Why does being the territory of men make them strong roles?
I don't usually see them as strong roles. I usually see them as Hippolyta roles. That is to say, they work very much on the level of, "Why can't women be more like men." and they are usually what the Japanese call 'Fan Service'. In otherwords, they are usually more a matter of 'knowing the target audience.
Showing women showing T&A and being otherwise physically and sexually agressive isn't my definition of lacking sexism.
I submit that these are two very different things.
I really don't know how much I can say without breaking the rules of posting.
If you look at movies say from the 50s and 60s you very rarely found woman who were not one of the stereotypes. They were either wives, girlfriends or bad girls. In horror movies their main purpose was to scream.
Emma Peel was not just T&A she was every bit as good an agent as John Steed she was actually the one who did most of the active stuff. Charlie's Angles had a lot of T&A going on but it also showed woman doing what men had traditionally done which was be private detectives. Before that most of the woman on private detective shows were shown as secretaries.
The point is that they show woman being able to do what men do just as well. I know you are going to argue about how unrealistic it is and trot out the whole bench press studies. Please don't.
But it does not matter it is a fantasy just like adventure with men is a fantasy. In real life Indiana Jones, John McClain would be dead from their injuries no one can't take the serious wounds those two have taken and live. But you know why we accept it because they are heroes.
Showing woman doing the tough things being more than just helpless waiting for a man to come and save them can inspire little girls. Teen girls watching Buffy often talked about she inspired them to stand up for themselves.
There are several black woman including Whoppi Goldberg who were inspired by Uhura on Star Trek. Seeing a black woman who was not a maid but a officer on a starship inspired them. One the female astronauts who is black says Star Trek inspired her to study science.
In real life right now there are woman in fundamental Muslim countries blogging about freedom for woman. Knowing full well that they risk imprisonment and death.
Woman in our own military have risked their lives right along side our men. And some have paid the ultimate price.
Most people know that in a fight between a strong trained man and a strong trained woman the man is going to win. If we are talking raw power.
But that is not the point. When we see heroines like Xena or Samantha Carter it shows us that woman can be heroes too.
Being submissive or expecting woman to submissive is very wrong. Woman are thinking adults they are just as smart as men just as wise as men and just as capable as men. It is an unhealthy situation for both sexes.
Adults should be raised to take care of themselves and to be independent. There is nothing sadder than watching a grown woman lose her husband and have no clue how to take care of herself. I have seen this first hand with my mother's generation.
I am not sure why you brought up sexual aggressive. The examples I gave don't fall under that territory. Emma Peel was in love with John Sneed but they never acted on it.
Charlie's Angles had relationships but they never bounced from bed to bed. Buffy had sexual relationships but I sure would not call her sexual aggressive.
I have to wonder if you think any woman who has sex outside of marriage or enjoys sex and sometimes instigates it as being sexual aggressive.
One of the thing the woman's movement did for woman is allow us to admit yes we like sex and sometimes we want sex and not all trappings of a relationship. You know just like men sometimes do.