How to Tell She's Definitely NOT a Mary Sue

So many of today's female protagonists are written to be unrealistically perfect, with their superhuman skills and one-dimensional strengths actually making them come off as boring and annoying. This flawlessly strong characterization may seem like “positive” female representation on the surface, but because the characterization is so weak, it's actually a form of tokenism referred to as a "Mary-Sue." Recent works have attempted to undo this poor writing, with the "Non-Mary Sue" serving as a dynamic female character, whose flaws are intrinsically connected to her story. So what exactly makes a "Non-Mary Sue"?

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[KittySnicker]

There’s an overwhelming consensus that 1998 Mulan is NOT a Mary Sue. And I agree. Since I was a little girl, she inspired me not to give up.

[trinaq]

Sex Education is incredibly written, especially when it comes to their female characters. They're allowed to be just as strong and developed as the male characters, as seen with Aimee in her sexual assault storyline, or Ruby, who softens when she begins dating Otis, only to get her heart broken by him.

[mitsiejc]

Can you do a take on cheating/adultery in media and how it’s often glorified as an act of passionate “love” or glossed over as a little “mistake” rather than the damaging act of betrayal it is?

[trinaq]

Maeve is into "Complex Female Characters", which is EXACTLY what she is. The show brilliantly makes all of their characters nuanced, and makes you find them realistic and relatable.

[manhattankw]

i think my biggest issue with the so-called mary sues in marvel and star wars and other media with male-dominated fan bases is that these characters are marketed as feminist and groundbreaking for all women, and then it’s incredibly disappointing when these characters don’t speak to most women. it’s sexist to pick apart female characters more than their male counterparts, but it’s also sexist to write an unrealistic woman as the definitive woman when male characters are not written to be the definitive figure for men.

[anujviswanathan]

I dont think "likeable" should be an important trait to qualify as a nuanced character, I think the character works when their motives and actions are understandable and are in line within the context of the worldbuilding. Jessica Jones as a character is far from likeable, like she's a dick to almost everyone and isnt trying to be likeable. But you understand why she is like that, she feels realistic and her portrayal doesnt pull any punches, and I think thats why the character is well written and resonates well, despite having powers and is a very good P.I

[laurenm]

Can we talk about how Sabrina in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is absolutely a ridiculously flawless character? Because my godddd it got really exhausting and removed any tension from the plot (already knew how anything and everything would turn out), and that stinks because I really enjoyed how the show was done, the characters, and just the overall vibe. The win for any and every challenge was just handed to her, and it just made the show so much less interesting.

[MesserMoony]

Lets not forgot the greatest Mary-Sue of all: Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way

[matariki]

My first non-Mary Sue character was actually the first female character I read : Hermione Granger. No, not impossibly gorgeous, powerful and likeable Emma Watson's version, but Hermione Granger from the books. She was whiny, bossy, and while being powerful and smart she was also flawed, judgemental and all, and not particularly pretty. Book Hermione was incredibly relatable as a know-it-all booksmart girl, and I'm glad I grew up with her.

[rowanjoy]

Mary Sue is not about a female character without flaws, is about a character that is perfect in the majority of thing but when makes a mistake nobody around her call her out.

[theinformedvegan]

I think my issue with "Mary Sue" characters comes in cases like Twilight or even Gilmore Girls when girls are set up to attract all this male attention as a sort of wish fulfillment fantasy. First of all, the girls are not that compelling as people (and I don't think any one person is that compelling to have men of all different types fall in love with them all the time) so it doesn't make sense plot-wise, but it also reinforces the idea that womens' value and excitement in life comes from male validation. The fact that these girls are (even when they're written to be "girl next door") played by conventionally beautiful actresses also reinforces the idea that this value and excitement is only reserved for the very pretty.

[chorusgirl]

Since this video mentioned Jo March, I’d like to point out that NONE of the March sisters could be called Mary Sues. Amy is as hot-headed as Jo, as well as vain, but she grows up to be savvy, ambitious, and self-assured. Meg is seemingly the perfect woman by the standards of her time, being ladylike, kind, and responsible, but she also longs for material things, which puts a damper on her marriage at times. The one who comes closest to Mary Sue-dom is, admittedly, Beth, but even she has her quirks and eccentricities, which Greta Gerwig beautifully highlights in the 2019 film, and she even has a (literal) fatal flaw- her selflessness.

[mercuriology]

Maeve is such an Incredible character and probably the one with one of the saddest backstories in the show. It’s sad to see that because of ship wars, people started hating her.

[Antiope]

She's a woman in tight pants, heels and makeup fighting off bad guys while still having perfect hair.

[nitsugazemag]

I remember that massive hate that surrounded her character. In the context of the narrative, Anna Gunn’s character on Breaking Bad was unlikeable because she was seen as an obstacle compounded on the central character’s story, but I did take a step back and thought about why she did the things she does, her character, though flawed, wasn’t as horrible as her male counter, Cranston. While he’s doing everything to endanger his family, she’s doing everything to keep her children safe. While she doesn’t do this perfectly, but why does a female character have to be? Nobody is perfect, especially in the context of Breaking Bad, no matter how clever either might believe they are. I think there’s a lack of empathy when male critics tear apart female led movies/tv shows or strong female characters, and that most are reactionary against to surplus of male character driven media we’ve consumed for many many years. I don’t know if it’s that they can’t fathom a realized or stronger character than a man epitomized by a female or they can’t relate because they are female, but this video essay is a great discussion to navigate past and future media for female led or just female characters in general.

[justclassicglam]

The most complex female character I've seen in modern representation is Rebecca Bunch from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It was also an amazing representation of a woman with BPD who is taking control of her life, even if she slips up sometimes she's always doing her best.

[inkypan]

It’s also worth noting a mary or gary sue also constitutes “a character from which the world revolves around or conspires to make miserable or succeed” not just a character without readily identifiable flaws

[TheMagdalenaBB]

You can also have a character that you love to hate too. I am tired of the pressure to have female characters be likeable.

[thegreatmajora]

I feel like Mary Sue has become a word for just "a female character i didn't enjoy" which is wack

[annarose]

Would love to see you guys analyse Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls! Looking at a refreshing take on the girly girl character as very much interested in hyper femininity, but then also chaotic and goofy. Would also love to see you look at the hate a lot of the fans have of Mabel due to her choices and her selfishness. Would be so interesting to see! Please!!