The chicks in your scifi

If you're into lengthy analyses of social constructs and how they might relate to your scifi, check out
"It's Not Easy Being a Cast Iron Bitch": Sexual Difference and the Female Action Hero.

From the abstract: "Lt. Ellen Ripley of the Alien series of films, Sarah Connor of the Terminator series, and Lindsey Brigman of The Abyss are examples of a special category of female role in Hollywood – the female action hero. To varying degrees of success, the three characters mentioned above defy the principal dilemma filmmakers seem to have in creating a character that can reconcile the presumably mutually exclusive aspects of 'cast iron bitch' and traditional patriarchal societal views of femininity."