(dittany here)
Literature and fiction are some of the few places where decent female role models can exist for women and girls, because women who live in an imaginary world can be free of quite a lot of sexism and patriarchal control. Fiction is definitely one of the places that inspired me and also helped me see that there could be another world where women could be strong and admirable and live life on their own terms. That they could be the kind of people you'd want to be yourself.
I was thinking about this because I was remembering how much I loved Captain Nancy Blackett after listening to a radio programme about Arthur Ransome and Swallows and Amazons. What could be better than being an Amazon pirate sailing in the Lake District, taking out wishy washy Swallows? She was just so exciting.
So who are your favourite feminist heroines from fiction (they don't have to be self-proclaimed feminists and fiction doesn't just have to be literature) and what do they mean to you?
(I'm giving this name back to the real Captain Nancy after this thread)