Oh...I've Been Impaled.

+1 if you get the Frozen reference. Anyone else see that movie, because the writer in me went absolutely gaga over it. Multi-dimsensional villains (who I was rooting for, dangit!) princesses/queens who are more like real eighteen- and twenty-one-year-old girls, and OLAF. So if you haven't seen it yet, it gets two thumbs up. It'd get more if I had more thumbs.

But segueing into my topic for today, I've chosen one of my favorite Olaf quotes. Yes, an adorable little snowman with no concept of melting while he chases summer talks about being run through with an icicle. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. Hannah can attest.

All things Disney aside, as there hasn't been too much violence since The Hunchback of Notre Dame (which still scares me even though I saw it yesterday), I feel like something about humankind's innate ability to destroy itself needs to be said:

Violence=/=strength.

Especially in the YA genre, it seems like for anyone to be considered a strong character they need to be able to slice a man's head off or kill a dozen men without blinking. The idea that violence makes a strong character just needs to go. It's almost as bad as the idea that wearing large, thick-framed glasses makes you a hipster.

Am I say no violence? Of course not. Violence, as I mentioned before, is part of our nature. Whether it's protecting those dear to us, fighting those who threaten us, or killing those who have taken things from us, humans are pretty good at figuring out how to make other humans hurt. And especially in some genres, like dystopian, fantasy, or science fiction, violence is necessary. The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones just wouldn't be the same without the constant death and dying.

But there are many different types of strength. I mean, I could probably knock you out, but physical strength isn't really my thing. But I will make you hurt in an intellectual smack down like no other. My strength lies in my brain. I'd be the fighter who would go for the solar plexus (muscle beneath the ribcage) instead of the face because I know some physiology and know that a jab to the solar plexus causes a body to automatically collapse, and the face generally just pisses the other guy off. Physical strength is the most predominant in YA literature, but there's intellectual, emotional, moral, and many more types of strength.

I mean, just look at Divergent. Tris needed to become a badass fighter and able to kill on sight just for anyone to take her seriously. Half of the popular female characters nowadays are either sleazy or badass, and I think we can all agree that girls are definitely more shades of human than that, as are men. Not to mention that considering violence strength is what causes gang violence and a lot of male aggression, as boys are taught to 'be a man' by being aggressive and 'strong'. But that's a psychology lesson I don't need to teach.

So if you're a writer, please do me this favor: make characters 'strong' without making them cutthroat. One or two is okay, but a whole cast of badasses is pretty unrealistic (usually) and not everyone is cut out to fight. Make them ruthless and cunning, make them scary smart, make them able to take any sort of obstacle and turn it right back around at their opponent. Violence should be used more like a garnish on a steak instead of serving violence with a side of blood and gore. Don't make it a crutch for your plot or a character, use it tastefully so you don't overwhelm the flavor of the book.

And if you're a reader, let the industry know that you expect more than some sweaty badasses swapping one-liners as they systematically murder dozens of people. You're the ones we're all listening to, the ones that make the cogs in the machine work. Use your business as your voice that you want strength in different forms. Because there's more to the world than violence and cruelty.

Live long and prosper,
Brie