Recently, Reddit user SkywalkersAlt asked about the most obvious instances of a woman’s character being written by a man, and y'all, these examples have me furious. Here are 24 female movie characters who were very clearly written — or at least directed — by a dude.
1. Snow White in Snow White and the Huntsman (played by Kristen Stewart)
2. Kim in Edward Scissorhands (played by Winona Ryder)
3. Jean Tatlock from Oppenheimer (played by Florence Pugh)
4. Natasha/Black Widow in Avengers: Age of Ultron (played by Scarlett Johansson)
5. Ali Parker in Draft Day (played by Jennifer Garner)
6. Kat in Tenet (played by Elizabeth Debicki)
7. Janet Armstrong in First Man (played by Claire Foy)
8. Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (played by Margot Robbie)
9. Sam from Garden State (played by Natalie Portman)
10. And fellow two-dimensional manic pixie dream girl, Samantha/Art3mis from Ready Player One (played by Olivia Cooke)
11. Donna in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (played by Lily James)
12. Alison Scott in Knocked Up (played by Katherine Heigl)
13. Madison in Splash (played by Daryl Hannah)
14. Ellen in National Lampoon's Vacation (played by Beverly D'Angelo)
15. Ellie in Yesterday (played by Lily James)
16. Brand and Murph in Interstellar (played by Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain)
17. Laney in She's All That (played by Rachael Leigh Cook)
18. Inez in Midnight in Paris (played by Rachel McAdams)
19. Padmé in Star Wars (played by Natalie Portman)
20. Mikaela Banes in Transformers (played by Megan Fox)...though for this one, it's actually the directing and shooting, not the writing, that makes her character feel like she was created by a man
21. Eady in Heat (played by Amy Brenneman)
22. Laya in Born a Champion (played by Katrina Bowden)
23. Annie in Field of Dreams (played by Amy Madigan)
24. And finally..."90% of Bond girls," but especially Pussy Galore from Goldfinger (played by Honor Blackman)
What TV and movie characters give off major "written by a man" energy to you? Let us know in the comments!
Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.