Tatiana Maslany Gives Us A New Feminist Mantra

There has been a surge of fantastic female characters on television, and leading the pack is Orphan Black 's Tatiana Maslany, who plays half a dozen of them on a daily basis for the hit BBC America show. Although none of the clones are superheroes, they have strength in different ways, and all of them crush female stereotypes with a fearless attitude as they search for answers about who they are.

On the cover of Adweek' s Women Issue, Maslany talked about what makes having a core group of women at the center of the show so important — including the fact that in most cases, a program like this would have a male lead instead. When it comes to breaking through stereotypes, she says it's about defying gender entirely.

"The characters all have a complexity to them, an unapologetic individuality. They're not physically superhuman and emotionless and without flaws. Having a strong female character doesn't mean she's beyond suffering and fragility. There's a fearlessness. That to me is strong writing for women. It defies gender."

As for if the show itself is an entirely feminist piece, Maslany notes that it is, but it didn't start out that way.

"I think so, though I don't think that was the motive from the start. It was intended to be this exploration of nature/nurture, and a lead role like that may not normally go to a woman. Women aren't often the default in movies, TV, media — there's often very limited space for them. But it's exciting to mine these stories and see a show that puts women at the center of it."

Moving forward, even though there will be male clones in Season 3, she says fans shouldn't worry about men taking over the entire show. Through and through, everything centers around Sarah, Alison, Cosima, Rachel, Helena, and all of the other badass female clones. "The show is definitely done from a woman's perspective, and that's something we defend. That will continue," Maslany promised, but she does note that they're "expanding the world" this season. I'm happy to live in any world that Maslany is leading.

Images: Adweek.com