A Female Protagonist That ISN’T Hypersexualized or Overly Emotional—Finally

So I’ve intentionally read an array of fiction books in the thriller genre because that is the genre in which I’m planning my debut novel will be published. (If you are a writer reading this, remember to read books in the genre in which you write—it is VITAL!) 

What I’ve noticed in thrillers—and many other genres—are two traits given to characters (often female, but not exclusively) that I find overdone, annoying, and generally surface-level character development. 

One is the oversexualization of characters and the other is the overly emotional female. I’ll go through why I see problems in each instance, and then how I’m breaking the trends with my female protagonist, Caterina Ellis. 

If you agree or have something to add to this topic, please drop a comment below! 

Problem 1: Hypersexualization 

A trend I’ve noticed in the spy thriller genre in books, movies, and TV shows is that almost all prominent female protagonists are hypersexualized. For example, there will be a scene where the female counter to the male protagonist enters a room and the male protagonist will take a moment to admire her perfect body and independent air, but nothing is added to the plot or story. There is no romance. It’s like a Sexy Moment box needed to be checked. 

This happens vice versa too. You can switch the male and female counterparts in the above scenario and find the same in books and film. Sometimes it is the female objectifying the man or another variation. To be clear, I don’t have a problem with attractive characters, I have a problem with hypersexualization. 

Yes, I get that the espionage thriller world is often seen as sexy, and both men and women will see the beauty in human forms. Human forms are amazing and attractive. All good. 

But I don’t like it when it has little or nothing to do with moving the book along. It’s also overdone. And when it’s only there to check a box but is not integral to the story, I believe that is surface-level writing. 

Another facet of this I dislike is the way it intentionally places readers in a comparison trap or a situation where it encourages sexual objectification of another person. It seems harmless. It’s just a fictional character, not a real person, right? But the person it harms is the reader by encouraging this type of thinking in reality.

Now, if that objectification is serving a purpose in the plot or is an integral character trait challenging growth, that is another topic entirely. I’m totally fine with it used as a plot device because fiction is a reflection of reality. I’m just tired of the super sexy spy woman with no weakness.

Problem 2: Overly Emotional

The other character type I’ve cringed at is the overly emotional adult woman. 

In books there are brutal plot twists which will incite intense emotions, but when the adult character is acting like a teenage Disney princess who collapses in tears every ten pages, I get frustrated. I myself am an emotional person and can get dramatic on a bad day, but I’m not even that emotional. 

Yes, generally women show or discuss their emotions more openly than men, but that is a blanket generalization and not a conclusive characteristic of a woman. It’s a surface detail. To make a character feel real to me, I want the author to dig deep. I want that character to be developed to the point they feel alive and breathing. Unless there is a very real reason a character is getting very upset very often or the character is meant to be immature, I find it another example of surface-level characterization. 

I enjoy an overly emotional character in a book—Elizabeth Bennet’s mother in Jane Austen’s wonderful novel Pride and Prejudice comes to mind—but there must be a reason for it. An overly emotional character must move the plot forward, be an integral character trait that is challenged, or provide humor that dynamically enhances and deepens the narrative. 

My Female Protagonist

When I first drafted my thriller novel, I fell into both these traps. My female protagonist was going to be a knockout, fiercely independent, strong enough to physically take down a tall muscular man, and at the same time she was crying a lot and in an uncontrollable state of turmoil basically the whole time. 

That version fell flat. She was a cardboard character. Unreal. 

So I dug deeper, and I found that my true protagonist, Caterina, was no hypersexualized or overly emotional archetype of a character. 

• I consider her an attractive person, but she isn’t a model. She is lightly objectified in the book by a tertiary character, but there is a reason for the scene. 
• She can defend herself and use guns, but she isn’t a super agent winning every hand-to-hand combat fight. 
• She cries, but she isn’t stagnant in emotional turmoil. 

My intent was to write a pretty normal person experiencing really hard things. Like you and me. 

I want readers to relate to her. I want her to feel real. I don’t want her to be another oversexualized or overly emotional trope of a female character. I’m tired of those. I want something deeper as a writer and a reader. I don’t think I’m the only one either. Readers want more. 

Depth, Reason, and Growth

I want to showcase a female protagonist that does feel, that can cry, but who can pull herself together because life is hard and that’s what you do when you’re an adult. Caterina Ellis doesn’t live in victimhood mentality or I-don’t-need-anyone-but-my-awesome-self mentality. I don’t want to promote that.

I’m not against stating the facts of a scene, attractive characters, or the feelings of attraction one character has for another. What I do object to is hypersexualization when it’s promoting pure objectification of someone without consequence. I object to overly emotional characters when there is no reason for those heightened displays of emotion.  

I’m tired of women being defined by how sexy, independent, emotional, or lethal they are in fiction. It’s so flat. 

Give me something more. Give me depth and reason and growth. Make me care. 

If you relate at all to what I’m imperfectly trying to say in this post, then you will love my upcoming thriller The New Dawn. Sign up for my newsletter below and check the “I read thriller books” box to keep updated on all my book updates and publishing news for this project. 

I’d love to know—
Do these tropes bother you too? What would you like to see in thriller book characters? Drop your answer in the comments.

This thriller is not yet published. Publishing journey updates are posted on this book page.