"We had a strong independent female"

"We had a strong independent female" is an excuse made to dismiss criticism on Mary Sue characters.

Background
It is well known that most female characters are shown as weak back in the 1960s and earlier before the gender equality movement became more common. It was not until the late 20th Century that this problem is now fixed. However as SJWs came into the picture, they started to make a female character that is a Mary Sue or a propaganda type character. Just because you made a strong and powerful female character does not mean you had to make them bland, overpowered, and a tool.

Often when a strong female character ends up being criticized for either poor writing, being sexist to the male audience, being a Mary Sue or even there to promote an ideology and nothing else, some people might use the "We had a strong independent female" as an excuse for doing so. Saying that statement shouldn't be a good enough excuse for making low-quality and effortless strong female characters in general. This excuse also treats its audience like they are unintelligent beings or idiots with no real taste, which isn't true. In fact, critically acclaimed trilogies like Star Wars have had worse off sequels because they try hard to be "politically correct".

Even if a strong female character is mostly aimed at female audiences, male audiences may also be interested in this character as well. There are many examples of this, but the most well known one are Ochaco Uraraka, Amethyst, Lyn, Raven, and Spinel, just to name few. The aforementioned characters are for female audiences, yet they have enough substance and real effort put in to be relatable and entertaining for the male audience and don't pander towards feminists.

There is no excuse for making a strong female character poorly written just because you want to pander to SJWs.

Examples of a poorly written strong female character

 * Abby Anderson
 * Admiral Holdo
 * Agent M
 * America Chavez
 * Batwoman ("strong independent lesbian")
 * Captain Marvel (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
 * Charlie's Angels (2019)
 * Dani Ramos
 * Ghostbusters (2016)
 * Grace (Terminator: Dark Fate)
 * Hua Mulan
 * Ironheart ("strong independent black female")
 * Jade West
 * Jailbreak (The Emoji Movie)
 * Jane Foster (2014-present)
 * Jes and Zofia Blazkowicz
 * Kara Denvers (Arrowverse)
 * Kim Possible (2019 live-action film)
 * Michael Burnham ("strong independent black female")
 * Miss O (Letter People)
 * Mystique (X-Men: Dark Phoenix)
 * Nella the Princess Knight ("strong independent biracial")
 * Rey
 * Thirteenth Doctor

Examples of a well written strong female character

 * Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels, and The Mandalorian)
 * Aigis (Persona 3)
 * Alita (2019 film and anime)
 * Amethyst (Steven Universe)
 * Android #18 (Dragon Ball)
 * Arriety
 * Arya Stark
 * Athena Asamiya (Psycho Soldier/KOF)
 * Asajj Ventress (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
 * Baiken (Guilty Gear)
 * Barbara Gordon (pre-New 52)
 * Bayonetta
 * Black Widow
 * Blaze the Cat
 * Blossom (1998)
 * Bubbles (1998)
 * Buffy Summers
 * Buttercup (1998)
 * Cameron Phillips (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
 * Cammy White (Street Fighter)
 * Cara Dune
 * Cassandra Cain
 * Cathy Gale
 * Chie Satonaka (Persona 4)
 * Chun-Li (Street Fighter)
 * Clare Carroll (The Nightingale)
 * Daenerys Targaryen (Seasons 1-7)
 * Dana Scully
 * Elektra
 * Ellen Ripley
 * mh:greatcharacterswiki:Sam Puckett
 * Ellie (The Last of Us)
 * Emma Peel
 * Evelyn Salt
 * Fa Mulan (1998)
 * Fiona (Shrek)
 * Ginger Foutley
 * Hinata Hyuga
 * Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
 * Imperator Furiosa
 * Iroha (Samurai Shodown)
 * Ivy Valentine (SoulCalibur)
 * Jessica Jones
 * Joanna Dark
 * Jolyne Cujoh (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
 * Jyn Erso
 * Kameo (Kameo: Elements of Power)
 * Kanade Tachibana (Angel Beats!)
 * Kasumi (Dead or Alive)
 * Kim Possible (2002-2007 animated series)
 * Kira Nerys
 * Kitana (Mortal Kombat)
 * Korra (The Legend of Korra)
 * Lady (Devil May Cry)
 * Lara Croft
 * Leia Organa (Star Wars Original Trilogy)
 * Leona Heidern (The King of Fighters)
 * Lisa Landry (Sister, Sister)
 * Lisa Lisa (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
 * Lyn (Fire Emblem)
 * Mai Shiranui (Fatal Fury/KOF)
 * Major Motoko Kusanagi
 * Makoto Nanaya (BlazBlue)
 * Makoto Niijima/Queen (Persona 5)
 * Marion Ravenwood
 * Mikasa Ackerman (Attack on Titan)
 * Millia Rage (Guilty Gear)
 * Nakoruru (Samurai Shodown)
 * Nausicaa
 * Noel Vermillion (BlazBlue)
 * Nya (Ninjago)
 * Ochaco Uraraka
 * Padme Amidala
 * Peggy Carter
 * Penny Proud
 * P.I.X.A.L. (Ninjago)
 * Psylock (X-Men)
 * Raven (Teen Titans (2003-2005))
 * Red Sonja
 * Rukia Kuchiki (Bleach)
 * Samus Aran
 * Sandy Cheeks
 * Sarah Connor (pre-Dark Fate)
 * Sarah Bryant (Virtua Fighter)
 * Scarlet Witch
 * Schwi Dola (No Game No Life: Zero)
 * Sergeant Calhoun
 * Seven of Nine (Voyager)
 * Shantae
 * She-Ra (Original)
 * She-Hulk
 * Shiki (Samurai Shodown)
 * Skylor Chen (Ninjago)
 * Sonya Blade (Mortal Kombat)
 * Sophitia (SoulCalibur)
 * Spinel
 * Starfire (Teen Titans (2003-2005))
 * Stephanie Brown
 * Supergirl (DC Comics)
 * Taki (SoulCalibur)
 * Talim (SoulCalibur)
 * Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy)
 * mh:greatcharacterswiki:Touka Kirishima (Tokyo Ghoul)
 * Trish (Devil May Cry)
 * Wonder Woman
 * Wyldstyle (The Lego Movie)
 * Xena
 * Yoko Littner (Gurren Lagann)
 * Yuri Nakamura (Angel Beats!)
 * Yuri Sakazaki (Art of Fighting/KOF)