Feminine Masculinity: The Rise of Women in Action Films

It has become a trend in cinema for female actresses to take on roles that used to be typically suited for men. Action films in particular are now common vehicles for female stars, who are often achieving more success with the genre than males. In Stephanie Mencimer’s article, “Violent Femmes,” she writes that the success of females in action movies as a result of redefinitions in current masculine roles in society, coupled with the decline of the muscular, male action star. 

In her article, “Badass girls on film,” Lisa Arnold writes about the attraction of females acting violently towards males on film. In the article, “Barb Wire and the Implausible Female Action Hero,” Marlo Edwards discusses the allure of an extreme, dominatrix female in an action film and the attraction of that particular type of character. 

These three different views give a broad perspective on the current state of women in action movies. The female action genre has evolved in many ways throughout the years and has become successful through this evolution. The way that the female body is presented, the attitudes of the female characters towards males and the psychological idea that all men secretly want to live in a society dominated by women have contributed to this success. 

The ultra-masculine, hard body type that was dominant during the Reagan ‘80s no longer defines the typical American male. Mencimer writes: 

The average straight American male today is the doughy white guy who sits in a suburban office park most of the day before driving his SUV home to his wife and kids and online stock reports. Shooting hoops and bench-pressing in the garage just don’t figure into the equation. And why should they, when women are more interested in the size of men’s portfolios than the size of their pecs anyway? (4)