The Strong Female Character
Strong Female Character = an excuse to write poorly-developed characters to whom victory/success miraculously “just happens” because they’re The Woman and Can Have No Struggles (unless they be superficial ones which are painfully and laughably contrived). Faults in their persona aren’t to be born (because they’re STRONG. and FEMALE. how DARE they be human????)
If someone uses this phrase “strong female character” unironically or NOT when describing a badly written, cliché and amateur character, then clearly they do not know what well-written characters vs terribly-written characters looks like and should not be relied upon for any sort of entertainment or criticism.
If anyone EVER says they’ve “written a strong female character” what they’ve actually written is trash and had better dump it in the bins and begin again.
To call your creation a strong female character is to point out that they’re terrible. Strong female characters don’t earn their place through merit, don’t get meaningful development or grow through experience, but are handed everything they have by bad writers who couldn’t find their way out of a maze even with a map and a red ribbon to mark the way in their hands.
So think before you call your character a “strong female”. Chances are that all you’ve written is a piece of trash in what otherwise could’ve been a work of art.
Rather, write a female character (who in the end because of what she has endured) is Strong.