The women on this list aren’t just women that are kick ass and awesome– they’re women that I relate to in some way and that I try to emulate. The order they are listed in is the order I thought of them.
1. Buffy Summers – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This first pick shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. I am a vocal Buffy the Vampire Slayer advocate and think the show has an episode for every part of life. But liking Buffy the show is not why Buffy Summer is on here. What I admire about Buffy (besides the obvious kick-ass-ness) is her resilience. She fights through and bounces back from even the worst of days. Her greatest battles aren’t the ones with flesh and blood demons, they’re the ones with emotions– depression, and fear, and a feeling of isolation. And who wouldn’t love and admire her tenacity?
2. Leslie Knope – Parks and Recreation
As crazy and neurotic as Leslie can be, she’s equally driven, inventive and passionate. As someone prone to neuroses, I need an icon like that. Leslie is also the kind of person who doesn’t give credence to people who put her down– granted, at time she doesn’t seem to realize that people are making fun of her, but still– she just does her thing, naysayers be damned. And who is more blatantly feminist than Leslie Knope? She practically has a shrine to successful/powerful/awesome women in her office. Also, I love her long-winded and often off-topic ramblings because they’re like my own, but funnier.
3. Tami Taylor – Friday Night Lights
Tami Taylor is damn near perfect. I mean, she’s a supportive wife, a loving mother, driven about her
career, and passionate educator to boot. And yet she’s still incredibly human– she has flaws, and unmet dreams and expectations, she fights with her husband and her daughter. Of all the characters on this list, Tami is probably the one I want to be like the most because she’s so well rounded (though the genre of the show from which she hails probably has something to do with it). She’s also really loving- she see’s the best in people, and tries to give everyone a chance. She’s a really charming people person, which is a great skill to have. Plus, I really love her sunglasses… Seriously though, I wish the Taylor’s were real and lived near me, because they seem like the best bunch of people ever. I’d even put up with Julie’s whining if it meant getting to hang out with her family.
4. Lirael – The Abhorsen Trilogy (by Garth Nix)
Lirael is the only character on this list not from a television show, which should say something about the special place she holds in my heart. She’s a character who has always felt different, like an outsider, and in a lot of ways she is. But what she finds is that the reason she’s an outsider is because she’s really destined for this life totally separate from the one she’s been living, the one she believed she was meant for. Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker? Fear is a very real thing for Lirael, but she learns to fight through it, and even in the face of her fear she has a kind of confidence because she knows she’s doing the right thing. At one point, pre-revelation, she considers killing herself but curiosity keeps her from doing so, and of all the reasons to live when you feel like dying I think there’s something beautiful about that one. Plus, she’s a librarian (in one of the coolest libraries, ever)- so how can I not love her?
5. Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars definitely has some trust issues. So, those kind of suck, and I don’t need any more of those, but… trust issues are perfect for being a detective, and her sleuthing skills are one of the reasons she is so awesome. Her deductive reasoning is superb. This girl is clever and witty like no other- jabs, come backs, and cultural references roll off her tongue like nothing. She’s funny, and generally comes across as light-hearted despite all the drama and turmoil in her life. With all the shit that goes on, she just takes it all in stride because she’s got a plan- a mission, if you will. Veronica Mars is going to be an FBI agent– a career which happens to be perfectly suited to this sharp as a tack, whip smart girl. I’d like to suggest a backup plan as an improv actor, because that’s the only other place she could really put her weird accents and ability to make shit up to use. Also, she has a great relationship with her dad (cause like her, he is also awesome), and that’s really nice.
I agree with Lirael! It’s been so long since I even thought of those books. Dark but powerful.
They really are under read/appreciated. I’ve read all the books several times, and I love them a little more each time.
That’s a great list, and i love those words about Buffy!
And Leslie Knope, love her too (and really pretty much everyone here, that makes me want to discover the abhorsen trilogy).
Buffy is very near to my heart (that show helped me through some seriously dark times), so I’ve got nothing but loving things to say about her. And Leslie Knope can always make a day brighter. Knope 2012!
Obviously, I would recommend the Abhorsen books, they have great protagonists but are also very well written. They first one is about another awesome character, Sabriel. And apparently a prequel of sorts sets several hundred years before is set to come out in the next few years, so that should make for an excellent addition.
I really like what you wrote about Buffy- “Her greatest battles aren’t the ones with flesh and blood demons, they’re the ones with emotions– depression, and fear, and a feeling of isolation.” It’s one of the things that I felt but couldn’t put into proper words about the character. And I love how we’re still writing about Buffy- almost a decade after the show ended- which proves its universality and timelessness.
http://maladroids.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/why-buffy-matters/
I’m glad you liked the Buffy bit- it’s one of my favorites as well.
In an interview with the cast and writers from the show, one of the actors joked about how the writers are the ones with the truly hard jobs, because they had to show up everyday and drag up all their emotional drama for the rest of the world to revel in. That seem pretty true– Buffy, the character and the show, embodies so well the struggles that come with life and adolescence.
The prevalence that Buffy still has is definitely a tribute to the show’s (and the character’s) powerful message and just all around greatness. It’s hard to think of a show that was huge with fans, critics, and scholars– entire books and lengthy essays are devoted to the show. Yesterday (01/19) much of the internet was celebrating Buffy Summers in honor of her fictional 31st birthday– if celebrating a fictional character’s birthday isn’t a sign of their impact, I don’t know what is.