Strong female character

A strong female character, to me, is a character in fiction or a person in non-fiction who is important to the work, either because she sees beneficial growth, successfully solves problems, or is a valuable asset to a team. The character doesn't actually have to be physically or emotionally strong, she just has to be a meaningful asset to the work. This applies to books, films, video games, and other forms of media.

Despite the fact that women make up half the population, writers frequently regulate women to side kicks, window dressing, damsels in distress, and sometimes leave them out entirely. Unfortunately, so much media fails to meet this incredibly low bar that media with a strong female character is a noteworthy trope, so I've added it as a category in my Wiki.

Most video games which feature a playable female character also meet this criteria. However, when the female character is a minor player in a large playable cast, or completely interchangeable in a party of characters, I don't view them as "strong."

Examples

These are works which feature a strong female character that are important to me. For a complete list, see the strong female character category.

Title	Released	Media	Notes
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl	1947-??-??	Biography	An extremely important work.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.	1970-??-??	Fiction	Margaret deals with various coming-of-age problems.
Bridge to Terabithia	1977-??-??	Fiction	Leslie teaches Jess it's okay to be friends with a girl.
Contact	1985-??-??	Fiction	Ellie is an important astronomer.
Daria	1997-03-03	TV Show	Daria, Jane, and Jodi are each strong.
Final Fantasy VI	1994-04-02	Video Game	Terra, Celes, and Relm are strong.
Freedom Planet	2014-07-21	Video Game	Lilac and Carol are both strong.
Funny Girl	2014-11-06	Fiction	Barbara works hard to not be stereotyped.
The Goats	1990-07-01	Fiction	Laura complements Howie and they make a great team of equals.
Gone Home	2013-08-15	Video Game	Sam slowly becomes a fleshed-out human being as you read her old journals.
Good Omens	1990-05-01	Fiction	Anathima Device is a strong character, and, to a lesser extent, Agnes Nutter and War.
The Handmaid's Tale	1985-??-??	Fiction	Offred doesn't let the bastards grind her down.
Howl's Moving Castle	2004-09-05	Film	Sophie, though a child, shows the wisdom of her cursed self.
In the Unlikely Event	2015-06-02	Fiction	Most of the female characters are strong.
Kiki's Delivery Service	1989-07-29	Film	Kiki exhibits growth and independence.
Little House In the Big Woods	1932-??-??	Fiction	Laura, Mary, and Ma are all important characters.
Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity	2008-06-03	Biography	Kerry Cohen describes how she fell into and overcame sex addiction.
Spirited Away	2001-07-20	Film	Chihiro grows from being a selfish brat to a strong caring young woman. Despite being the villain, Yubaba is pretty strong too.
A Wrinkle In Time	1962-??-??	Fiction	Meg Murray grows as a character with help from her mother and the three old ladies which are also pretty strong.

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