1. Mildred from 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. First of all, her look - those overalls and that scarf on her head that makes her look like a gang member. She looks more like a factory worker than some shop clerk. She's rude, straightforward and incredibly foul-mouthed. The only make-up she has is film make-up that every actor has to have on a movie. She's definitely not your everyday loving mother - she clearly loves her kids, but is not portrayed as some paragon of motherhood. Like male characters of her kind, she's afforded sympathy, though you might not condone her actions.
2. Dee from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She is the funniest woman on TV we've ever seen. She is just as gross, vile and awful as the rest of the gang. Sometimes, even more so. A lot of the credit goes to the actor, who clearly has developed Dee's character into something awesome. She was pretty much given free reign to come up with crazy shit for her character. Dee is no beacon of virtue or the straight shooter or the nagger that the female characters in these kinds of shows are often relegated to. The best about her is that she pretends to have all this feminine charm, but knows that she possesses none of it.
3. Major General Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist. She is here because we couldn't have Èowyn or Kushana on this list as they were intended. This would be a natural male character - a badass soldier, utterly loyal to her troops and completely ruthless. She will mow down anyone who gets in her way. She commands the absolute loyalty and trust of her men. She is also cold as a fucking stone and incredibly ambitious. Is it any wonder that she was our favourite character from the entire show? (Maybe we should write about our shameful anime past at some point...)
4. Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind. The best thing about this mess of a story (which we still like) is Scarlett and her cold, selfish heart. We've talked about her on a previous list so we don't feel the need to expand her character here much more. The reason we consider her to be so unfeminine is because she is so calculating and uncaring. She can kill a guy in cold-blood without batting an eye. These qualities would make Scarlett in any other story a femme fatale. Instead as the female lead she's portrayed as a very sympathetic person, warts and all.
5. Stella Gibson from The Fall. Okay, she's definitely someone one would not normally see as a lead in a series (not to mention making her a female character). She's very absorbed by her work, is in charge of the investigation, and is interestingly quite openly sexual character (many would call her a slut probably, but would you if it was a guy who acted the exact same way?) without the show either condemning her or revelling in the sexual imagery. Her appearance is quite feminine, which can be said about many of the women on this list, but her personality and characteristics depart very much from perceived "womanly behaviour".
6. Meryl from Trigun. Her appearance is deceiving. She has quite a lot in common with Leia - they both are naturally very reserved people when it comes to emotions or feelings, but have no problems voicing their opinion. If there is the opposite of irrational, then Meryl is that. She will think things through before acting and never does anything on a whim. She is also a complete workaholic. Men are often portrayed as driven when they're shown as workaholics whereas women who are workaholics or career-driven are often villainous (Fatal Attraction, anyone?) Meryl is incredibly sympathetic and one of the few female characters we've seen who manages to break some of these feminine stereotypes, yet remains kind and unselfish.
7. LaVona from I, Tonya. This is our only character who is in any way based on reality. But she was just so outrageously horrible a mother that we had to take her. She's the closest we have for someone who is cruel. Out of all on this list, she is the one you would probably have the least any kind of warm feelings for. She isn't really portrayed in a sympathetic light either, so that could count for the utter hideousness of her character. We greatly enjoyed it, though. It is rare to see a woman who just revels in her horribleness and who thinks her being an awful person is totally fine and justified.
8. Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road. All that engine oil on her face (and the metal arm) placed her here. She's a great sharpshooter as well, and unlike a lot of female characters in action movies she gets just as dirty, bloody and wounded as the dudes while fighting (at points even more so). She really rocks that buzzcut too.
9. Lady Eboshi from Princess Mononoke. You knew it, at least one Miyazaki had to make it here. She's pretty awesome. Calm, collected and capable. Even the fucking emperor comes to beg for her aid. She keeps a cool head in any kind of confrontation and things rarely slip out of her control. Her being a leader of the town's men and actually going to war with them is impressive in its own right. Women don't go to war - that's men's turf.
10. Selena from 28 Days Later. Another one we've had on a previous list (the same we had Scarlett on, so check that one out). Her only thought in the beginning of the movie is survival, which makes her uncaring and ruthless. She has a great character arc though - realizing that there is more to life than pure survivalism and that caring about other people is not a weakness.
11. Jordan from Scrubs. This woman is thoroughly cold and selfish. It's great. She (and her not-husband) is by far the best thing about this show. She avoids any kind of emotional vulnerability or listening to anyone else's feelings. Otherwise she uses the traditionally seen "feminine viles" to get what she wants, but her being emotionally stunted is commonly noted as a masculine trait. (Here we took a pic with text, because the text describes her pretty perfectly).
12. Kate from East of Eden. She was on our mothers - list, but why she's here, is because she didn't wanna be a mother in the first place. She also abandoned her kids and that's a big no no, especially for a female character. She isn't particularly sympathetic but it is possible to understand her, even if the film doesn't show her in a good light.
