Anyone who's read Paula Hawkins's The Girl on The Train will know that the protagonist is, to say the least, troubled. She's an alcoholic whose condition makes her selfish and unreliable. She has obsessive tendencies and can't stop harassing her ex. But she has also (spoiler alert) been in an unknowingly emotionally abusive relationship for years with a master manipulator and (even bigger spoiler) murderer. In short, she is a three-dimensional character who has been through a lot and ultimately cares more about trying to find a missing woman than getting her hair done.This is unusual to find in a novel with a female lead, and perhaps even more so in Hollywood - where Emily Blunt is now starring in the movie version of the book. Critics have already labelled her character ''unlikeable" and wondered what drew her to the role. Blunt has now responded."With so many movies women are held to what a man considers a feminine ideal. You have to be pretty. You have to be 'likeable', which is my least favourite bloody word in the industry. Rachel isn't likeable. What does that mean? To be witty and pretty and hold it together and be there for the guy? And he can just be a total drip?"She's right. For too long female characters have fit into ''likeable" moulds, where they're attractive, capable but not too strong and funny but ditsy. There are options: they can be manic pixie dream girls (think Zooey Deschanel in New Girl), slightly hopeless, but loveable (Bridget Jones) or strong but vulnerable (any romcom starring a female with a top-paying job).But when it comes to being more complex - be they survivors of abuse or victims of alcoholism or murderers themselves - women are immediately seen as ''unlikeable". It's something we saw with Rosamund Pike's Amy in Gone Girl, where she went against every typical notion of femininity to fake her own death and punish her husband. But it's not just a feature in thrillers.Take Lena Dunham's Hannah Horvath in Girls. Many women have told me they stopped watching it because they couldn't bear how self-entitled she was, labelling herself the "voice of a generation". Critics started to associate Dunham with her character and despise her, too.It's no wonder then that many writers and directors steer clear of movies and books with female leads who don't fit the ''likeable" mould. If people don't like the main character, they won't want to buy the book or watch the movie - and if it's a woman, there's a much higher chance she'll be seen as unlikeable.In our society, we label women bossy, pushy and selfish for traits that would be described as opinionated, strong and ambitious in a man.It's important to push back against this mould. - © The Daily Telegraph..