Top 10 Feminist Characters in Teen Shows

#10: Jen Lindley “Dawson's Creek” (1998-2003)

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When we first met Jen on “Dawson’s Creek”, it seemed pretty obvious what her role would be. She was set up to be the bad girl to Joey’s girl next door, and ultimately the “other woman”. But Jen bucked these stereotypes and gave ‘90s viewers plenty to think about when she defended her sexual past and refused to be ashamed of it. She also tried hard to befriend Joey rather than letting them become foils for one another. In one of her most memorable scenes, she gave advice to her daughter that is full of progressive ideas in the series finale.

Considering this show is set in the ‘70s (obviously), Donna had some pretty forward thinking views for the time. It was always clear that although Eric mattered to her a lot, her own goals and interests were never going to stop being important. She never let guys manipulate her, or god forbid, kiss her when she made it clear that they shouldn’t. She has tons of iconic feminist quotes throughout the series, but one of our favorites has to be when she defended women who want to persue higher education.

One of the most modern characters on our list is an unconventional and sometimes controversial one. Maeve from “Sex Education” embodies the classic trope of the bad girl from the wrong side of the tracks who has a reputation at school for being promiscuous. But as soon as you get to know her, she subverts much of what you’ve come to expect from a stereotype like this. Though she has plenty of feminist moments throughout the series where she defends herself and other women, the most notable is in the third episode of the show when we see her make the choice to have an abortion. It’s one of the most straightforward and non sensationalized instances of this we’ve ever seen on TV.

It should come as no surprise that current shows made for teenagers are much more “woke” than their predecessors from decades past. While “13 Reasons Why” has been controversial for many reasons, one highlight is the character of Jessica. She’s a survivor and forms a sexual assault advocacy group called “Hands Off” in the third season. The group gets somewhat out of hand and she doesn’t always agree with their actions, but the intention was a positive one. She, unlike many others, also has a very progressive stance on what happened to Hannah.

It’s surprising that it has taken this long, but it’s still pretty rare to see women be self proclaimed feminists on TV. From the very first time we meet Elena Alvarez on “One Day At a Time” however, we find out that she’s outspoken about her feminist beliefs. Not only does she come out near the end of the first season, but also she is a vehicle for showing many of the issues that teenage girls have to deal with today. And she doesn’t just talk the talk- she takes action time and time again to participate in protests and even forms a feminist gamers’ club.

Aren’t witches inherently kind of feminist? Of course, they are! Bonnie is a powerful witch in “The Vampire Diaries” and largely uses her power for good, often enacting self sacrifice. Remember that time she harnessed the power of 100 dead witches to increase her abilities? She also represents a badass woman of color on TV, even though the character in the book is supposed to be Scottish American and white. By hiring Kat Graham to play the role however, the creators made the world of “The Vampire Diaries” more diverse.

In all the most overt ways, “Veronica Mars” is a feminist show. Veronica herself is a quintessential badass, a teenage girl working as a private investigator and trying to solve her own rape case at the same time. But Veronica isn’t perfect, and sometimes makes mistakes, even ones that are hard for the audience to process. In Veronica, we got to see the stereotype of the rape victim be turned on its head, because at no point is she a woman who needs saving by other men. After the police laugh her out of the station when she goes to report the crime, she takes matters into her own hands.

#3: Anne Shirley “Anne with an E” (2017-19)

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If you read “Anne of Green Gables” as a kid, you know that Anne was an inspiring character who was never happy to act in the way that girls at the time were expected to. But in the 2017 TV adaptation of the series, Anne gets a more modern spin and is much more overtly feminist. In the very first episode, when Marilla expresses disappointment that Anne isn’t the boy that they were expecting, Anne gives a speech about how she can do anything that a boy can do and that the world should expect more of girls.

At the beginning of “One Tree Hill”, you’d never expect that Brooke Davis would become something of a feminist icon. But as the series progressed, she shed her mean girl persona and came into her own. She was unapologetic for the person she was, and became a champion for women everywhere. She encouraged the people around her to believe in themselves, even against all odds (and without her mother’s support) she managed to start her own extremely successful business. We know for sure that she’s one in a million! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Lydia Martin “Teen Wolf” (2011-17) Goldi Nahir “Degrassi: Next Class” (2016-17) Sabrina Spellman “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” (2018-) Spencer Hastings “Pretty Little Liars” (2010-17) Izzy Lightwood “Shadowhunters” (2016-19)

In many ways, Buffy is the perfect feminist icon. Of course, there’s the obvious stuff. She kicks butt, and inspires us all to slay her own demons. But her character is way more complex than just being a woman who is physically powerful. In many ways, she embodies typically feminine characteristics: wanting to shop, look cute and date boys. But none of that stops her from being an absolute badass. Her characterization shows that you don’t have to ditch your femininity to be a feminist. She also has a clearly defined sense of feminism that she displays throughout the entire series.