When I was in second grade, I distinctly remember religiously watching my favorite series every week. It aired on Disney Channel and it was called "So Weird." This series chronicled the adventures of Fiona Phillips, her family, and the members of her mother's band as they traveled the country in her mother's band's tour bus. At each stop around the country, Fiona would encounter some weird, supernatural force that needed to be defeated in some way.
Aside from being just a generally good show, "So Weird" gets a thumbs up from me regarding how it portrayed women. Fiona (also known as "Fi" by her friends and family) is a brave girl who is unafraid of getting dirty and doing whatever it takes to conquer evil spirits. This show came out around the year 2000, when technology was becoming popular, and so Fi consistently shows that she can master that as well. In almost every single episode, Fi is on her laptop, researching the latest supernatural phenomenon. In one episode, she even uses technology to conquer an evil spirit! I love how "So Weird" portrayed Fiona as being smart and tech-savvy, rather than obsessed with makeup and uninterested in anything requiring thinking. In fact, while Fiona definitely looks attractive, she does not wear much makeup and does not wear the latest, most stylish clothes. (Actually, I only remember one episode where Fi was shown putting on nail polish.) The show focused much more on Fiona's intrinsic qualities: her determination and bravery in fighting off evil forces, than it did on her ability to look good while doing it.
Some television shows who show girls doing anything brave feel they must portray the female character as being "one of the guys." This character will dress in "guy clothes" and only do activities with other guys. ("Brink!" is a television movie that comes to mind.) When shows do this, they tell their female viewers that feminine traits are worthless, and male traits are the only "true" or "correct" ones that should be valued. With "So Weird," Fiona was able to retain feminine qualities and still engage in all the activities she did. Fiona constantly chatted with her female friend from back home, she showed motherly affection to a girl who had been bitten by a werewolf, relished any "girl bonding" time she could find with her mother, and in the episode I posted for you above, selflessly saved another girl's life by donating her own bone marrow.
All in all, I really liked "So Weird" and am sorry to see that there are very few shows for kids like that which exist today. This show definitely trumps "Pretty Little Liars" in the way it portrays women. While "Liars" intimated that a woman's beauty is most important, "So Weird" claimed that it is a woman's character that counts the most.
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