In need of a good pep talk? Well you’re in luck. In celebration of International Women’s Day, here’s five rousing speeches given by five badass TV characters, who also happen to be women. Whether you want to be your own hero or empower your fellow females – in the workplace or in a fight to save the world, there’s a little something for everyone. Go get ‘em!
So here’s the part where you make a choice. What if you could have that power, now? In every generation, one Slayer is born, because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power, should be *our* power. Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of this scythe to change our destiny. From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power. Can stand up, will stand up. Slayers, every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?”
Buffy Summers – Buffy the Vampire Slayer “Chosen” (7×22)
I don’t need a speech from you today. I don’t need a speech from you, or my father, or my brother, or my agent. I don’t need some billionaire taking me all around the world as if I got nothing else to do. He can watch me train in Arizona if he wants to. I don’t need a man to rescue me. I’m the one on the mound right now. Me. I throw the ball. I give the speeches. And I decide if you and I are going to talk about what happened the other night, not you. And I decided we’re not by the way because we’re teammates. And as long as we’re teammates that’s how we’re going to be. So go back to home plate, put down the sign, and let me finish my no hitter.”
Ginny Baker – Pitch “Don’t Say It” (1×10)
Now, in each and every one of you, there is a light, a spirit that cannot be snuffed out. That won’t give up. I need your help again. I need you to hope. Hope that you will remember that you can all be heroes. Hope that when faced with an enemy determined to destroy your spirit, you will fight back and thrive. Hope that those who once may have shunned you will, in a moment of crisis, come to your aid. Hope that you will see again the faces of those you love. And perhaps even those you’ve lost.”
Supergirl – Supergirl “Better Angels” (1×20)
The idea behind this campaign was a simple one. That, with hard work and positivity, a group of people can make a difference. During my term as your City Councilor, I want to focus on your hopes, and not your fears. I want to solve problems instead of creating friction. And I will work hard, every hour of every day, to make Pawnee a better place to live. Because I love this city. And I know, firsthand, how very special the people of this city are. I owe this victory, all of it, to my friends and my supporters. No one achieves anything alone. So let’s embark on a new journey together. Let’s break out a map. Not the old, out-of-date one that shows where we’ve been, but a crisp new one that shows where we might go. Let’s embark on a new journey together. And see where it takes us.”
Leslie Knope – Parks and Recreation “Win, Lose, or Draw” (4×22)
I wanted to thank you guys for coming out tonight. “You guys.” See what we’re up against? When I graduated from Berkeley in ’75 with a degree in computer science, nobody batted an eye. That’s probably because back then, coders were like secretaries and engineers, meaning little solder soldiers on the assembly lines, were kind of invisible. And we’re used to that.
But somewhere along the line, these jobs became important. And don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to hang out with “you guys” any time and eat good food, but I hope that by the time my daughters are my age that they don’t have to have gatherings like this anymore to remind themselves that they’re actually here.
I’ve been in tech for 18 years. I’ve won. And I’ve lost.
I am a woman who voted her female partner out of her own company, the company she founded. I am a woman who lost a marriage to, among other things, this line of work. I can’t sleep at night sometimes worrying if I’m seeing my kids enough or if I’ve been there enough for them or if it’s already too late.
But…I’ve done things. That always comes with a price, but I did them.
One of the many things I’ve learned is that no matter what you do, somebody is around the next corner with a better version of it, and if that person is a man, it might not even be better. It just might get more attention. And sometimes, that person is you.
The you that’s never satisfied with what you just did because you’re obsessed with whatever is next. The one constant is this. It’s you, it’s us. The project gets us to the people. Because it’s people that got me where I am, people like Diane Gould. People like my husband and my first partner, Gordon Clark. People like my last and best partner, Cameron Howe. And for all the rest of you, I hope that tonight can be the beginning of something, something so that even if we see each other across the corporate battle lines one day, that you will know that I am rooting for you.
I can’t help but not. Because I am a partner by trade and a mother and a sister by design. I am so proud to be on this journey with you.”
Donna Clark – Halt and Catch Fire “Ten of Swords” (4×10)
