We see tropes in all types of media, but many popular tropes surrounding female characters are rooted in misogyny. For example, this is especially prominent in young adult literature whose primary demographic tends to be teenage girls. Some people believe that there's nothing wrong with these tropes. They are common, entertaining, and a staple of YA literature. Others think that they are harmful, overdone, and need to go. While I’m not a fan of most of these tropes, my main issue is that most readers aren’t aware of what's harmful about them because these actions are portrayed without consequence. I have no problem if these tropes are properly subverted, whether the character is called out on their behavior or it’s used as a point for character development; however, most of the time, they aren’t. My main concern, then, is that these tropes could contribute to internalized misogyny. This is something relatively common for teen girls to face because of how normalized it is in the media they consume. Since these problems are usually subtle, it’s difficult for uneducated readers to catch them. As they don’t know the issues with the tropes, they only get further normalized to the audience. This is especially because it's an impressionable demographic these works are catering to. There are many common tropes in young adult literature that are harmful to its readers and could contribute to internalized misogyny.  

Many books feature a demonization of femininity and have characters we are rooting for pit women against each other. Due to the target demographic, the protagonists are usually teen girls themselves. It’s common for authors, as an added layer of relatability, to make these characters look plain and not feel very confident about themselves. Additionally, there tends to be a correlation between how “badass” the main character is and having more stereotypically masculine traits. Most times, they’ll be more of a tomboy or at least not like commonly feminine things. While there's nothing wrong with these traits on their own, the issue is with the projection of them. Many will criticize or judge other female characters who are more feminine than them and aren’t afraid to show it. It’s also common for these characters to be pitted against the main character whether they are the main villain or as just an annoying side character that gets in the way. Whether our protagonist is a good or bad person, an author is usually trying to make the reader sympathize and side with them. So we end up hating these kinds of girls along with our protagonist. But what's the issue? They’re not a good person, so why should we feel any other way? When you start seeing this kind of character enough with these physical and personality traits, it’s easy to start to associate them with each other. Stereotypes of being mean, judgy, city, and manipulative start getting connected to girls who are very confident, wear lots of “feminine” colors, and commonly more revealing clothes. While there is no set type of femininity, having the most stereotypical form of it be seen in a bad light sullies every other form. Stereotypes tend to be a baseline for people, so when people think of femininity and these bad traits come along with it, it’s saying these traits are a baseline for women. It implies that being as different as possible from “other girls” is better and that putting these women down for how they present themselves is acceptable because of these traits. It ultimately just pits women against each other, and for shallow reasons on top of it, which only contributes to the stereotypes. One could easily think that harshly judging the people around them is simply a character trait and the author is just portraying that thought process. This is, for the most part, true. A part of these characters is their judgment. However, understanding, pointing out, and handling the reason behind it is crucial for a positive message to the reader. There are books that use this trope, are aware of it, and use it to further develop their characters. The protagonist or whoever has these traits grow out of it, and ultimately they become better because of that. Most, however, don’t. Most of the time, the change comes mainly from the “feminine” girl. She’s either defeated, disregarded, or changed. To focus on her changing, it’s not about her development, but rather her losing those “feminine” traits to become more like the protagonist. This usually allows her to gain more respect from the wider cast along the way. This shows that their character flaws weren’t the only issue but their femininity as well. With men, a confident and borderline rude character is usually appreciated and even likable. With women, especially paired with hyper-femininity, it’s seen as something that needs to be stripped away. There’s nothing wrong with presenting as very feminine, and using bad traits to justify attacking it to an audience of girls will only lead to problems for them. 

The protagonists, however, are not the only issue as their love interests often uphold bad stereotypes and portray patriarchal dynamics. As I stated before, this genre often features plain, different, and insecure main characters. These characters, without fail, have a love interest who also fall into similar tropes harmful to girls. These guys are usually handsome, cool, and seem self-assured. In fantasy, it’s common for these guys to have a more concrete power advantage as well whether they are a prince, some form of a trainer, or a centuries-old immortal that's only a few years older in whatever species years.  No matter who it is, there is always a love interest. I think that this is not only repetitive, but I’m not a fan of the notion that you need to end up with someone to be happy or fulfilled. Nor am I a fan of the message it may push that men and women shouldn’t or can’t just be friends. That point is prominent with love triangles as there is usually an end of the triangle that ends up being just a friend and is bitter or just saddened by it. Another problematic subcategory of the love interest is the trope that pops up often of a female protagonist being able to “fix them”. While there is nothing wrong with a significant other supporting someone during a difficult time, having characters that seem fixed by a relationship can be very damaging. This idea is not only an issue in YA but also a trope that shows up in a lot of romance-oriented media often has a woman “fixing'' a man in some way. It furthers stereotypes of women needing to be emotionally intelligent and that men are unable to be. This standard is especially problematic when there are young girls who may be thinking about future relationships and may idolize that type of unhealthy dynamic. 

It is not revolutionary to notice misogynistic tropes in various media. It’s even less so when they are targeted at young women and girls. It’s important, however, to be aware of these tropes when you see them especially with how they can affect self-perception, respect, and worth. As more people are starting to be aware of the obvious forms of misogyny, it is only becoming more subtle in the media we consume. While this in the grand scheme is an improvement, it makes the issues harder to catch. This is why young people should be aware, as not being educated on these ideas could make them absorb and parrot them to various extents. It’s important for young girls to be aware of what stories they are being told, and what they are taking away from them.