Female Role Models in Popular Culture Part One: Television

In a world where women are still seen as whiny and obsessed with nothing more than getting married and having children (I’m talking to you, romantic comedies), it’s nice to see so many characters out there setting good examples to the masses.  Here are some of those characters…

They first met when Bo saved Kenzi from a guy with less than honourable intentions, causing Kenzi to find out Bo’s secret (she’s a succubus).  Kenzi vowed to keep it quiet, and she has.  They’ve become as close as sisters and have risked their lives for each other many times.  It’s one of the best examples of a sisterly bond from non-sisters I’ve ever seen in a television show, and they’re also incredibly intelligent, incredibly witty (especially in Kenzi’s case), and, now that Bo has Kenzi on the straight-and-narrow, running their own private investigating business.

One of the characters describes Bo as, “The most enthralling, inspiring, ass-kicking person I have ever met.” That sounds about right to me.

When their grandmother died, it fell on Prue to look after her two sisters, and whilst she was occasionally bossy and annoying in doing so, she was still the leader of the sisters and she always put them first.  When Prue died, it fell on Piper to become the matriarch of the family, and, whilst she was reluctant to take up this role, she did so with strength, and she grew from a nervous, neurotic character into a confident businesswoman with two children and a doting husband.

Paige was raised as an only child until her mid-twenties when she found out that she had three sisters, and it was a transition she struggled to cope with at first.  She enjoyed her independence and didn’t go around chasing boys or having the desperate desire to get married and have children (unlike Phoebe).  She experimented with her fashion sense more than any of the other sisters, and she was a prime example of how being slightly off kilter can be a good thing.

Joss Whedon created her because he wanted to change the image of the blonde girl always being the innocent virgin doomed to die in the first act of the horror genre, and he did it with style.  The original film forgotten, together he and Sarah Michelle Gellar created a cult icon.  With more strength than any man, leadership powers to envy any politician, and model looks, she was a triple threat.  The only questionable part is her wardrobe, but it was the late nineties, so I suppose we can forgive her…

Another strong female character created by a male writer is Mira from Spartacus.  I have to admit that when we first met her, I thought she was just another whore, but towards the end of Blood and Sand and throughout the course of Vengeance, she’s proved herself to rival any of the gladiators that she competes with on a regular basis.  She has their respect, despite having nowhere near their physical strength, she stops Spartacus from going completely off the rails, and she shoots a blood good arrow.

Yes, Rory got a lot of male attention.  But she always put her studies first, even when she was in a relationship.  She knew what she wanted to do with her life, and nothing was going to stop her.  Unlike her mother Lorelai, she was also unselfish, however she was sometimes a little naive.  Naivety aside, she was intelligent, witty, well-read, ambitious and had the moxie to do just about anything.

It’s one thing to find yourself in someone else’s body, but when you go from a size zero model to a plus-sized lawyer, it’s something else entirely.  That’s also exactly what happened to Deb Dobkins Jane Bingum.  The show’s creator, Josh Berman and its star, Brooke Elliott portrayed Deb’s struggle perfectly, and I have to give huge kudos to Brooke Elliott, because those scenes where she was looking at herself in the mirror and loathing what she saw couldn’t have been easy to do.  But they did it, and they did it well.  Jane sets a fabulous example of how you can look amazing and be amazing no matter what size you are.  She has a great wardrobe, an even greater mind, and she helps people every single day.  What’s not to love?

Revealing outfits aside, Xena kicks ass.  She defends those who cannot defend themselves, and she can fight multiple people – men and/or women – at a time, as well as outsmart them.  She also has a strict code: she doesn’t kill if she doesn’t have to.

Last Updated: 29/09/12