International Women's Day 2016

March 8th is International Women's Day, a day celebrating women's achievements while raising awareness of the work which remains to be done around the world to ensure true equality...


Last year I wrote about L.T. Meade, feminist activist and the godmother of modern girls' fiction. This year I'm looking at fiction once more - here is a list of the female characters who, though perhaps not always the most suitable role models, made a big impact on my formative years.

Dr Jessica Holm

Okay, so this is cheating because, obviously, Dr Holm isn't fictional. But. As a very young child my only goal in life was to be a squirrel. My mum taped the Daylight Robbery 2 documentary on squirrels presented by Dr Holm off the TV, and I watched it every day (sometimes multiple times a day) for months. For years this basically made Dr Holm the only woman I was familiar with, other than school teachers, who had been to university and had a career. So, Dr Holm, I salute you!

Captain Kathryn Janeway

She was Captain of a spaceship. Need I say more??

Laura Lancing (Brittas Empire)

Laura, due to Brittas' incompetence, essentially ran Whitby Leisure Centre. She was no-nonsense and capable. And super stylish!

Betty Rizzo (Grease)

Rizzo was the bad girl and, yet, unlike some girls we could mention she wasn't about to overhaul her personality to get a man or make friends. 

Mulan

I was ten when Mulan came out and felt I was getting a little old for Disney, but I still watched it over and over. (And still have the Mulan doll I received that Christmas.) She was strong enough not to care about tradition if it came between her and the things she held dear. ♥

Liz Dunn (Hole)

Hole is a 2001 British thriller about a group of teens who get stuck in an old underground war shelter, and is best known today for starring a young Keira Knightley. But I was fascinated with the character of Liz Dunn - the only survivor. She's clever, manipulative, evil. And unlike any other female character I could remember, she gets away with it.

Ayla (Earth's Children)

I first read Clan of the Cavebear at about 13 and Ayla immediately became one of my heroines. She was flawed and vulnerable, and yet it seemed that there was nothing she couldn't do. Ayla might be the sparkliest Sue ever to have sparkled, but she does it fabulously!

Dr Michaela Quinn

What a woman. Not only was she a boss lady doctor in Victorian times, she also supported all the lovely lefty liberal ideas I held so dear. It might even be the very first episode where she tells Colette that she ought never to let being a woman be an excuse for not trying her best. That always stayed with me.

Which fictional female characters have most inspired you?




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