Hi I'm late but I just wanted to say that I HATE when authors equate 'strong female' with 'butt-kicking.' I think we live in an age now where physical violence is NOT CUTE not even when it comes in the form of a tiny-girly-woman kicking a stronger looking man's ass. I'd much rather authors focus on inner strength instead of taking the 'strong woman' phrase so literally.
Another thing I hate is when our 'strong female' is THE ONLY GIRL IN THE WORLD LIKE THIS AND SO MUCH DIFFERENT FROM ALL THOSE OTHER INFERIOR FEMALES WHO CARE ABOUT DRESSES AND PINK THINGS AND SHOES.
Haha, sorry I can rant about this for days!!
It's what in my opinion makes Fantine from
Les Miserables a really strong female character. Life throws all kinds of crap at her, society rejects her, and she is eventually forced to become a prostitute. She does it all for her only daughter, however, and still has the strength to go on because of that. Her inner strength is formidable even in the face of all that is unfair and unjust. And before she was forced to go down the rungs of degradation, she was very much a woman who knew she was beautiful. She liked combing her beautiful hair, and in her youth, wore some really gorgeous clothing.
In terms of the Bechdel Test, some of my stories would flunk it right from the start (male-oriented mafia/mob from a male P.O.V., like in my current WIP) but it succeeds in others (I only have one female MC at the moment in an as-of-yet unwritten story, but she's strong due to street smarts, a vested interest in obtaining her goal - which isn't a man but revolution, teamwork capabilities, and being able to continue and slog on when the going gets tough (the guy who raised her was a previous revolutionary/rebel from whom she learned a lot)). When most of my MCs start developing, the voices usually are male. A big part of this probably goes back to me preferring the company of males since age 7-9 till now.
Although one of my favorite dystopian novels definitely passes the Bechdel Test:
The Handmaid's Tale. Offred is a very strong woman despite being oppressed by the other women enforcing the system, the rules established by the fundamentalist theocracy, and the constant threat of detection and elimination. When she does talk to other Handmaids, it's not just about the men they serve, but also about other stuff.