Writing female villains - how to do it without looking misogynistic?

[ThisFunnyGreenCritic]

She will be the fictional daughter of John Blunt, mastermind behind the South Sea Bubble that crashed the English Economy for years.

Her goal is to find buried treasure to save her and her father’s name. The bad news is, she’s as unscrupulous as her daddy and is okay with turning on people (which she will unsuccessfully try doing to the hero).

At first, the hero has a thing for her… though he goes for a different woman when he learns how manipulative she is.

I don’t want this to make it look like I view all women as scheming harpies, but I also feel like it’s unfair if we say women can’t be evil like this. Advice?

The problem is, the way you ask the question makes us think it’s going to be a hard one to explain. And that we might be wasting our time. Again, just treat all your characters as fully rounded people with their own perspectives. There’s no special trick to stop something looking misogynistic if it is. And if it’s not, you’ll be good.

I don't think there are any books written for adults that are interesting to read if the characters are presented as heroes or villains.

Write her as if you’ve never heard of misogyny.
Don’t write self-consciously - it tends to read false.

This thread is startlingly similar to two others:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5342656-aibu-by-saying-it-isnt-misogynistic-to-have-a-female-villain-in-fiction

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5351889-thoughts-on-what-im-writing

Are you the same author, with a book that is fundamentally similar to these earlier projects but with some scenario tweaks?

I'd find this very interesting indeed.

I'm into my fourth year of writing / editing my manuscript with a FMC in the dark fantasy romance genre. She's nearing 40, rather than the usual teens / young women. A flawed human solider who remains flawed and human at the end, rather than turning into something other. My first, so probably tosh, but wanted something I could relate to as a reader. I'm likely getting it wrong.

PS OP there is a creative writing section on MN, although not very active. And some good forums out there for writing.