FEMALE CHARACTERS WHO SHAPED MY LIFE
Monday, March 30, 2015
I love tv and movies. Seriously. I couldn't even tell you how many tv series' I've watched. I have two older brothers so I always felt left out growing up. Of course I had my mom, but you know she just didn't get it. So I found solace in female characters of my favourite tv shows and movies.
#1 Lizzie McGuire
Disney Channel during my childhood was incredible. That was their prime, I think. Before the shows got weird, I watched the Disney Channel until I was like 16. I'll even watch it now if something like That's so Raven is on, but I can't stand to watch any of the shows they have now for even a couple of minutes. Considering I was six when this show first started, I think I caught reruns a few years later.
What made me relate to her most was probably that she had an annoying brother who never missed an opportunity to torture her, and that she was just a normal girl. None of that Hannah Montana stuff where her alter ego is a super successful singer. I love how the episodes were so on point with what girls were going through at that age. Lizzie buying her first bra, helped me with the sheer embarrassment I went through buying my first bra.
#2 Raven Baxter
I loved That's So Raven. I watched it every single time it was on, even if it was a rerun. Looking back I think that show was great for many reasons, but especially representation. Now that I'm older I realize that representation of all cultures and races in the media is extremely important. I love that this show centres around a black family, without stereotypes, and the only white main character is dimwitted and a lot of the times completely oblivious.
I identified with Raven when it came to her not fitting in. I was picked on as a child, most children are, and she made it abundantly clear that as long as you had a good group of people around you who loved you, nothing anybody else thought mattered. And that being mean wasn't cool, and mean people never won.
I identified with Raven when it came to her not fitting in. I was picked on as a child, most children are, and she made it abundantly clear that as long as you had a good group of people around you who loved you, nothing anybody else thought mattered. And that being mean wasn't cool, and mean people never won.
#3 Kat Stratford
I had never even heard of the movie 10 Things I Hate About You until I was about 12, and one of the only reasons I watched it was because of Heath Ledger (because he was gorgeous). It sounds like a pretty typical teen movie, but what drives it is the clever script and Kat's character.
Kat is probably the character that had the most influence on me. I think she lit the feminist fire within me before I even knew what feminism was. She's a confident, nonconforming teenage girl who isn't afraid of telling it like it is, and fighting to make her own choices and mistakes. She's a girl after my own heart, really. I just love everything about her. Especially when she makes Joey feel inferior.
Kat is probably the character that had the most influence on me. I think she lit the feminist fire within me before I even knew what feminism was. She's a confident, nonconforming teenage girl who isn't afraid of telling it like it is, and fighting to make her own choices and mistakes. She's a girl after my own heart, really. I just love everything about her. Especially when she makes Joey feel inferior.
#4 Mia Thermopolis
Everyone knows The Princess Diaries, and if not then what rock have you been living under? This movie introduced me to the incredible Julie Andrews and she will always be queen of Genovia in my heart. I think I watched this so much as a kid because I oddly enough I loved makeovers? I used to watch that makeover bit in Mulan over and over too.
I love that even though she got a makeover and a body guard and a ride to school in a limo she didn't allow herself to get caught up in it and essentially lose who she was. She rejected being in the lime light and everyone trying to be her friend just so they could have their fifteen minutes of fame knowing a princess. She never got a big ego over knowing that she was about to lead a lavish lifestyle ruling her own country.
I love that even though she got a makeover and a body guard and a ride to school in a limo she didn't allow herself to get caught up in it and essentially lose who she was. She rejected being in the lime light and everyone trying to be her friend just so they could have their fifteen minutes of fame knowing a princess. She never got a big ego over knowing that she was about to lead a lavish lifestyle ruling her own country.
#5 Leslie Knope
There are many reasons I love Parks and Recreation, and the biggest one is Leslie Knope. I refused to watch this show for years, and it was only when my brother forced it on me that I allowed it's beauty into my life.
I think Leslie is my favourite character on this list. She's an intelligent, ambitious, dedicated and optimistic individual, who is all about supporting other women, fighting for sex education, and breaking down gender roles. One of her finest moments is in season 5 when she starts a commission for more females in city government and discovers that the sanitation department has the least amount of women. They tell her that the job requires a level of physical labor that "the average woman can't handle," so Leslie and April jump at the chance to prove them wrong and spend a day doing their job.
There are many women on tv who have influenced me tremendously growing up and going through puberty, but these lovely ladies are the ones who stick out to me the most. May there be more complex, intelligent and strong female characters in the future.
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