>>102519702>The whole "Princess is a badass and doesn't need to be rescued" trope has probably had more exposure in modern times than any unironic examples.I agree, in fact I'm not partial to the "total badass" trope myself. Yeah it's good for a gag, but it's stale now, and when it's used as a character defining feature I loose interest, because nobody is like that, least of all women. Every attempt (which isn't many) to integrate women into an organized army has been met with failure. Sure, there's the outlier at the individual level, but they are the exception that proves the rule, able to compete with some men, but not many. Fresh life can be breathed into this by acknowledging a character's faults and facing them, even if they can't defeat them. I have two examples that stir my heart more than a princess that's a lady in the streets and a kung fu master in the streets too. The first is Elizabeth's speech at Tilbury, where she in person strode out among the common soldiery in ornate armor and spoke of there courage and her resolve, not to fight, as she was a woman and unsuited to this task where a king (and most did) would have taken part, nor to lead as she was not as well versed in war as some, but to fight if she must and die in battle with them, in a time where nobles are ransomed to forgo this mercy as it would be a disgrace to the sacrifice of her people, courage in the face of physical peril. Another is King George the VI, a man not meant to be King and cursed with a stutter, but his brother abdicated and he found himself ruling in a time of war, at this time the powers Elizabeth possessed had long since been handed over, but the Monarch still had power. He was seen as Britain incarnate, and had to present himself as such, this meant speaking, and so George worked hard with his therapist to overcome his impediment, so that he might bring comfort to his nation in uncertain times, displayed courage, even when they had to rely on others to fight.
