Firefly Female Characters

The female characters in Firefly do represent both of what Cracked was saying and what Joss Whedon were saying. Although there are both what are considered "stronger" and "weaker" women in Firefly, I think that most of the female characters are stronger, just as Whedon said in his speech. They all possess some level of strength inside of them. All of the women seem to know what they want and they go after it. It takes a strong woman to survive in a spaceship day in and day out, let alone to thrive in that situation like all of the women do. Sure the show is written from the male perspective and there is a male lead, but the way that they seem to value the women on the ship is what really makes Whedon's speech convincing. Also, many of the different websites seem to always want to criticize people, making the Cracked article seem less reliable. Ultimately, it is the characters themselves that tell the real story. Zoe is  a strong and independent woman that does not seem like she would let anyone harm her, or what she holds dear. She may not fit the mold as what is classified as "feminine," but she could probably kill anyone that told her that. Zoe is extremely calm under pressure and is a very capable fighter.  Kaylee may genuinely love everyone on the ship and seem to be the innocent and wholesome one, but she is still incredibly strong. It would be difficult for anyone to live on a spaceship and do as good of a job with mechanics as she does without being strong and independent. Inara is simply a business savvy woman. She knows exactly what is best for her business and how to keep it successful. She knows just how to "play the game" so to speak in order to get just what she wants and continue to life the lifestyle that she choses. River Tam is also strong in the sense that, although she has had so many different things done on her brain, she still continues on. Yes, she did seem weak and dependent on her brother Simon in the beginning, but then the audience learns that she, in fact, is strong and independent. She found out a way to get decoded messages to her brother while she was in the facility, as well as being able to resist some of the Alliance's control on her brain. Even Saffron is presented as a strong and independent woman. She does play the part of a weak wife, but later on the audience learns of that scam and she is seen as one of the most quick thinking, albeit evil, women on the entire show. Joss Whedon was on to something when he said that he modeled the show after his strong and independent mother, and his father and grandfather that valued that in a woman. These female characters seem to know exactly what they want and how to achieve it. They are portrayed as smart, witty, perfectly capable, and just down right tough.