Top Ten Women Meme
Apr. 26th, 2005 09:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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nassima
If there's one constant in every fandom, it's the bashing of female characters. List your favorite 10 female characters of any fandom and why you like these girls/women.
I kind of feel like I HAVE to answer this one because it drives me absolutely insane that women do this. My main fandom is Harry Potter, but I'll see what else I can come up with.
10.) Molly Weasley from Harry Potter. I adore Molly, because she reminds me SO much of my mother. And the poor woman gets bashed into oblivion for being totally human and an imperfect mother. Guess what? All mothers are imperfect. But despite the fact she occasionally gives Ron corned beef sandwiches (which I do sympathise, Ron!) and gets mad at Hermione for possibly cheating on a kid she considers her own and (oh no!) NAGS her husband and sons, Molly is a loving, giving woman who is not at all afraid to speak her mind (as Sirius can attest to!). If I can be half the mother Molly is, I'll be happy.
9.) Lyra from His Dark Materials. I haven't finished The Amber Spyglass yet, but I love Lyra for her independence and her wits. She's exactly the kind of 12 year old I always wanted to be, although I guess at this point she's probably more like 13 or 14. I ought to work it out some day.
8.) Eilonwy from the Black Cauldron series. She's totally feminine, but still a strong, independent character. Sure, she comes across as a bit of a ditz, but that's exactly why I love her. She's got a talkative streak, she conforms in some ways to what she's percieved to be, and yet she completely defies what a woman is expected to be in all others.
7.) Linmei from Lakesedge Weyr, Pern fandom. The problem with citing Pern fandom is that because of the rules Anne McCaffery has set, every character is an original character. Which is actually pretty cool, really. Linmei is one of mine, and my favorite of my female characters. She makes a lot of mistakes, but what I love her for is when her brother A'ron made a HUGE mistake, she stood by him, even though it meant many people ostracizing her as well.
6.) Hermione from Harry Potter. She's an obnoxious know-it-all, which I love because I was so like that. But she utterly lacks common sense. Hehe. But regardless, she is as loyal as possible to Harry and Ron, and she's a genuinely caring and courageous girl. Hermione's very smart- she knows she's a total geek, and yet she makes no effort to change herself to fit in. She carries on being exactly who she is. I love that about her.
5.) Nymphadora Tonks from Harry Potter. (Look, Harry Potter is my main fandom, okay? :) ) How can you not love Tonks? She's cool, she kicks ass, and she's perfectly comfortable in a selective, dangerous job. I am sorry, but there are more than slash reasons why I don't want to see her get together with Remus. I want Tonks to walk out of the series single and loving it. Does anyone else get the feeling that Tonks actually deserves better than Remus? (And I say this as a total Remus lover.) For me, "better than Remus" would be moving up the ladder in her chosen career and really loving her life.
4.) Eowyn from Lord of the Rings. Yeah, yeah, so it's the movie. But come on, the girl kicks some serious butt. She chops off the head of the Nazgul and then takes out his rider, defies her uncle to save his life, gets rejected by Mr. Mopey-Aragorn and gets together with I-Can-Actually-Wash-My-Hair Faramir instead of moping around, and still looks good in both chain mail and a dress. She is by far an excellent role model.
3.) Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter. She's a great friend to Hermione. She steals the twins' brooms. (Not just Ron. Not just Percy. But the Twins. Would YOU have the guts to do that?) She has no qualms about making mischief, she's got a firm sense of what's right, and she seems to have outgrown her crush on Harry. (Sure, I still like H/G. But there's a huge difference between Ginny's obsessive little-girl crush, and what might eventually be a real relationship.) And she didn't break her date with Neville, even when a better offer came along. People, that's class.
2.) C.J Craig from West Wing. I don't read West Wing fic. I don't write it. But I know it's out there, and it's one of my favorite shows, and C.J. kicks butt. She's not at all afraid to say what she's thinking, she's competent in a high-powered job, and she can actually keep Toby in line. Come on, that really takes some doing there.
1.) Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter. Why, oh why, does anyone ever say we don't have a strong female character in Harry Potter? What is McG- bird food? I mean, the woman takes 5 stunners in the chest and still gets up and comes back. She takes on anyone, from Dumbledore (I never said she won that argument, but she argues with him) to the Weasley twins (see notes about arguing with Dumbledore). And you know you were thinking it just as Ron said it- watching Umbridge and McG go against each other was one of the high points of OotP. She's an outstanding teacher, the kind that makes you want to do your best because her respect is hard to earn and it's worth earning. She's caring, even if she's not expressive. And she simply kicks butt. And she's a freaking Animagus.
But I'll tell you- I'd LOVE to see Minerva McGonagall face off with Esme Weatherwax. THAT would be a blast.
nassimaIf there's one constant in every fandom, it's the bashing of female characters. List your favorite 10 female characters of any fandom and why you like these girls/women.
I kind of feel like I HAVE to answer this one because it drives me absolutely insane that women do this. My main fandom is Harry Potter, but I'll see what else I can come up with.
10.) Molly Weasley from Harry Potter. I adore Molly, because she reminds me SO much of my mother. And the poor woman gets bashed into oblivion for being totally human and an imperfect mother. Guess what? All mothers are imperfect. But despite the fact she occasionally gives Ron corned beef sandwiches (which I do sympathise, Ron!) and gets mad at Hermione for possibly cheating on a kid she considers her own and (oh no!) NAGS her husband and sons, Molly is a loving, giving woman who is not at all afraid to speak her mind (as Sirius can attest to!). If I can be half the mother Molly is, I'll be happy.
9.) Lyra from His Dark Materials. I haven't finished The Amber Spyglass yet, but I love Lyra for her independence and her wits. She's exactly the kind of 12 year old I always wanted to be, although I guess at this point she's probably more like 13 or 14. I ought to work it out some day.
8.) Eilonwy from the Black Cauldron series. She's totally feminine, but still a strong, independent character. Sure, she comes across as a bit of a ditz, but that's exactly why I love her. She's got a talkative streak, she conforms in some ways to what she's percieved to be, and yet she completely defies what a woman is expected to be in all others.
7.) Linmei from Lakesedge Weyr, Pern fandom. The problem with citing Pern fandom is that because of the rules Anne McCaffery has set, every character is an original character. Which is actually pretty cool, really. Linmei is one of mine, and my favorite of my female characters. She makes a lot of mistakes, but what I love her for is when her brother A'ron made a HUGE mistake, she stood by him, even though it meant many people ostracizing her as well.
6.) Hermione from Harry Potter. She's an obnoxious know-it-all, which I love because I was so like that. But she utterly lacks common sense. Hehe. But regardless, she is as loyal as possible to Harry and Ron, and she's a genuinely caring and courageous girl. Hermione's very smart- she knows she's a total geek, and yet she makes no effort to change herself to fit in. She carries on being exactly who she is. I love that about her.
5.) Nymphadora Tonks from Harry Potter. (Look, Harry Potter is my main fandom, okay? :) ) How can you not love Tonks? She's cool, she kicks ass, and she's perfectly comfortable in a selective, dangerous job. I am sorry, but there are more than slash reasons why I don't want to see her get together with Remus. I want Tonks to walk out of the series single and loving it. Does anyone else get the feeling that Tonks actually deserves better than Remus? (And I say this as a total Remus lover.) For me, "better than Remus" would be moving up the ladder in her chosen career and really loving her life.
4.) Eowyn from Lord of the Rings. Yeah, yeah, so it's the movie. But come on, the girl kicks some serious butt. She chops off the head of the Nazgul and then takes out his rider, defies her uncle to save his life, gets rejected by Mr. Mopey-Aragorn and gets together with I-Can-Actually-Wash-My-Hair Faramir instead of moping around, and still looks good in both chain mail and a dress. She is by far an excellent role model.
3.) Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter. She's a great friend to Hermione. She steals the twins' brooms. (Not just Ron. Not just Percy. But the Twins. Would YOU have the guts to do that?) She has no qualms about making mischief, she's got a firm sense of what's right, and she seems to have outgrown her crush on Harry. (Sure, I still like H/G. But there's a huge difference between Ginny's obsessive little-girl crush, and what might eventually be a real relationship.) And she didn't break her date with Neville, even when a better offer came along. People, that's class.
2.) C.J Craig from West Wing. I don't read West Wing fic. I don't write it. But I know it's out there, and it's one of my favorite shows, and C.J. kicks butt. She's not at all afraid to say what she's thinking, she's competent in a high-powered job, and she can actually keep Toby in line. Come on, that really takes some doing there.
1.) Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter. Why, oh why, does anyone ever say we don't have a strong female character in Harry Potter? What is McG- bird food? I mean, the woman takes 5 stunners in the chest and still gets up and comes back. She takes on anyone, from Dumbledore (I never said she won that argument, but she argues with him) to the Weasley twins (see notes about arguing with Dumbledore). And you know you were thinking it just as Ron said it- watching Umbridge and McG go against each other was one of the high points of OotP. She's an outstanding teacher, the kind that makes you want to do your best because her respect is hard to earn and it's worth earning. She's caring, even if she's not expressive. And she simply kicks butt. And she's a freaking Animagus.
But I'll tell you- I'd LOVE to see Minerva McGonagall face off with Esme Weatherwax. THAT would be a blast.
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 03:36 pm (UTC)Oh YES! Now you have to write this.
Also, great choice of Harry Potter women. I totally agree about Tonks being much more interesting single (or rather not handicapped with The Love Of Her Life) than with Remus :)
Eowyn... You saw that I'm not much fond of her, at least in the book. But in the books, she's too much of a spoiled child for me to really like her. She's asked to deal with a regency and is left with the responsibility of a realm... and she leaves it unattended to go dieing in battle because she's heartbroken. And when she feels a bit better, she puts her sword in some dusty corner, settles down for the Nice Guy, and bears his children. Yeah, she may somehow be some sort of healer, but she becomes mostly Mrs Faramir :( But okay, in the films, she kicks ass! And there's less context, so the Faramir as a consolation prize is less annoying.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 04:32 pm (UTC)I think I'll do this meme when I get back from class.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 06:35 pm (UTC)Heh. I'm not sure if I could do justice to Esme Weatherwax!
And yeah- I read the LotR books in 5th grade, but don't remember much of them. I tried to read them again as an adult, but, well, see my five books I should love but don't ;) Disappointing that she's that way in the books, although I suppose that given the time period....
Although it always seemed to me that Faramir was a better catch than Aragorn anyway.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 11:43 pm (UTC)I'd steal this, but I'm not sure I can think of ten girls I truly like. *starts thinking about anime characters*
no subject
Date: 2005-05-01 05:17 am (UTC)If there's one constant in every fandom, it's the bashing of female characters.
Is this true?!?? I wasn't aware of it! Well, my very first fandom in the interactive, Internet-y sense of the word was Buffy. Girl power all the way! Which fandoms bash women? (Want to make sure I avoid them...)
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 03:10 pm (UTC)I snicked that line from the meme itself, but in the fandom I'm in (I'm really only in Harry Potter), it is sadly true. Not so much McG or Lily, but Molly gets it a lot for not being a perfect mother, Ginny and Tonks get TONS of bashing, and even Hermione. And it's never for actual faults of the characters- it's always things like "she's such a slut" (amazing how often that's said about Ginny, just because she dates more than one guy!) and stuff like that. It's really pretty sad.
The other thing that makes me sad is the HP fandom has been given Tonks. She's a bright, independent, kickass young woman who is in an exciting and challenging job. What's the first thing fandom does? Ship her. In about 80% of the Tonks stories out there, she becomes nothing more than a romantic interest. Sure, Tonks can have love in her life, but it's kind of sad how often she leans on Remus (Remus!) to support her or ends in babies and fluff.
Not every author does it, but it's really scary. Especially when a female gets in the way of an author's OTP....