Tessa Thompson would like you to stop using this word to describe women, please
We are absolutely ready to see Tessa Thompson in the new Thor: Ragnarok film. She will be playing a warrior named Valkyrie. Hopefully, she’s about to become our new favorite action star. But don’t call her character a “badass” just yet. Thompson opened up about why she dislikes it when people use that the term for female characters. If you don’t quite get why that phrase is annoying, her explanation lays it out in full.
"There’s an unfair position that women are sometimes put in, in the context of superhero movies and action movies where at once they have to be very strong and fierce, but also sexy," she said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
That’s an excellent point, and one we haven’t heard that much from the actresses who play these parts.
There are many movies where the female character is only there to titillate. There’s nothing inherently wrong with having a heroine who can kick butt and still be sexy. But if all she’s there for is to provide eye candy, it’s definitely unfair to the actress. Sounds like Tessa Thompson is tired of seeing characters without any inner life of their own. It seems like she refuses to be only onscreen to be the sexy superhero sidekick.
"There’s one word I hate in all scripts in Hollywood at the moment in describing women, and that is the word ‘badass.’ That word has just crept into every script that is pushed around this town now," Thompson said. "It's terrible, because it doesn't mean anything. It’s a dumb male writer’s way of saying, ‘Ah, uh, she’s like, she, uh, she’s tough.’ Then straight after that it’s like, ‘She’s badass, but she’s got a beauty about her. And she’s sexy. Unconsciously sexy.'"
It’s nice to see one of the ladies of the Marvel cinematic universe talking about agency and wanting more for her character than just being a “badass” in a super suit. However the movie plays out, we’re excited to watch Tessa Thompson shine.