Warriors and Healers: Messages About Heroines in Young Adult Fantasy Novels

This study was a content analysis of ten fantasy novels for young adults. Each book was examined for the messages that it sends about women. The books were examined for whether the heroines played an active or passive role in the story and whether they stood up for themselves or needed others to rescue them. The opinions of other characters towards strong heroines and whether women in general were portrayed in stereotypical roles were also examined for each book. For the most part, the messages presented about heroines in each book were positive. Most of the women were strong, self sufficient characters who did not need rescue and who were often among the toughest and smartest characters. However, some problems were noted in that women often stayed in stereotypical roles such as nurturing healers