The word “feminists” gets thrown around a lot lately. To me, feminism is simply a term about empowering women and searching for equality in education, the workplace and all aspects of life. Due to the nature of trying to stay “woke” in our current social culture, many television shows have integrated more feminist or liberal characters into their mix to make the plot more relevant to the times. While shows like Insecure, Girls and Orange is the New Black are greatm there were trailblazing characters from the past that were “woke” before social media made feminism relevant.
Daria (from Daria)
Queen of the angsty teen, Daria Morgendorffer, from the MTV show Daria that premiered in 1997, ruled the feminists movement when it was still thought of as burning bras and not a Tumblr hashtag. Here are some of her infamous quotes:
“Daria, do you have to put everything in such a negative light?”
“Could you possibly be referring to the harsh light of reality?”
Miranda Hobbes (from Sex and the City)
Everyone who has watched and loved Sex and the City quotes Carrie or Samantha, but the underlying hero for women in this show was Miranda. Miranda kept it real all the time — even putting Carrie in line. She wore a suit better than any man and constantly criticized traditional values.
A memorable Miranda quote: “I want to enjoy my success, not apologize for it.”
Buffy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
She was one of the first young mainstream crime fighters and her crime just happened to be vampires. Buffy had to constantly stand up to monsters both undead and real who didn’t take hear seriously because she was a girl but she stood her ground. An overall empowering and memorable quote:
“Every girl who could have the power, will have the power. Can stand up, will stand up. Slayers, every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?”
Donna (That ’70s Show)
An outspoken woman through and through. Out of everyone on the show she was the most consistently level headed and kept both the women and men in check. Donna provided advice all the time. If you ever wanted to be reminded about the stance women need to take here’s an important quote from Donna:
“If women don’t learn to stand up for themselves, men will always control the world.”
Jessie (Saved by the Bell)
Queen of the fictional feminist herself, Jessie Spano led a one-female woman’s revolution. She walked the halls of Bayside calling out the jocks for being “pigs” and enlightening the cheerleaders to celebrate their minds and not a sports win. Her quote is the final one mentioned and one that every female should remember in life because it applies to any form of relationship:
“If the husband’s a real man, he wouldn’t be threatened by a woman who knows what she wants.”
Remember ladies — it’s one thing to say you’re a feminist, but to be a good one we need to remember the ones, even fictionally, who paved the way for us today. We must remember to stick to reality and not get blind-sided by patriarchal society to reach our final goal, equality and success. If anyone tries to give you flack for being “angry” or “troublesome,” tell them — in the words of fictional feminist honorable mention Claire Huxtable — “a woman is entitled to have a mood, any mood, a happy mood, a sad mood, an angry mood.”