Nightmares & daydreams: Reimagining strength in YA fiction

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2022-05

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Abstract

This paper evaluates current trends of female heroic representation in YA fiction in response to the challenge of contemporary YA authors to look beyond physical strength towards other, more realistic demonstrations of power and agency in female characters. I draw on the critical frameworks of the monomyth, retributive and restorative justice, romantic relationships, embodiment and performativity, cyborgian feminism, and more to demonstrate how female characters who live in circumstances that constrain their outward acts of power may possess more agency through personal empowerment. I use texts from multiple subgenres and mediums to establish the potential of these versatile forms to engage a wider audience from a safe distance and to offer metaphorical frameworks of power that can be used to add to the dialogue about real-world agency.


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Keywords

YA Fiction, Agency, Monomyth, Foucault, Haraway, Videogame Studies

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