What would a female power fantasy character look like?

[Vegosiux]

When was there a rule written that power fantasies have to be gender specific? What's stopping a girl from enjoying beating the shit out of the Gods as Kratos or me beating the crap out of monsters as Millia Maxwell in Tales of Xillia?

I suppose it's not a case of a written rule but I'm pretty sure the guys who would feel they can relate to Millia better than to Kratos are in the minority. A bit along the lines of sex fantasy more commonly being a character of your preferred gender, and power fantasy more commonly being a character of your own gender. The former you'd fantasize of being with, the latter you'd fantasize of being.

Not rules set in stone by any means, but it does happen "more commonly" that way, so that's the way we talk about it.

I would also like to suggest, however, that a part of the reason Miranda was disliked (just like Jack) was because she was a strong female character that had to have some daddy issues to "explain her", Jack had the exact same thing with her Broken Bird childhood and "insecurities". Tali, meanwhile, never had a silly "emotional" and "tragic" background to "explain" her, which also meant she felt like a more fun character to interact with, because she wasn't crying about how hard it was to be as awesome as her.

In this example, pretty much this. Between the three, and between Miranda's daddy issues and Jack's childhood issues, Talli was just, I don't know, there, and could still get very in your face, especially when annoyed. Her personality just seemed more spontaneous.

But as said, that's not the case of me hating on the other two because they were assertive and confident (though in case of Jack, the "confident" bit was always kind of suspect in my mind), but more a case of me being lukewarm about their rather exasperating backstories and their present obsessing about them.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

When I think female power fantasy, Wonder Woman is the first one that springs to mind. She's powerful, quick, clever and intelligent without compromising her indiscriminate love and compassion for all, resorting to lethal action only when no other option exists. Not to mention both sexy and respectable. I don't believe that 'power fantasy' and 'sexy' are mutually exclusive.

[sub]And she's more of a sexual fantasy to me than Catwoman, Harley Quinn or Poison Ivy could ever be. Don't judge me.[/sub]

I'm a guy, though. Probably way off target.

 

[Phasmal]

The term "Mary Sue" covers most of the aesthetics and personalities in common female fantasies. I think some of the more prominent aspects of that kind of character are insane skill, uniqueness and friends with everyone. Just google the term if you want some good examples.

Yeah totally.... something like this, right?

So, there's this girl. She's tragically orphaned and richer than anyone on the planet. Every guy she meets falls in love with her, but in between torrid romances she rejects them all because she dedicated to what is Pure and Good. She has genius level intellect, Olympic-athelete level athletic ability and incredible good looks. She is consumed by terrible angst, but this only makes guys want her more. She has no superhuman abilities, yet she is more competent than her superhuman friends and defeats superhumans with ease. She has unshakably loyal friends and allies, despite the fact she treats them pretty badly. They fear and respect her, and defer to her orders. Everyone is obsessed with her, even her enemies are attracted to her. She can plan ahead for anything and she's generally right with any conclusion she makes. People who defy her are inevitably wrong.

God, what a Mary Sue.

I just described Batman.

OT- Are we still having this discussion?
I very much enjoy Ripley as a female power fantasy.
I can't speak for everyone, but I'd want a powerful woman who isn't defined by her gender and just kicks ass.
She can be beautiful and get the guy, but stomping her enemies is the important part for me.

 

[Auberon]

I thought someone would have mentioned Adepta Sororitas, wearing power armour and using meltas(?). Anyway, not everyone might consider 40K power fantasy.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

I thought someone would have mentioned Adepta Sororitas, wearing power armour and using meltas(?). Anyway, not everyone might consider 40K power fantasy.

I am not sure I consider being a brain-washed militant nun, pressed into service from childhood, dedicated to defending a corrupt church against all its' enemies with an almost guaranteed brutal death against some form of deamon to be much of a power fantasy...
I totally adore the concept of the Sisters of Battle, which is why I have a Witch Hunter army in the first place, but they are hardly a power fantasy. At least not anymore than anything else in 40k is.

 

[thesilentman]

And none of you guys caught this? I'm disappointed.

OT- Smart, funny, badass, not sexualized, and well written is basically it when I think about it.

 

[Aris Khandr]

Mulan. In a society where everyone rigidly has their place, she broke the rules. Not for her own power or for glory, but because she loved her father more than society's rules. She went to the army, and was clearly not bigger, stronger, or tougher than any of the men. But she turned into one of the best soldiers through hard work and determination. When battle came, she saw the bigger picture and moved to stop the entire army with one shot, rather than facing them head-on as the men would. After the battle she was discovered and betrayed by the people she'd grown close to, but still went back to save them. In the end, she was the savior of China, because she cared enough to be.

That's a female power fantasy. Not glory or riches or fame, but overcoming adversity and being told "you can't". We don't need guns or a body count in the thousands. We want to see someone have a cause, and stay true to it no matter how hard it is, then come out on top in the end. The male power fantasy is in being big and tough and never being hurt by anything. But we prefer that our heroes can be hurt, but have the strength of character to overcome.