Bad Ass Doesn't Mean Manly

I love a kick ass heroine. A woman that can hold her own. She can fight with the best of them, but remains feminine. My biggest pet peeve with some bad ass heroines I've read is there's nothing feminine about them. Except their plumbing. Take away the female body parts and it's like the hero has fallen in love with a man.

I've read a few historicals that featured female pirates. Loved them. The women were bad ass, but at the end of the day, they were still women. They had feminine wants, desires, emotions. Didn't have a problem with pretty things. They were well written and well rounded women.

Lucky Santangelo. Daughter of mob boss, Gino Santangelo. She was featured in a Jackie Collins series of books. Loved her. Her father described her as a ball-breaker, and she was. But she never lost her femininity. She was a woman who loved, lost, and occasionally had to kick ass in the corporate, and mob world. But you never forgot she was a woman.

Then, there's the anti-woman. Take Red Sonya. There was absolutely no heat between her an Conan unless they were fighting. I mean fighting each other. She had a rule: "The only man that can have me is one that can beat me in a fair fight." Really? That turns her on? Beat me, and I'm yours? All righty then. Okay, maybe deep down she wanted him to win. But you never see that in her.

I like writing, and reading about feisty, bad ass woman. But I never want to lose sight of the fact that they are women.