Photo by Rupert Britton on Unsplash
The past few years have been...interesting, for me. And for the world, really. Media is ever present and also ever dissected and criticized. I learned about tropes through YouTube & blogging reviews- this was probably discussed in an English class somewhere, but I forgot about it or didn't hear it called a trope specifically.
Another word for trope is kind of...stereotype. Or super-common idea. And they are usually talked about in a mostly negative way. I've seen people call it lazy writing, I've seen it said that it ignores the complexity of humans by focusing on one aspect of a character's personality- and I see that point.
But I think they are also super useful sometimes.
A trope that personally pulled a lot of strength from as a pre/teen was the Not Like Other Girls trope.
I was a child in the 90s, and it definitely felt like there were expectations about how a girl should act and think and be. To be clear, I am confident that this was not a transgender issue- it wasn't that I wanted to be a boy in any way. I just didn't want to do a lot of the traditionally girly stuff all the time.
So when I read books about girls who were girls but not girly, I enjoyed it. Today there is a big push to acknowledge that girly does not mean bad- and I fully support that! I've been guilty of dismissing people just because they are pretty or interested in fashion, and I regret that.
But I am personally so grateful that there were stories around that said "You don't have to be traditionally feminine for a straight guy to think you, a straight girl, is pretty and attractive and hey, weird can be good."
*I specify straight because at that time "gay" was used as a negative and kind of hung around as a "threat" for weirdos- which is hugely unfair to many people and ignorant in many ways.
That sounds so stupid now, in 2018. But in 1998? in 2005, even? There weren't a lot of those things being said, at least not where I could see them (ie mainstream media) and I needed that to be said. Yes, it sucks that it ended up hurting people or adding to the stereotype that girly=bad, but it also had a really positive effect on me.
And it is because I saw those examples and learned to be comfortable with myself that I can now lift other women up and recognize their right to be however they want to be.
I remember how boxed in I felt, and also how much privilege I still had, and don't want anyone to feel that way.
So here's to tropes that serve a purpose- maybe not always the best, but certainly a stepping stone for those of us who need them.
