(no subject)
In reading 
kouredios's friending meme post, I came across someone who listed one of their friends list turn-offs as people who list 100 favorite male characters but can't think of one female character they genuinely love.
Which, you know, totally fair point.
So, who are the female characters you absolutely adore and why? I'll take characters from any media source - books, comics, TV, film, whatever.
Princess Elizabeth (The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch)
My first literary hero! Because while Prince Ron's hair is neat and his clothes are very nice, he is a bum and Princess Elizabeth is smart enough and independent enough to dump him and live happily ever after on her own.
Pippi Longstocking (The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking and others by Astrid Lindgren)
My second literary hero. The strongest girl in the world and the daughter of a pirate king. She lived on her own, slept with her head under the covers and her feet on the pillows, only went to school when she felt like it, and had a horse and a monkey. Obviously, she was exactly who I wanted to be when I was 8 years old!
Valency Stirling (The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery)
After 30 years of conformity to make her staid family happy, Valency kicks out and starts living for herself. She is adventurous, smart, and loyal in a way that her appearance obsessed family don't get and ends up living happily ever after with a husband who loves her for thinking for herself. A pretty damn modern story given that it was written in the 1920s.
The Filthy Assistants (Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis)
I am lumping Yelena and Channon together because I like them best as a unit. Both smart and tough, although in different ways, they perfectly balance each other and Spider Jerusalem (who at times seems more like their crack addicted adopted toddler than their boss). At a push, I have to admit that tiny dour Yelena is my favourite, but she's even better when accompanied by Amazonian Channon. They are lewd, crude, rude, and utterly delightful.
Zoe (Firefly)
Capable, tough, shamelessly in love with a husband who flies spaceships and plays with dinosaurs, and unfailingly loyal to her captain. What's not to love? Honorable mentions also go to Kaylee and River.
Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars)
Because she's Nancy Drew (another childhood hero) for the Facebook and Real Housewives of Orange County era. I particularly love S1 Veronica because she's at her damn the man and do what's right best when she's being shunned by all her old friends and has nothing to lose. She's snippy, smart, and so moral (if not quite ethical) it hurts.
Donna Noble (Doctor Who)
Donna's a bit different from the other women on the list in that I tend to love tough, smart, quirky ladies. She certainly is quirky but comes into tough and smart over time. I love Donna for the journey her character takes and her ending still breaks my heart!
It is interesting but not particularly surprising to me that most of my favourites come from books rather than TV. I find that even strong female characters on TV are often a foil for their eccentric and engaging male co-stars rather than the kind of quirky character I am drawn to themselves. It's the Mulder and Scully pattern of male-female co-stars. Or perhaps I am over-generalising.
This entry is crossposted at in_stead @ dw. | Comments
kouredios's friending meme post, I came across someone who listed one of their friends list turn-offs as people who list 100 favorite male characters but can't think of one female character they genuinely love.
Which, you know, totally fair point.
So, who are the female characters you absolutely adore and why? I'll take characters from any media source - books, comics, TV, film, whatever.
Princess Elizabeth (The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch)
My first literary hero! Because while Prince Ron's hair is neat and his clothes are very nice, he is a bum and Princess Elizabeth is smart enough and independent enough to dump him and live happily ever after on her own.
Pippi Longstocking (The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking and others by Astrid Lindgren)
My second literary hero. The strongest girl in the world and the daughter of a pirate king. She lived on her own, slept with her head under the covers and her feet on the pillows, only went to school when she felt like it, and had a horse and a monkey. Obviously, she was exactly who I wanted to be when I was 8 years old!
Valency Stirling (The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery)
After 30 years of conformity to make her staid family happy, Valency kicks out and starts living for herself. She is adventurous, smart, and loyal in a way that her appearance obsessed family don't get and ends up living happily ever after with a husband who loves her for thinking for herself. A pretty damn modern story given that it was written in the 1920s.
The Filthy Assistants (Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis)
I am lumping Yelena and Channon together because I like them best as a unit. Both smart and tough, although in different ways, they perfectly balance each other and Spider Jerusalem (who at times seems more like their crack addicted adopted toddler than their boss). At a push, I have to admit that tiny dour Yelena is my favourite, but she's even better when accompanied by Amazonian Channon. They are lewd, crude, rude, and utterly delightful.
Zoe (Firefly)
Capable, tough, shamelessly in love with a husband who flies spaceships and plays with dinosaurs, and unfailingly loyal to her captain. What's not to love? Honorable mentions also go to Kaylee and River.
Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars)
Because she's Nancy Drew (another childhood hero) for the Facebook and Real Housewives of Orange County era. I particularly love S1 Veronica because she's at her damn the man and do what's right best when she's being shunned by all her old friends and has nothing to lose. She's snippy, smart, and so moral (if not quite ethical) it hurts.
Donna Noble (Doctor Who)
Donna's a bit different from the other women on the list in that I tend to love tough, smart, quirky ladies. She certainly is quirky but comes into tough and smart over time. I love Donna for the journey her character takes and her ending still breaks my heart!
It is interesting but not particularly surprising to me that most of my favourites come from books rather than TV. I find that even strong female characters on TV are often a foil for their eccentric and engaging male co-stars rather than the kind of quirky character I am drawn to themselves. It's the Mulder and Scully pattern of male-female co-stars. Or perhaps I am over-generalising.
This entry is crossposted at in_stead @ dw. | Comments