First, if you have not tried the Cinnabon coated biscuits at KFC, do that.  I was startled by how good they are.  Seriously.  We have an A&W/KFC in the area, and I love A&W root beer.  There was an A&W drive in in the town where my great-grandma’s cabin was, and every summer we’d go up and go there for dinner at least once (best freaking hot dogs ever), and pick up what would now be called a growler of root beer.

On-tap A&W tastes like happiness to me.

So I was jones-ing for A&W, and we thought, “Well, hell, if we’re driving all the way over there anyway, and we have to hit Costco….”  So we grabbed dinner at KFC.

Yeah, I was dubious about the biscuit thing.

Surprisingly good.

Anyway, stay on target….

So, this latest kerfuffle with the forces of outdated misogyny got me thinking about a couple of things.

1. How really sad and depressing it is that so many people, men and women, do not recognize sexual harassment for what it is and think that is a perfectly ok way to interact with women.

2. How very few Grrrrrl Power moments there really are in nerd media.

Since #2 dawned on me, I’ve been racking my brain, and can come up with a few.

1. “You have no power over me.”  Sarah – Labyrinth.  I know I’ve blathered about Labyrinth before.  If you read the original script, Jareth is even sleazier and way more blatantly sexually harassy.  But as it is you have this much older man, who is an authority figure in this world he’s brought her to, who is frighteningly attractive. (David Bowie, amiright?) He has made her jump through hoop, after hoop after hoop to try to save her brother, and in the end she realizes that it’s all just smoke and mirrors.

2. Female Starbuck even existing in the new Battlestar Galactica.  As I’ve said before, I loved the original Battlestar, however, even copious amounts of Percocet after surgery could not make it palatable to me as an adult.  And as a nerdy girl, I spent so much of my time imagining myself as an exception, the one girl that would be good enough to fly the fighters with the guys.  Seeing Katee Sackoff in that role brought tears to my eyes.

3. Wonder Woman going over the top in the trenches.  I am not going to lie, I sobbed at this scene.  This scene was everything I ever wanted from a Wonder Woman movie.  She was badass, confident, and furious at the bullshit.

4. “I am no man!” – Eowyn – Lord of the Rings Cycle. I debate including this one because I have not actually SEEN that particular movie. They’re pretty.  I read the books as a kid.  But we were broke when they came out, and yeah, I just wasn’t feeling it.  However, this is a pretty intense moment.

5. Black Panther has several.  None of them are quite of the film/big bad ending variety, but none the less.  Okoye, Nakia and Shuri all have some absolutely epic scenes in Black Panther.

6. The scene of all the female heroes coming to try to help get the gauntlet to Scott during the big battle of Endgame.  That scene, that beautifully framed scene of all of those wonderful female characters made me choke up, and saved the movie from being a complete loss for me.

Ok, that and Scott reuniting with Cassie.  That scene made me tear up so hard you guys.

7. The end of Captain Marvel, when she realizes even though she fell, and failed again and again, she always got back up, and then when Jude Law’s character tries to goad her into fighting him without powers and she punches him into a rock.  Because that “You have to prove something to me!” bullshit is every gods damn fucking argument I have with shit for brains misogynists.  Every single one.  I don’t have to prove shit to you, son.  I don’t owe you an argument, or a fair fight.  Now fuck off, adults are talking.

And the deleted scene, crushing the hand of Harassy McRapeface in the deleted scene.  Because I cannot tell you how many times I have been catcalled, “complimented,” harassed, grabbed, interrupted, obstructed, surrounded, or what have you by dudes who seem to think I owe them my fuckability and the worship of their dicks.

Seriously, guys.  That shit is not ok.  When a woman ignores you, or acknowledges your existence, then ignores you.  Fuck off, she’s not into you.

She’s not playing coy or hard to get.  She’s trying to get through her day, her commute, her errands without Grabby McFuckface trying to argue her into touching his golden ween.

If you want, head to my twitter to watch a lawyer, not only a lawyer but a law professor eviscerate the “She’s a villain, boo hoo!” crowd.

Then apparently go to my mentions for more whining about how even though this man who is an expert in the law and how it is applied has informed them that they are full of bullshit, they have to claim he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

My blocking muscles are getting quite the workout.

Also, I welcome more Grrrrl power moments from the rest of nerd media.  I may have forgotten some, and I may not have seen them, or we may just not agree.  And I’m always up for an actual honest debate.

Much to my sadness and annoyance, Black Widow never got her Grrrrl Power moment.  Nor did Gamora, really, nor Nebula, And don’t get me started on Mantis.

However, I do want to take a moment to express how powerful these moments are, and how important to teach girls that they also have value, agency, and can, in fact, tell creepy dudes to go fuck themselves.  Or, you know, ask the cranky, chubby blonde lady wearing all black and dark glasses standing at the bus stop with you to intervene.

I promise you, she’ll enjoy it. 🙂

ETA: Someone on the Patreon brought up, “No power in the ‘Verse can stop me,” from the Firefly episode “War Stories.”

And of course, General Leia Organa, I mean, come on.

If you like what you read here, or want to help fund my further exploration of grrl power moments in geek media, please consider donating using the link at the top right of the page:  Keep Us Geeking, or checking out my Patreon.  Thank you!

Also, if you’d like to see what sort of fiction I write when left to my own devices, please feel free to check out my fiction Patreon, Nothing Nice Comes Out of My Head.