Self-care and self-love are so important, especially living as a girl in this difficult and toxic world. As a girl, we are constantly subject to criticism and judgment from others and it is easy to be caught up in unrealistic beauty standards and expectations. It is thought that we need to fit into the norm and what is accepted as beautiful and perfect. However, each and every single one of us is unique in our ways and we were born to stand out and be different. Therefore, we need to love, embrace, and accept who we are for ourselves. These are some of my favorite strong female leads from TV shows who I think exemplify loving themselves without caring about what others think. They showcase the power of women and what it truly means to be a strong and confident girl in our society.Â
Lorelai and Rory are the stars of the show in Gilmore Girls and truly show what it means to be a woman and a feminist. The show deconstructs female stereotypes as Lorelai had Rory at a very young age when she was only sixteen years old. Especially coming from a wealthy family that was renowned and respected, she breaks the stereotype of marrying the father of the baby and moves to a small town, Stars Hollow, in Connecticut. Lorelai builds a new life for herself and her daughter, working from being a maid to the manager of the hotel. Gilmore Girls focuses on Lorelai’s achievements in Stars Hollow rather than her struggles as a single mom and how she has been able to build a beautiful and successful life both for herself and her daughter. Â
Devi in Never Have I Ever is a strong, rebellious, outspoken girl who challenges the very idea of what it means to be a girl. Sometimes, girls are perceived as docile, innocent, and soft-spoken and Devi challenges all of these assumptions by being the exact opposite of all of these characteristics. Being an Indian girl, she breaks all the typical strict rules and restrictions that her family and culture place on her by having boyfriends, sneaking out of the house, and taking control of her life. She demonstrates that you do not have to conform to any ideas of what is considered normal and that you can create your own life based on what you want to do and based on what makes you happy. She remains bold and confident despite what everyone may think and say of her.Â
Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl is bold, ambitious, hard-working, independent, and fearless. She is definitely the queen bee of the private prep school she attends and is one of the most popular girls. She is seen as rude, mean, and hostile and comes across as aggressive but that is what makes her character so great and so bold. Blair exemplifies the level of confidence that all girls in our society need to have. She is domineering, manipulative, and loyal. In addition to these things, she is an obsessive overachiever who will go to great lengths to get what she wants. She sees other females as rivals and barely even trusts her best friends. Still, despite her ruthlessness, she can be sensitive and compassionate when her friends are in need, and won’t hesitate to defend someone she cares about. She puts up a strong front to face society but is truly sensitive at heart.Â
Brooke Davis from One Tree Hill is similar to Blair in the sense that she is one of the most popular girls at school who is often rude and mean to others and puts up a strong front. She is a wild and carefree character who does what she wants to without really caring about the consequences of her actions and what others think of her. She is fiercely independent, bold, and brave. She showcases that we shouldn’t let others define who we are, that we should stand up for what we believe in, that our past does not define our future, to love ourselves, and that life is tough but so are we and we can deal with and handle anything that comes our way.Â
Ally from the Disney Channel show Austin and Ally is another example of a strong and bold female lead character because she isn’t afraid to be who she is. She is seen as a studious goody two shoes. She wants everything to be perfect, and she gets incredibly anxious over things she can’t control. Even her friends make fun of her at times. Ally’s strength is evident in her ability to stay true to herself despite the teasing and discouragement she receives from others. While the ridicule mostly subsides in later seasons, she still faces doubt from others and she’s not afraid to prove them wrong.
Overall, these are just a few examples of strong and bold female characters in TV shows who break barriers and stereotypes and show that girls can be as powerful as they were meant to be!
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