When I sit down to watch a TV show with my hubbie there are certain requirements that must be fulfilled in order for me to invest my time in it. My number one requirement, which is the focus of this article, is my gender represented well?
For those who don’t already know, I tabletop roleplay. My characters tend to be females who could break the average man without breaking a sweat or a nail, who are intelligent and not afraid to have their say. So when I watch females in TV and other media I don’t want to be fed a nauseating stereotype. I want them kicking ass and taking names. I like them with edge, a temper and occasionally a little bit bad. Why? Because that is what I wish I could be. A female character is done right is when I am happy for my daughter to turn round and say “I want to be her when I grow up” because only over my dead body is she going to be Lady Gaga.
So here are my picks of Female TV characters that represent female ass kickery, intelligence and independence.
Jo Lupo – Eureka
To start with, she is a former US Army Ranger with a love of guns, so she already kicks ass. Also, as the Deputy Sheriff, she is in a position of authority. Even when the exceedingly yummy Zane comes along she doesn’t fall head over heels and becoming a whiney ‘girl’ about him, in fact she continues to keep him at arm lengths and the relationship is on her terms. But it isn’t just that, credit must go to the creative team, they did not feel they needed to ‘trash’ her up with heavy makeup and the obligatory cleavage. She is naturally sexy and even when she goes from Deputy to Head of Security at Global, she still dresses appropriately for someone in that role. She is also confident but has those little insecurities that make her a more realistic character. She doesn’t consider herself to be on a par with the intellectuals of the town, yet she repeatedly proves herself worthy to stand at their side, as an equal.
Lana Kane – Archer
If you have not had the extraordinary pleasure of seeing this spy parody animated show then stop reading this and watch it for crying out loud. Done? Now let me to why Lana appears on this list. For a start, in terms of skills, professionalism and talent, Lana is the superior agent. I love Archer he just rocks awesome and probably syphilis, but most people have to agree that if you had to choose either Archer or Lana to save the world, they would pick Lana. Number one, she is not a drunk and, in despite of her manly sized hands, she still rocks the 60’s jumper dress. She got out of a bad relationship and dominated the next. Though… that also went terribly wrong, but she can’t be to blame for men who are douche bags. She can shoot a gun and has the attitude to go with it and is also enough of a whore that I would totally play her in a RPG.
Nancy Botwin – Weeds
This choice may be a little controversial and also, I have to retract my earlier statement about wanting my daughter to look up to these women as role models. I would be very disappointed and consider myself a bad bad parent if my daughter was to turn out like Nancy.
In case you aren’t aware Nancy Botwin is the lead character in the awesome Weeds. The widowed housewife who starts of selling a little pot to help with the family finances. It dramatically escalates from there, but you should watch it for yourself, it really is a treat and a refreshing change.
But why would I pick this woman? One simple reason, she has no fear. Whatever the dire moment, when I have wondered how the monkey’s nuts is she going to get out of this one? BAM! She’s got a plan! This woman fears nothing, and in all the series she has very few emotional breakdowns considering the circumstances. The ones that do happen are only really moments of weakness before she formulates an outstanding plan and drags her family out of the chaos and quickly into more. This woman does all this for one reason, her family. Whether her actions are right or wrong, and let’s face it they are mainly wrong, she does it for the right reasons. This woman has balls; whatever the situation, she knows exactly how to play the game and I love her for it.
Sam Carter – Stargate:SG1
No one can compile a list like this and not include the awesome Colonel Samantha Carter. Yes she is an obvious choice but that’s because she is one of the most awesome soldier/scientists there is. She was portrayed as a character and not the obligatory female element. To be honest there are many reasons for this pick, but one of the defining things that I respect about this female character is that she didn’t let her feelings for the legend that is O’Neill, stop her from pursuing her dream. The romantic thing to do would be step down so she could be with the love of her life. All credit to the writers for not letting the obvious happen. Whilst my quite large romantic side wanted nothing more than to see them live happily ever after, I’m glad that it didn’t happen in the series. That’s not to say is doesn’t happen after O’Neill retires, it does, because it has to. Why else would, like, all of her other boyfriends die? Anyway, this woman will beat you and then explain the mechanics of quantum physics. What more do you want?
Willow Rosenberg – Buffy, The Vampire Slayer
C’mon, the lesbian witch who saved the world!! The awkwardly shy and intelligent Willow who starts as the best friend of the slayer, researching her ass off and learning along witchcraft along the way. Really that is all I should need to say, but I shall continue a little.
The slow progression of her power and character is what I love. She was supposed to be a sidekick but she became much more important and at times was the only one who could save the day. She had a werewolf for a boyfriend and then turned out to be a lesbian, which is freaking awesome, even from my heterosexual female point of view. At this point I should maybe mention the little incident of her turning evil and killing flaying Warren. Well…he did shoot her girlfriend, and you gotta admit the way she got her revenge was totally badass
All in all, Willow speaks to me as a fellow geek; she lived my dream of becoming an awe inspiring mega witch. It isn’t going to happen for me, no matter how many ancient texts I read. But I can live it all through her.
Before finishing I would like to include some honorary mentions for Buffy, Zoe Washburne and Aeryn Sun. They would have been included but I had to stop typing at some point. Real world require some attention now and again.
