Let's get one major thing straight to start off with: I am a female-oriented feminist. If you're wondering what that means and how it will apply to the rest of this article, I will explain the way that I define it now. I know a lot of people in real life for whom feminism means putting men in their place and letting women come out on top. They say that this is the way the world should be because we have been oppressed as long as the world has existed. This is male-oriented feminism and you see it a lot in chick flicks, romance novels and, heaven help us, Lifetime Television for Women. (In movies and TV, men are always turned on by this in the end, too, because what would feminism be if it weren't just a little bit sexy?) The way that I see it, female-oriented feminism means that I only believe men should be put in their place insofar as their role in society is respected. I believe that I have equal value in the roles that I am able to fill as a woman. I believe that an ideal society respects both genders on an equal level. And while I'm a misanthrope, I'm not a misandrist--I have days where I loathe mankind as a misanthrope, but I don't hate men. So. Now that the explanation is out of the way, welcome to this article. I'm sure that all of us can think of women in film and TV who kick undeniable butt. We're here to celebrate them in the spirit of the fact that women ARE awesome. You can also argue that many if not all of these women can be respected from a male-oriented feminist point-of-view, but I'm approaching it from my version of feminism. As usual, this sort of article is up to interpretation. I'm sure you have your own lists of cool female characters. I'm sure many of you are male-oriented feminists and that works for you. I'm sure I will hear from a couple of misogynists. This is my set of humble opinions and take it or leave it as you will.