyond teens, since those are the only ones with relatable enough or interesting enough personalities to follow a story about. Anything younger would be targeting a demographic I am not nor have ever been a part of. Most of the time though I find that age is not really the factor behind the story or how it's told as much as what the author is talking about. If anything I've seen women protagonists as having more of a static character regardless of age though and it's always been explained as intentional.

Honestly though, the whole premise(everything you said before the question) comes off as sexist.

In designing fictional characters, don't authors always base their mental developmental age on them? In shoujo stories, for example, authors will place the female protagonist as a teenager because shoujo is intended for teenage girls who are in the midst of romance.

Age is not the core of the story, but characterisation usually involves considering the protagonist's age and mental development. If this is ignored, it will usually look strange (for example, a 6-year-old girl can already give life advice like a sage; does that make sense?).

And for your statement, "the whole premise (everything you said before the question) comes off as sexist." Yes, maybe my preference is a bit sexist. I prefer female protagonists over male protagonists, and indeed, individual preferences can be biased and sexist; that's an individual weakness. That's why I emphasise 'personal preference', without forcing others to agree with my opinion, just stating my preference honestly (even though it might seem sexist).

 

[Mystic_Grasshopper]

In designing fictional characters, don't authors always base their mental developmental age on them? In shoujo stories, for example, authors will place the female protagonist as a teenager because shoujo is intended for teenage girls who are in the midst of romance.

I think this might be a west and east difference, in my experience in the west we don't really make a distinction of gender in protagonists until they are slightly older for those dynamics. In fact most children's literature is dominated by male protagonists making most of culture place women and men on a universal childhood scaling in terms of being catered to in stories. Basically if you're a kid you're not going to be distinguished by the sex that you are especially in modern context with equality.

Age is not the core of the story, but characterisation usually involves considering the protagonist's age and mental development. If this is ignored, it will usually look strange (for example, a 6-year-old girl can already give life advice like a sage; does that make sense?).

That example sounds more like a reincarnation premise.

Yes there is distinction in characterization of age and development of the protagonist but the western consensus is more or less the same regardless of the sex of the character in younger demographics, meaning boys and girls act mostly the same in different lenses with minor differences. Because for the most part in the west you want a story accessible to anyone not just for sales but also for impact. That's only the case in the teens and below though, and also based on the intention of the author. You can have a teen character who struggles with deeper issues that's in the young adult section, and they will be far more dynamic and distinguished than a teen character written for children and teens.

And for your statement, "the whole premise (everything you said before the question) comes off as sexist." Yes, maybe my preference is a bit sexist. I prefer female protagonists over male protagonists, and indeed, individual preferences can be biased and sexist; that's an individual weakness. That's why I emphasise 'personal preference', without forcing others to agree with my opinion, just stating my preference honestly (even though it might seem sexist).

No, you literally said "The world of fiction is no longer dominated by male protagonists; female protagonists are beginning to find a place in fiction, each with their own life stories written in novels."

And it's weirdly sexist since it's an implication that there's not been a place in fiction for female protagonists until now. Which is not true. And your personal opinion which I'm not really judging against you still makes it seem further misguided. Like are you saying you'd like male protagonists more if they exemplified what you liked about women protagonists? Or is it a case where you want the whole story from the perspective or eyes of a woman? I say this because it sounded less like an opinion and more like a proposition, specifically the portion of "male protagonists rarely display", which sounds more like an out for you to have deniability that part of it is sexist if not directly misandrist. Basically what if there were more male protagonists that displayed those traits would your opinion change?

At the end of the day your opinion is valid, you don't like male protagonists because they don't have the qualities of female protagonists that you like or don't display them enough which is fair. I was just pointing to the portion of it which sounds like it's opinion based on false dichotomies.

 

[ShrimpShady]

Adult protagonists only. I don't give a shit about no teenager's juvenile problems. Fuck outta here