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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Merlion" data-source="post: 1286663" data-attributes="member: 10397">This is a subject I find interesting on many levels. for background purposes, I am a young gay male gamer fantasy fan "geek" (although I dont really like using those terms).  All my female friends and family love the movies and/or the books.teflon Billy is partialy right...most sterotypes do have some basis in fact. However, I think in the case of gender stuff, its less about gender and more about societal gender roles and conditioning. Yes many traits are to be found in most men, and many different ones in most women, but I think a lot of that is cultural more than something physicaly or pyschologicaly inherent in the genders.  obviously, the author of the articles statements about lack of emotion are simply absurd. Both males and females showed emotions of all sorts, directed at both others of the same, and oposite genders. This was indeed one of the most emotional movies I've ever seen...I would have broken down completely if I'd let myself.  As for female roles in LOTR, and in Tolkien in general, well lets examine the Big 3 ladies in LOTR. Eowyn. Strong willed, formidable in battle, loyal in the extreme, commiter of probably the 2nd greatest mortal act in the 3rd age(destroying his Incorporeal Idiocy. the 1st would be frodo surviving till mount doom). Arwen..well she doesnt have a supper big role in the books but remember, in books and movie...she was Aragorn's motivation. And in the books she also helped ease Frodo's suffering prior to his departure. Then we have my favorite, and probably my favorite of all the characters, Galadriel. Her raw power is never really shown in LOTR, but she is indeed powerful and dangerous. However in LOTR, by her own statement (in the books) her purpose lies not in what she can do, but what she knows. She's one of the only people in the books who's lived through almost the entire history of Middle-Earth. In the book its she who truly explains whats going on to Frodo and Sam, and shows them important truths in her mirror.  Addmitedly, there arent a lot of super big female roles in LOTR. but if you look at the rest of Middle-Earths history, their are quite a few more. Of course the Valier, particualrly Varda, Yavanna and Nienna. Ariane the powerful Maia who guides the vessel of the Sun. And of course Queen Melian, who kept an entire kingdom hedged against evil for centuries. Indeed, Varda Elbereth in a way does appear in LOTR...the very mention of her name creates some powerful and important effects (driving away the Nazgul from Weathertop, enhancing the power of Galadriel's phial). And in a way, the real power of the Phial belongs to Yavanna and to Varda  Even though as I said, sterotypes do have some accuracy, it does all come down to each person in the end.</blockquote>

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