Malinda Lo
Blog
Jun 30, 2011
7 Kick-ass Ladies
It’s almost the Fourth of July weekend! I have a zillion deadlines looming over my head! So how about some good old-fashioned procrastination in the guise of “writing a blog post for my blog which I’ve been neglecting”?
Back in May, I was part of the Teen Author Carnival, where I was on a panel about “Kick-Ass Females in YA.” A lot of the discussion centered on the fact that being kick-ass could, metaphorically, mean a lot of other things — you know, being a strong woman, having integrity, etc. That’s certainly true, but today I’d like to focus on, well, the deadlier side of being kick-ass. In other words, let’s get back to the heart of being kick-ass.
Here are some of my favorite kick-ass fictional ladies, in the order in which I discovered them:
Harry Crewe in The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
I’m pretty sure I read The Blue Sword when I was thirteen, which makes Harry my first favorite kick-ass lady. To this day, I think that Harry is the model I think of when I think kick-ass heroine, epic fantasy: She started off not knowing much about how to kick ass, but after being kidnapped by a sexy desert king (yes! I love this part too!), she is given a magical sword and special training in how to kick ass. One of my favorite parts of kick-assery (I believe one of the authors on the Teen Author Carnival panel coined this word) is the fact that there is often a training montage involved. I love a good training montage, and Harry gets one of the best out there.
Other things I like about Harry: She’s funny! She’s not full of herself! She doesn’t whine or complain about being kidnapped! And she doesn’t moon over her love interest, either. She does what has to be done, and she does it well. Also she gets a fancy hero name: Harimad-sol. But she’ll always be Harry to me.
Kitiara in the Dragonlance books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Kitiara is on the right. On the left is, um, a kender?
I don’t remember much at all about her except that she was thoroughly kick-ass, possibly evil, wore sexy armor and commanded armies. Also she was very good with the weapons. Sadly, I never saw Kitiara in a training montage. I also don’t recall if she was ever in any sort of romantic relationship, although I think she was pretty thoroughly sexualized in that kick ass lady = dominatrix way. I did not understand, when I was 14, why I found this so fascinating. I was kind of an innocent 14-year-old.
Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Eliza Dushku as Faith
I think her story line of coming to terms with what it meant to actually be bad was much more believable — and her character could actually be redeemed with some measure of honesty — because originally she really had no comprehension of the responsibility her power gave her. Also, I love the Boston accent.
Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica
Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck
Starbuck is a really interesting kick-ass lady because initially she was very much the male Starbuck of old, but as the series progressed and her character changed, she grew into one of the most complex portraits of a woman I’ve seen on TV. She was allowed to be physically powerful (especially when fighting Lee Adama in the boxing ring, which I loved), she was allowed to be in control of her sexiness without becoming a dominatrix, and she was allowed to have extremely tortured feeeeeelings while never going whiny. I want more female characters like her!
Katsa in Graceling by Kristin Cashore
UK cover. I know, Katsa wouldn't go sleeveless on an iceberg, but still, it's a hot cover!
Another thing I loved about Katsa? At one point in the book she cuts off her super long hair. This just seemed so right to me. I’ve always thought it ridiculous that many kick-ass ladies in fiction have long, flowing hair. I mean, if you’re going to be running around with weapons and fighting people (who could presumably grab your hair), why would you have long hair that gets in the way? It was just so right and so realistic for Katsa to do that.
Loup Garou in Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know that I just about freaked out from pure joy when I read this novel earlier this year. Yeah, I have a fairly embarrassing crush on this book, and a lot of it is because of Loup, the main character, who is a genetically modified human being who feels no fear. Literally, she has been modified to feel no fear. Now, the actual definition of “brave” and “courage” is to be fearless, but that is not why Loup is so awesome. Even though she feels no fear, she still has feelings; she can still be hurt and she can still love people.
The thing is, the fact that she’s fearless means that when she falls in love with another girl, she’s not afraid of it. I thought that was one of the most amazing things about this book: pointing out that homophobia is pretty much always about fear.
Also, you know how I love training montages? There are SO MANY! Loup becomes a boxer, which is not something I actually watch in reality, but in fiction? Very very hot. I can’t wait for the sequel!
Val in Valiant by Holly Black
I know that Valiant was published a while ago, but I only read it this past spring. It was one of those books I read while thinking: Wow, this is a book I’m going to love for a long time, so I’d better read it slowly.
Val is an ordinary teen girl who gets tangled up in a big, extraordinary faerie mess in New York. She runs away from home, sleeps in the subway, gets sucked into doing drugs (like, real drugs) and other things that everybody knows is really bad, and despite all that, she maintains this core heroic nature that just glows through her. I don’t know how else to say it. She’s surrounded, in this story, by grit and dirt and awful things, but Val is a true light through it all. Sure, she makes some mistakes, and she does things she should not have done, but ultimately, she becomes the valiant person that others see in her.
Also, there’s a training montage and swords! Now, if only she were blond … Maybe her friend Ruth could dye her hair?
* * *
So, there are seven of my favorite fictional kick-ass ladies. What are some of yours? Why do you love them?
Oooh ooh! For a given value of kickass, which I’m taking to mean ‘awesome’ rather than ‘warrior-like’, and off the top of my head, I choose:
- Temperance ‘Bones’ Brennan, of the TV show Bones, because she’s intelligent, flawed and awesome.
- Jane Lane, of the TV show Daria, because she’s witty as hell, confident, artistic and driven despite also being laid back.
- Jill, of Katharine Kerr’s Deverry Cycle, because she gives up a relationship with her True Love Through The Ages because being a nobleman’s wife would prevent her from studying magic, and instead goes off to be a totally kickass warrior, sage and sorceress.
- Keladry of Mindelan, of Tamora Pierce’s Protector of the Small series, because she works hard to become the first openly female knight in generations, all while standing up to bullies and caring for those less fortunate than herself.
- Arya and Sansa Stark, of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, because despite being polar opposites, they both end up coming into their agency in the face of massive opposition: one by becoming a ruthless child-warrior, the other by shrugging off victimhood to play at a noblewoman’s politics.
- Kaylee, of TV show Firefly, because she’s a both a truly kickass mechanic and a girly girl, thereby proving irrevocably that ladies can do traditionally masculine things without being totally masculine.
- Lyra Belaqua, of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, for being brave and stubborn and a quick-thinking hellion as fiercely compassionate as she is reckless.
There! All done
Kitiara was Raistlin’s half-sister, and had a relationship with with Tanis and a child with Sturm.
There’s a new collection of stories out called Kick-butt Chicks, or something like that. Might be right up your alley!
Another kick-ass lady is Annja Creed from the Rogue Angel novels.
I’d have to go with Kaylee of Firefly, as well as Zoe Washburne from the same show. Both of them have what it takes.
Like you, I loved Katsa. Everything about her felt right.
But I don’t tend to read a lot of fantasy, so my version of kick-ass is a bit different. To me, Goth Girl in Goth Girl Rising is about as kick-ass as it gets in the real world, aka contemporary fiction.
Yay! I love Lyra, too.
Awesome. I knew someone would know Kitiara’s dalliances!
Lots of Firefly love on Twitter, too. I loved that show (a lot!) but for some reason none of the characters fully got their claws into me, even though I liked them all individually and as an ensemble.
If you haven’t already, I definitely recommend reading Tamora Pierce’s books – I especially love the way her most famous heroine, Alanna, moves between masculine and feminine personnas and finds a balance between them. When I was a young adult Robin McKinley and Tamora Pierce’s books were the touchstones on which I built the image of who I wanted to be. A strong woman, a woman who could take care of herself, a woman who did what she wanted and what she knew was right – and a woman who had compassion and wasn’t afraid to love. My role models weren’t good in real life, and I shudder to think how I might have turned out without Tamora Pierce and Robin McKinley.
Argh, so many kick-ass ladies I love!
I have to second (third?) Zoe from Firefly, and Sin from the Demon’s Lexicon Series, Holly Short from the Artemis Fowl books (for indoctrinating me in the ways of the kick-ass lady from a young age), Eve from the Women of the Otherworld books (I also love Elena and Paige, but Eve is my favourite for being hilarious and badly behaved), and Zephyr Hollis from Moonshine for being kick-ass and a bleeding heart liberal who just cares so so much about everything! I also love Fire (from, um, Fire) even more than Katsa because she is super interesting and we get to look at lots of really interesting issues through her, even though she is less literally/physically kickass than Katsa (but very handy with a bow!).
Starbuck would top my list though
I share your love for the boxing episode which was strangely romantic and never had any element of ‘but you can’t hit a girl!’ because tbh she is probably stronger than him, and definitely gets in more practice at punching people!
1. Alanna!!!!!! I know this is where you and I diverge when it comes to book crushes, but she was my very first kickass lady. Like Starbuck, she is very masculine, but not without her physical shortcomings. Being female, she’s smaller and slighter than the other knights, but she makes up for it by being swifter, more resourceful, and just more stubborn. I also loved that Pierce treated Alanna’s sexuality as a matter of fact thing, that she could have sex without marriage, and that her decisions to have lovers didn’t come with internal baggage (there are some external ramifications, but Alanna forges her own path).
2. STARBUCK. <3 <3 <3 <3!!!!!!
3. Lyra Silvertongue, of course.
4. Phedre no Delaunay. The heroine of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel books is a kickass lady…who is kickass in a distinctly feminine way. She's a courtesan (a sexually masochistic and bisexual one)…and a spy. She never wields a sword or fights people, but she can bring down empires with her intelligence and femininity. Also, Melisande Shahrizai, the hottest woman ever. She's the series antagonist, and ostensibly a villain, but she's much more complex than that, and the bond of lust, desire, and mutual respect that lies between her and Phedre span her trilogy and move worlds. (Jacqueline Carey writes female relationships better than almost anyone I've read, to the point where I feel kind of annoyed when heterosexual romances crop up.)
5. Mariel "Storm" Gullwhacker. Okay, so she's an anthropomorphic mouse, but I loved her as a kid. In all of Brian Jacques' Redwall books, there's some sort of medieval war story going on, and all the major "warriors" were male. Usually. There are incidental female warriors in difference species throughout the series, but Mariel was the first female to be given prominence. She even starred in two books, whereas most of the other protagonists were limited to one.
6. Sally Lockhart. Another Philip Pullman heroine (Philip Pullman writes some pretty awesome ladies, actually). She's a Victorian lady with gumption and smarts. She opens up a detective agency, and becomes a financial adviser. She also solves crimes!
7. Eon(a) from Alison Goodman's EON and EONA. I'm apparently a sucker for cross-dressing girls.
So many people love Alanna! I have read those books but I think I came to them too late (I was too old) and they just didn’t connect with me. But she is a great character!
I’m a big fan of Fire, too. And yes, that boxing episode in BSG was oddly romantic, wasn’t it? I think it’s one of my favorites.
It’s OK, I’ll forgive you for putting Starbuck at No. 2.
Any love here for the Sally Watson books? Many a kick-ass heroine in these historical YA novels! I devoured them as a kid but they went out of print for a long time. They’re back now, with limited availability, including my absolute favorite, Jade. Jade is the daughter of a wealthy family in 18th c. Williamsburg, VA. Her parents want her to be a proper lady; Jade sneaks out so she can learn to fence. When her parents give her a slave girl for her 16th birthday, Jade promptly frees her. Her bad behavior gets her shipped off to stay with relatives on their island plantation – along with her recaptured slave, Domino. When their ship is boarded by pirates – captained by none other than Anne Bonney – Jade and Domino find their calling. This book had a huge influence on me as a kid. Sally Watson is in her 80s and still writing kick-ass girls in historical contexts!
Emma Peel
Xena
1. Molly Millions – William Gibson’s kick-ass female character introduced in the short story “Johnny Mnemonic” and a main character in his first novel “Neuromancer”.
2. I second Jacqueline Carey’s Phedre no Delauney as an amazing kick-ass female character. Brains and beauty in a distinctly feminine package!
3. Kaylee, Zoe, and Inara from Firefly. All three are kick-ass for different reasons.
4. Trinity from The Matrix. For obvious reasons. “I think we can handle *one* little girl.”
“No, lieutenant, your men are already dead.”
Absolutely Emma Peel. She might be the kick-assingest of them all. She certainly was the original.
I think that all of the women from Firefly deserve to mentioned, even River, who despite being crazy on occasion knew how to take care of things when they needed done.
“Just keep on walkin’ preacher man.”
This post is awesome! Some more kick-ass girls that are my personal favorites are Scarlett and Rosie from Jackson Pearce’s Sisters Red, Mae and Sin from Sarah Rees Brennan’s The Demon’s Lexicon trilogy, and Sophie from Rachel Hawkin’s Hex Hall. Still trying to finish books for school so I can start Huntress! So hard. I’m very excited for your new sci-fi novel! Margaret Stohl just sold a YA sci-fi book, too!
Also, a totally unrelated question: What typeface do you write in?
Mundie Moms got my copy of Huntress signed, but I hope I can see you in person some day!
Unless you’re a big anime fan, you probably won’t know Honoka from The Third. I can say with utmost confidence that she’s the best female character in anime, and probably one of the best female ficitonal characters. She’s smart, brave, tenacious, and caring. She’s wicked awesome with her katana, yet only uses violence as a last resort. At only 17, however, she has her immature side, and can be sarcastic and prejudiced to people she doesn’t like, even when they mean her well. She has many layers as the show progresses, showing that she’s not all-powerful, and that she is physicallt, emotionally, and mentally vulnerable. Plus, she has a great design! I love her masculine clothing and short hair.
Xena is THE kick-ass heroine.
And I love that Gabrielle gets to be the sidekick and not the damsel in distress who has to be rescued all the time. Though I still wish that they’d let Xena and Gabrielle actually kiss.
Yeah and Gabrielle’s character arc is so wonderful over the whole six years. When I watch the first season I’m like, “How did I get into this, the blonde is so annoying!” But then she becomes this badass warrior, it’s so well done.
Oh and yes, kissing would have been nice! But all the under-the-table lesbianism was still fun.
I’m going to have to second that motion for Zoe (though Kaylee runs a close second)
Same reason I heartily endorse your nomination of Starbuck, Malinda.
women who can rock in space without going the skimpy Princess-Leia-on-Jabba-the-Hut’s lap route? oh, yea!
Alanna from Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series was my idol for most of my youth. For about 3 years in a row I made a costume to be her for Halloween.
Kel from The Protector of the Small series(montages!!)-Tamora Pierce
Dulcie from Going Bovine-Libba Bray
Astrid from Suburban Glamour(AWESOME graphic novel- [sub]urban fantasy)-Jamie Mckelvie
Attolia and Eddis from The Thief and subsequent books(they run countries-really well)-Megan Whalen Turner
Paksenarrion in the Elizabeth Moon Novels
I just read Santa Olivia almost entirely in one sitting. Holy wow that book was awesome. And yeah, Loup is pretty much as kick-ass as they come. Thanks for writing about it – I never would have found it otherwise! I can’t wait for the sequel! In the meantime though, I’m going to give Graceling a try. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed : ).
Glad you enjoyed Santa Olivia! One of my favorites! Hope you enjoy Graceling, too.