My Top Ten Badass Women

"Women would rule the world if only they'd stop bitching about each other!" - Chris Rock

While the majority of my heroes are male, I have to say in my experience women always come out the more powerful. I mean they're the ones that keep us in line and coordinate our thoughts so that we may do the right thing. You don't think so but they do. That's how powerful they are. Women are fierce and mighty, even the Greeks thought so (Aphrodite anyone). Oh yeah, not to be a jerk, but let's not forget that they are beautiful. Seriously only one of absolute discipline can see past a woman's beauty and charm. Men have the balls indeed, but women have them in their clutches. In my time I've found several strong women to look up to. These can be real or fictional...Mostly fictional. And remember this is just based on my opinions and are in order based on how well these girls impacted me in my life. So here are my top ten badass women.

10. Scarlet O'Hara from Gone With the Wind

"As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!"

Yes the staple of a female overcoming harsh times. And I mean HARSH. Scarlett was a rich southern belle who fell into decay along with her family during the Civil War. Obviously the South lost, but Scarlett of all people was left to make due. She brought her home back from disrepair and even managed to kill herself a possibly dangerous intruder. Despite her shortcomings, Scarlett never let herself fall down. You might be thinking "why is she at the top? Wouldn't you rate her higher?" No I wouldn't, because, even though she was brave and strong, SCARLETT O'HARA PISSED ME OFF! I mean my God, there has never been a character I've wanted to sucker punch more throughout a movie! I mean she was selfish and cruel and inconsiderate and just a whiney fucking bitch. She longs to be with some guy because...Well just because, but he loves someone else. This someone else is the sweetest person in the world who up until the day she dies thinks of Scarlett as her cherished best friend. But Scarlett more or less hated this person because her crush loved her. Also probably the one guy in the world who accepted her flaws, Rhet Butler, a hero in every sense of the word fell in love with her and stuck with her for God knows what reason but finally comes to his senses the same time she does. Unfortunately he "doesn't give a damn" anymore and leaves her behind at the moment she realizes she loves him. You'd think this would be too late for her but I guess a theme of the story is that it is never too late. So even though I pretty much despised Scarlett O'Hara personality-wise, I give her number ten for her fire and triumphant soul.

9. Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction

"That's when you know you've found somebody really special, when you can just shut the fuck up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence."

Without really even trying, Mia is just cool. She talks cool, looks cool, and acts cool. She's a hip disco girl who just so happens to be married to a big time gangster. This is probably the party girl from college who was a little too much for people. Not because she is zany or weird but because she is fearless. Fearless people are dangerous by nature. Of course she does get more than she bargained for in the end. One thing's for sure, a night with her will not be uninteresting at all. It will involve night club dancing, five dollar milkshakes, cocaine, deep conversations and syringes full of adrenaline (sounds almost like a night with Hunter S. Thompson, but toned down). So here we have Mia Wallace who is just naturally badass.

8. Any character played by Faye Dunaway

"I don't get tough with anyone, Mr. Gittes. My lawyer does."

No I have not seen all of Faye Dunaway's movies, but in all the ones I have seen she is always a powerful figure. Be it her enigmatic leading role in Chinatown, or her portrayal of American outlaw Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde, or even as the cold calculating TV exec in Network. She's always a beast. I am somewhat biased due to the fact that I find Faye Dunaway to be one of the most attractive women to be in movies. It's a sort of classical beauty that was bred for femme fatale roles. She could've played Catwoman or a James Bond girl. The same can be said for Jennifer Lopez, Jodie Foster or Julia Roberts. One way or another, Faye kicks ass.

7. Leia Organa Skywalker Solo from Star Wars

"Listen I don't know who you are or where you came from, but from now on you do as I tell you. Okay?"

One of my first memories of a powerful woman warrior. What better world for this than Star Wars. This is the classic kind of fictional princess, she's not only a politician but a rebel enforcer against the Empire. One of the first things she does is kill stormtroopers...And get captured. Anyway Leia is always a headstrong, take charge, born leader who handles herself just as well in the battlefield as she does in the senate. Sure she does have the average problems like falling for mercenaries, being the daughter of her arch enemy and going Angelina Jolie on her long lost brother but we can forgive that. Fact of the matter is that Leia is a badass.

6. Eleanor Roosevelt

"A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she put into hot water."

If ever there was a woman behind a man it was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Social activist, political speaker, and former sorority girl, Eleanor was the neice of former president Theodore and wife of Franklin, probably my favorite president. She was a huge supporter of Franklin's New Deal plan and later a delegate for the United Nations at Harry Truman's behest. Though she was better known for her charm, her popular relationship with the people and her principles. She stood by her physically feeble husband up until his final days when he preferred the company of friend and former mistress Lucy Mercer...Douche. Eleanor Roosevelt is certainly one of the most popular First Ladies and one of the most popular American women, making her a superb addition to this list.

5. Susan B. Anthony

"The true woman will not be exponent of another, or allow another to be such for her. She will be her own individual self. Stand or fall by her own individual strength. She will proclaim the "glad tidings of good news" to all women, that woman equally with man was made for her own individual happiness, to develop every talent given to her by god in the great work of life."

Oh yeah, the original woman warrior. Susan B. Anthony is known for fighting for equal rights of others her whole life. No family, just a life long battle for freedoms of the white man for every man and woman. Unfortunately she never lived to see her dream come to fruition. Her cause was one of the most noble and it all culminated in a new Amendment being written into the Constitution allowing women to vote in the 1920s. Susan spent her life fighting for something with such conviction and she won. Susan B. Anthony is on this list for the fact that she put the balls in the hands of women.

4. Rosa Parks

"Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that held it's ground."

I find that sometimes the most important thing you can say is "no". Rosa Parks said this when she sat in the wrong place on the bus home from work. She was a black woman sitting in a white man's seat, she was told to move and didnt and she was arrested. This sole act set off a chain reaction of civil rights leaders and marches and protests and Aryan anarchy. What I loved was how strong she was and at the same time how humble. All she ever said was that she was just trying to go home and apparently someone had a problem with that. Rosa Parks was scared like any black woman was scared in her time. She lived in a time of Klan killings and discrimination all around. The fact that she, not standing it any longer, defied the status quo was completely badass. It makes her an American rebel.

3. Sarah Conner from The Terminator Series

"The future, always so clear to me, had become like a black highway at night. We were in uncharted territory now. Making up history as we went along."

Another early representation of a strong women. Sarah is an ordinary woman drafted into the world's most important destiny: she is the mother of the future leader of humanity. After falling for and bearing the child of a soldier from the 2020s, Sarah is forced to drop her sweet and good natured personality to become strong and experienced for her son, so that he may learn from her and become the messaiah he was born to be. Things aren't at all easy as cyborg assassins from the future called Terminators drop in every so often to kill her and her son. Nowadays most people might think of John Conner more than Sarah for reasons obviously related to the whole Christ figure status. But in my mind Sarah Conner was always the true hero of these movies. Nothing's more powerful than a mother protecting her child. Though it is a shame that the sweet as can be woman we are first introduced to is turned into an unstable, cynical soldier of the world. Still Sarah Conner has much depth and strength and more than deserved a spot on my list. The kind of mom a son might wanna, or have to, be like.

2. Erin Brockovich

"Look I don't know shit about shit but I do know right from wrong."

If people didn't know about Erin Brockovich after her triumphs, than they certainly did after her Julia Roberts film portrayal. Who'd a thought a former beauty pageant winner would go on to become president of a consulting firm after a series of dead end jobs and no legal background? Not most people, but she did. With a pile of kids and bills to pay, Erin took a job as a clerk in a law firm and eventually wound investigating one Pacific Gas and Electric company that was contaminating a California town's water supply, causing several horrific results to the townspeople. Working around the clock and with great difficulty, Brockovich was able to help build a case against the company which won in court and got a settlement of $333 million. It really shows what the average American person can accomplish with enough self reliance and determination. See the movie if you can or read about Erin's story.

1. Stacy Cox a.k.a. Mom

"You have to make up your mind whether or not to feel good or bad."

Of course it is my mom. I'm sorry but she is the woman who has had the most impact on my life. Mainly because she taught me about life. She is a strong, independent thinking woman who has never been one to lie to me. Parents are more or less responsible for the shaping of a child, I think the same can be said for mine. Though she would disagree, my mother has done everything right by me. She taught me right from wrong, how to expand my imagination, and how to be caring and generous. I wouldn't be the person I am today without her. The first example of a strong woman for anybody should be a mother and mine was. She is the strongest woman I know and I love her for that. Not to get too emotional, that's the way I feel.

This has been a testosterone free top ten list from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for Reading.