These Are The Most Feminist '90s Heroines

She was everything: older than the average woman portrayed on television, and showing that non-size zero women could be protagonists, too — laying the foundation for the body positivity movement. The choice to focus an entire show on an ordinary American mother suggested that domestic life was of interest to viewers.

Sure, she did pave the way for that most problematic of female characters, the Strong Woman. But in Season 7, Buffy has to fight a monster who is literally an enemy of all women. Sure, the series wasn't exactly subtle in positioning Buffy as a feminist, but it made sense. Women's rights had always been at the heart of this show.

Kat is based on one of the most classic feminist characters of literary history, Katherina Minola from Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew. So, it's not exactly surprising that her modern day equivalent is self-aware, good at boundary-setting, and doesn't just do what everyone else does to try and fit in.

Originally created for Beavis and Butthead, Daria went on to get her own show. Paired with a best friend who was just as smart and analytical about the world, Jane Lane, Daria provided a brave new vision of how to be a woman; you didn't have to be a perky, chirpy, "you go girl" to be a good feminist. You could be melancholic and critical about the state of the world, too. She made being completely yourself look like the coolest thing in the world.

Lisa was amazing because, as the above shows, she wasn't just the mouthpiece for feminism in the series, but she also illustrated how not to be a feminist: knee jerk outrage without knowing all the facts, using feminism to pick a fight because you're in a scratchy mood rather than because you genuinely feel passionately about that issue. If you think it's important for a movement to check itself, then you should watch some '90s episodes of The Simpsons.

She was Nickelodeon's first female protagonist, she was so tech-savvy that she could program her own computer games, she was a teen girl on TV who didn't spend all her time structuring her entire life over a boy, and she was smart and eloquent.

You might not have had Rachel pegged as a feminist icon, but think about it. The once spoiled princess actively chose to be a single mother, declining marriage proposals from both Ross and Joey, and her entire character arc saw her go from sheltered daddy's girl to career woman.

Mother and wife Patty was also the main breadwinner in the Chase family — heck, at the beginning of the series, she even employs her own husband. #Goals

God, she was cool. She gave zero f*cks about vocalising what was terrible about the patriarchy with far more confidence than any teen girl I knew had. Remember when she confronted Q about that heinous list ranking the women at her school? Or when she quit her job at the clothing store because her boss was pushing her boundaries?

Aspiring filmmaker Lelaina prioritises her art over her love life. When her dirtbag TV executive boyfriend lets the TV network he works for re-edit her documentary so it no longer resembles her original work, she calls it quits on their relationship. She doesn't allow him to make her second guess her own work, which, given that he has more experience in television, feels important.

Long before Mad Max's remake popularised rebellious females in dystopias, there was Rebecca Buck, aka Tank Girl. A commune member who is kidnapped, enslaved, and tortured, and whose boyfriend is murdered, she never stops fighting for her freedom while constantly dropping killer patriarchy-baiting one-liners.

She was happily sexual and unashamed of it, despite having a staunchly virginal best friend. She was a black teen in a white majority high school who still ruled the popular crowd. She was careful and attentive about language, telling her boyfriend “Murray, I have asked you repeatedly not to call me ‘woman!’” She was Dionne, and a role model in so many ways.

In a world that expects women to be like Bubbles — cute, friendly, smiley — Buttercup was a breath of fresh air. She didn't try to be likable. She could be that thing that women aren't supposed to be: a little bit aggressive. She could be moody. She didn't care; she was always herself.

Whatever you think of Lean In feminism, you've got to concede that female entrepreneurs are badass. Especially if you're a black female entrepreneur in the '90s in a white-dominated field like independent publishing. So let's all bow down to Khadijah, the founder, publisher, and editor of her own magazine, Flava.

One of the most important feminist movies of all time, it focuses on a pair of women — one of whom has an abusive husband — and shows how they break free and reclaim power from the men around them.

Angela Moore was so much more than Shawn's long term girlfriend. She had confidence, a whole bucket of self-belief, and was analytical and levelheaded when approaching problems. In a period of your life when you're drowning in hormones and falling head over heels for anyone half-way attractive, Angela's measured approach to her sometimes-difficult relationship with Shawn, choosing to take breaks and stay friends at times, felt refreshing.

Long before the push to get more women working in STEM, there was Dana Scully. She was both a doctor and a FBI agent, who had no problem in calling out the judgement of her male colleague. She was educated and objective, and she did great under stress. Basically, she was everything any clued-in teen wanted to be when they grew up.

So no, loving the '90s doesn't have to be about nostalgia. Because, when it came to gender politics in pop culture, the '90s wasn't always retro. Sometimes it went so far as to predict your present.