Who says girls can’t be cool and kick butt? Clearly not some of our favorite female characters!
Juliana Borreggine:
Suki (Avatar the Last Airbender)
Almost all the shows I watched had girls wanting boys and only cared about appearance. I didn’t see women being strong and smart. I was six when Avatar came out and almost all the girls to me were perceived that way. When I saw Suki, I was so excited to see a girl be strong, whiting, and actually be shown fighting without also being identified as overconfident and conceited. Now that I’m older, I know there were more and even better examples of powerful women. Suki was always the first one I saw, and I will always have a special place for her in my heart because of that.
Olivia Wickline:
Reggie Rocket
As one of the only girls on “Rocket Power,” Reggie Rocket was my imaginary best friend. She was the hero to my eight-year-old self, and honestly, she’s still an icon of mine to this day. She not only is she completely cool and collected, but her character is a co-owner of a magazine… at age twelve. I’m not exaggerating when I say that because of her I made my mom buy me camo pants for my first day of school outfit in fourth grade.
Susie Carmichael
I will always and forever love Susie Carmichael. She was insanely intelligent, and even now when I watch Rugrats (admittedly when I’m feeling nostalgic), her different takes on situations are always so insightful. Her style was always tremendous and she made time to talk to her friends. She wasn’t only just passive and compassionate; She stood up to Angelica when nobody else would. I’m still trying to find a real-life Susie Carmichael to help better me.
Debbie Thornberry
A fashion icon. Debbie definitely wasn’t the most outgoing in The Wild Thornberrys, in fact, she’s usually complaining. I loved her though, without fail, she was that cold, cool sister that everyone on TV had. As a little kid I wanted to be her, and since grown into my own, her style has completely influenced how I dress. You know how that saying goes: Act like an Eliza Thornberry, dress like a Debbie Thornberry?
Sorya Nasir:
Penny Proud
Penny Proud was the characters first character I thought of when I think of strong Feminist Cartoon Characters. She was smart, strong and independent. She also went to school as Angela Davis for a history project, tried out for football to prove that girls should be able to play on the team, lived with a Muslim family to understand their culture better and was raised by a mom who was the breadwinner of the household. Penny Proud is a character that I truly believe many young girls of color could finally look up to.
Princess Bubblegum
For those of you who do not know, Princess Bubblegum is in the show Adventure Time. Most would think because she is the princess, that she would only be interested in tiaras and dresses and balls but BG is very different. She is a princientist (princess-scientist) and also the very loving and caring ruler of the Candy Kingdom. She is also funny and very independent and it someone a lot of people can relate to.