This was a song from way back, from the show and movie La Cage Aux Folles. I had a gym instructor who played it a lot so I remember it more than I otherwise would. And it's about gay men. Which is not the topic today.


But the point is, the phrase epitomizes my kind of heroine. I love the kind who says: here I am, this is how I behave, and now I'm going to have some adventures. Think of Lulu in the Evanovich books. She loves her fast food, her tight clothes, and herself. No one is going to change Lulu, no matter how much she doesn't fit into a socially acceptable mold. I love that attitude.

Another such heroine is Pippi Longstocking. Pippi never changes. More importantly, she has no desire to change. She's the same person at the beginning of the series as she is at the end.

It is true that neither one of these heroines is a romance heroine. But they are wonderful female characters.

Of course, most novels involve a journey of change for the protagonists. So it's quite common to see the heroine start out as one type and yearn to be another type. Many wonderful books have been written with this type of character arc- a journey of self-discovery. Though I would argue that usually the heroine reverts at the end to some form of the person she was at the beginning. People don't usually change too much no matter what happens to them.

I wonder if Buffy the Vampire Slayer is such a heroine? I've never actually seen the movie (shhhh). Or is it a TV show? Well, I imagine her to be such a heroine so I'd probably like her.

I'm wracking my brain to come up with another well-known heroine with such a supremely self-confident acceptance of herself. Any ideas?