Though progressive for their time, these early female protagonists have oaved the way for a trope that, in modern literature, only serves to reinforce the inferority of female stereotypes when juxtaposed with traditionally masculine traits.
When poorly written, these femme fatale heroines embody hegemonically masculine traits while rejecting traditional feminine stereotyped. Thery often dismiss traditional feminity as frivolous or incompetence, and in turn they are respected for this by their peers.
These tropes also just reinforce stereotypes of gender behavior. Initial examples of these tom boy heroines were groundbreaking, as they protrayed women who broke the mold of traditional stereotpes. But in modern times, they do this by putting down stereotypically feminine traits and desires, thus reinforcing the subservience of feminity to masculinity.
The message sent to young female readers is that in order to be taken seriously and viewed as competent, one must reject all feminity and instead embody masculine ideals.