I think you are seeing through the lens of the increasing feminine status over the years. Many "strong" female characters in decades past still were not so strong by today's standards, even if they were meant to represent feminine strength. Paradigm shifts (including sexism reform, racism reform, etc) do take time. But being of the opinion that gender (or race) does not make someone inherently inferior, I think that things have come a long way (at least in the USA and some other countries) during my lifetime, even if there is still more growth to be accomplished in that regard. The wage gap is still a glaring bad example that needs to come into parity. But credit is due to those who wrote what they perceived to be stronger female and/or non-white characters, in times when many people (mostly white males, of course) did not see things that way. Credit is due that our Secretary of State was a strong contender for the Presidency, our last S.o.S was a black woman (I did not like the administration Condi was part of, nor her herself much, ( ... )