A Swift Study in Stereotypes

She's a rough and tumble tomboy--twice as good at everything the boys are good at--and she knows it too. She despises cooking and cleaning and sewing and all the things that girls are "supposed" to do, although it shocks her mother. And whenever a group of men can't seem to figure out how to solve a problem, you can count on her to have the answer.

Have you ever experienced this kind of character? It seems like everywhere I turn, there she is, whether in the shape of a little girl on the American frontier or a shepherdess in Bible times. Why can't little girls just be little girls sometimes?

When I wrote my first novel, my goal was to go in the completely opposite direction of this stereotype. My main character, Gloryanna, was a fussy princess, too scared to step outside of her own door. The only problem was...she was a wimp, and who wants to read about a wimp?

There's a balance here--a careful line dividing these two stereotyped and ultimately boring characters. By going in the opposite direction of your typical tomboy, Gloryanna actually contributed to the negative idea that being a girl is somehow a bad thing. In reality, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being either a girly-girl or a tomboy--I've wanted to be both at different points in my life. Ultimately, you are who God made you to be.

I haven't talked about writing much on this blog, although it is a passion of mine. Many homeschooled writers are able to write more because of their relaxed schedule. Not this one. Oh, that time exists somewhere in space, I just haven't yet mastered the art of saying "no" to an hour of looking up The Hobbit movie or browsing Pinterest during lunch break. ;) That topic, however, is for another post.

Just remember to be who God made you to be, no matter what!

1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

What is your opinion on these two stereotypes?