Jordan Peterson - Female Hero Archetypes

Doctor Peterson touches upon a question raised by Alex Burnstein. Can we find any female hero archetypes equivalent to male ones? Jordan sets out to do so. The ones he comes up with are not the typical ones you would see in action movies today, but women who are more traditional in more ways than one. Citing the girl from Beauty and The Beast, as a glowing example.

[brianawhatley]

There is some truth to the concept that beastly men can be tamed by the influence of the right woman, but it's often misinterpreted and that causes girls to go on an impossible quest to save the rough guys. In beauty and the beast, I don't believe Belle tamed the beast. He saw her and realized that to gain her love, he would have to change. He tamed himself. Yes, he did it FOR her, but she did not tame him. He tamed himself. She didn't think of him as anything other than a monster until he started changing. If she had loved him first and tried to change him, he wouldn't have changed because he already had what he wanted.
I hate that she is thought to have changed him because girls who sincerely love rough guys and see the potential for good in them often enter into unhealthy relationships with them. The men already have what they want so they have no motivation to change. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do for a guy is to let him hurt and live your life. If he loves you, he will rise to your level, but never stoop to his.

[Born_Yashish]

"I spent a lot of time thinking about that"
- Jordon Peterson

[coldstuff]

"How to Train Your Dragon" switches the archetypes around, with Hiccup out to tame the beast while Astrid is out to kill them. They both manage to still be masculine and feminine, respectively. Such a great series and they make a great couple!

[k.m.clarke]

You could see he was trying to hold back tears when talking about his grandchild. That's really sweet.

[danielickert]

The way I see it: archetypical male heroes are those who have strong male characteristics, but also develop the female parts of their bring. The results are very powerful, courageous, determined but yet compassionate male heroes.

It works vice versa for women. The archetypical female heroes are those with a strong sense of compassion, caring, unconditional love but also developed their inner power to express as much of their female qualities to this world as possible. I personally find these kind of women to be extremely attractive.

[asen]

We have Greek goddesses such as Artemis and Athena who are independent types and Athena was actually a patroness of male heroes, helping them on their missions. We have Hestia who never married and who in a way was an inwardly focused, spiritual type, goddess of the hearth. Other goddesses are types such as Hera and Demeter, there's young Persephone that captures the youthful, vulnerable feminine. And we also have Aphrodite, of course. There's a book on the subject called "Goddesses in Everywoman" by a Jungian analyst, Jean Shinoda Bolen. It's not all virgin/mother/old wise woman typical stuff. Greek mythology is a great source of a variety of female archetypes, maybe not classic heroes, but c'mon Athena is just awesome :)

[umiluv]

For me, it was the journey of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood.

Learning humility when being pregnant and having to ask for help. Giving up the self in order to benefit a greater good for your child and family; giving my body to my baby for two years. Becoming feral when trying to go through childbirth without an epidural; experiencing a level of pain that I never knew was possible. Overcoming fear and anxiety of having to have major surgery to deliver. Dealing with the fear and anxiety of trying to be a good mom. The marvel and awe at experiencing how your own body is capable of so much and yet is so fragile.

Moms live the women’s hero journey in real life. It’s just never told in a way that’s inspiring.

[Woodside]

I think what people get so caught up in when talking about archetypes like this is that "feminine" and "masculine" are metaphors to an extent. Sure, females will tend towards the feminine, and males will tend towards the masculine, but it's not that simple. Even Peterson says that an individual of either sex can embody either, both or neither, but people still get upset at the perceived pigeon-holing.

As an aside, it reminds me how in general people get to caught up in statistical trends. Trends of demographics in statistics are descriptive, not prescriptive. Some people will see some statistic which says, for the sake of example, younger people are more likely to prefer pop music. This doesn't mean that a young person MUST like pop music. It's merely a descriptive trend, and isn't there to tell people how things "should" be.

[juliesteimle]

There are some legends of women taming dragons and taming monsters and rescuing captives. I don't think women have a slaying trope. Female archetypes involve a lot of sacrifice. If you think of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, the original Little Mermaid and Gerta in the Snow Queen, you watch the journey of a female character that suffers a lot to save someone. It's in Greek legends with Eros and Psyche as well.

[vociferonheraldofthewinter]

Self-sacrifice is the symbolic representation of both sexes. I can't tell you how many war movies I've seen where somebody sacrifices himself for his brothers. For his nation. This moves my husband like nothing else.

Where my husband and I have a philosophical disconnect is when we debate what is worth the ultimate sacrifice. He'd sacrifice anything for honor. I'd sacrifice my honor for those that I love. I cannot count how many times that's come up as a point of conversation in our marriage.

But that's why Mary's sacrifice is considered so great. For a woman to sacrifice her child for something bigger is THE ultimate of ultimates.

[Saskaruto]

Katara from Avatar is really the best example of a female hero IMO. She never pretends that she isn't female, and completely embraces that part of herself. In fact much of her development is to better take care of those around her. A more defensive protector like a mother bear to her cubs.

She also isn't combative in a competitive way, competition works differently for Women than for Men and this is shown in her favour of diplomacy and combat style. She isn't fighting to be flashy or out power her opponent, just disable their ability to hurt her or her group.

[evernynemarions]

You become a hero(ine) when you are alone and everyone and everything has abandoned you and yet you still choose to make the right soul choice despite it all. The walls I have put around my heart is the dragon protection that keeps out those so eager to steal away the pure and innocent part of me left in me. I am both characters in one body. Its not about destroying the dragon but about realizing that its a defence mechanism that should be integrated into one being because without one or the other the innocent will be destroyed and the dragon powerful will never feel or be able to let anybody close so that's where I'm at right now

[sophiagomez]

"Im so happy about that"

*has the most neutral expression ever to grace the earth*

[vesper]

It's so heartwarming to hear him talk about his grandchild.

[thecaptain]

After watching this, I understand why Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor are such good characters, they are both essentially a Mother/Warrior hero.

[bellaluna]

I always think of the Wizard of Oz when I think of the female hero archetype:
She encounters chaos, adventures into the unknown. Her house falls on the Wicked witch, which I see as her encountering her shadow. She's asked the questions "What kind of witch are you?" She faces her masculine side "Oz" - freeing and redeeming him in the process, slays the Wicked witch, learns the profound lesson that she has what she needs within herself all along. Then, she returns home to communicate what she's learned on her adventures to her friends and family. 
Dorothy is a "masculine hero" and she is female, and nobody questions it because it's a perfectly timeless archetypal story.
And, she also fulfills the feminine archetypes that Peterson describes in this video, by taming the beasts she encounters.

[mairedaly]

I think there's an interesting pre-pubescent female heroine archetype.  She is Lucy in 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe'.  Hermione in Harry Potter,  Little Red Riding hood.  Usually, the youngest sister in a family of princesses.  Ofelia in Pans Labyrinth (Del Toro is very clear she is the great female heroine archetype and talks about this in interviews on the dvd).There is a suggestion that before puberty her sexuality is not a distraction, and her physical prowess is at it's height (think pre-pubescent gymnasts).

[RioSynMiedo]

Kali is also a hero. Kali destroys demons and by drinking their blood she purifies the earth from their sins.
She might be terrifying but only to the weak who let themselves be manipulated by demons.
Also, she is an appeal to her husband Shiva who, by his spiritual strength, will sooth her horrific anger and help her return to her original form, Shakti or "mother nature" as you want it.
If mother nature is offended, only a impeccable mind can do something.

[Just.Bean.]

My mother will forever be one of my biggest heroes

[emilyjones]

Interestingly enough...

In the book of Revelation, MARY is the one who literally confronts a dragon in the Apostle John's vision. In the gospels, JESUS is the one who is compassionate to the sick/outcast/destitute.