Marie Lyn Bernard
Who She Is: She goes by the name Riese, and she is the co-founder and CEO of the popular website Autostraddle, a website made for and by queer women. Riese is also a freelance journalist, whose work has been featured in 9 books, and you can also find her on her personal blog, This Girl Called Automatic Win. (http://marielynbernard.blogspot.com/)
Why She’s a Heroine: Autostraddle has become an amazing resource for the feminist and queer community. They publish daily news articles, opinions, they throw meetups, and host fundraisers. Riese also created A-Camp (http://a-camp.org/), which is a week long summer camp for all ages. At A-Camp you can expect to attend seminars, learn “nerdcraft”, maybe attend “Swagger 101”, make zines, laugh at improv, and most importantly meet other members of the queer community.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Who She Is: Adichie is a 36-year old Nigerian novelist, who recently won the National Book Critics Award for her book Americanah.
Why She’s a Heroine: Adichie is Beyoncé approved. And by that I mean she quoted Adichie Ted Talk in her song “Flawless”, bringing academic discussions of feminism to a pop music audience. Pretty cool, huh? Her novels touch on issues of race, gender, immigration, and she stresses the importance and need for cultural voices. She’s showing young women that feminism is important and is accessible to everyone.
Tavi Gevinson
Who She Is: Tavi started blogging at age 12 with her blog Style Rookie, and from there founded and became editor-in-chief of the online Rookie Magazine. Rookie is primarily directed toward a teenage audience, and discusses issues of feminism, racism, and sexuality, as well as pop culture.
Why She’s a Heroine: Tavi is incredibly inspirational for young women because she encourages them speak their mind and proves that their dreams are accessible.
Jessica Bennett
Who She Is: Bennett was the executive editor of Tumblr, the former senior editor at Newsweek and currently works for Lean In, an organization that is committed to inspiring women and helping them achieve their goals. She writes stories on women, culture, social issues, and trends and has been honored by GLAAD, Society for Professional Journalists, and many other groups.
Why She’s a Heroine: Most recently Bennett worked with Getty to create a collection of “Feminist Stock Photos” in response the stereotypes of women portrayed in many stock photos—See “Women Laughing Alone with Salad”.
Dessa
Who She Is: : Dessa (born Margret Wander) is a female rapper and spoken-word poet from Minneapolis. She is the only female on Doomtree, a hip-hop collective that consists of primarily white members.
Why She’s a Heroine: She is a successful female rapper, which is a group (demographic?) that doesn’t get much recognition. Her lyrics address societal issues such as domestic violence, but she also raps about love and the importance of family and friends.
