Girls who Bite Back

Book excerpt: Bombshell spies, slayers, witches and assassins: kick-ass female stars have taken over blockbuster movies like Charlie's Angels and Kill Bill as well as prime time TV hits such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed. These characters kill as quickly as they break down in tears, and beat guys up as easily as they toss them into bed. With very few exceptions, they're young, white, beautiful, straight and skinny. How are young women to respond to these images of women who fight (or bite) back? As the product of corporate media, are these icons of 'female power' merely cons? This one-of-a-kind anthology of new fiction, essays, and comics recognises the seductiveness as well as the limitations of such contemporary pop culture heroines. Contributors -- including Nalo Hopkinson, Larissa Lai, Shary Boyle, Nikki Stafford, Mariko Tamaki, Sonja Ahlers and Sherwin Tjia -- critique constructs of female power and invent alternative role models.