Why do you write these strong women characters?

Joss Whedon received some sort of accolade from the Equality Now organisation: watch the video to enjoy the rhythm and cadence of his acceptance speech, in which he laments the question he’s so often asked by lazy showbiz reporters:

Why do you always write these strong women characters?

Joss’s answers:

• I think it’s because of my mother… and my wife…
• Because of my father… and my stepfather…
• Because these stories give people strength… and it’s not just women, it’s men…
• Because they’re hot…
• Why are you even asking me this? How is it possible that this is even a question? … Why aren’t you asking a hundred other guys why they don’t write strong women characters?
• Because equality is not a concept. It’s not something we should be striving for. It’s a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this Earth as men and women. And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who is confronted with it…
• Because you’re still asking me that question.

Want more? Try these:

• Would the real Mr Abbott please stand up and be counted? (0)
• Women’s worlds (0)
• Vale, Dorothy Porter (0)
• Legends and legacies (0)
• Grrls go mainstream (0)