100 Kick-Ass Female Characters: #71
71. Sharon Cherski, as seen on My So-Called Life, portrayed by Devon Odessa
I did not watch My So-Called Life when it was on television. Since it aired in 1994, I was 8-years-old and far more invested in Boy Meets World. I did not actually see MSCL until I was in junior high and one of my teachers showed us episodes. Like just about every girl, Jordan Catalano set the (dysfunctional) bar by which I judged boys, Ricky broke my heart, and I certainly felt like Angela Chase every day of my life. But even though I felt like Angela, I acted much more like Sharon.
Sharon was Angela's best friend prior to high school. She is a super achiever, active in everything, a cheerleader, and completely confused by Angela's defection to Ricky and Rayanne. Sharon tries to rekindle her friendship with Angela multiple times, and she often enlists Brian to help her with this, but Sharon is the antithesis of what Angela wants for her life. When Angela looks at Sharon, she sees someone who is bending to everyone else's will and doesn't have an opinion of her own; when Sharon looks at Angela, she sees someone who is pretending to be someone else and who is acting the way she thinks Rayanne wants her to act. But Sharon is just as insecure as Angela, just as uncertain about her life and her romantic relationships, and she needs her best friend, who has abandoned her for people who are "cooler" than she is.
What I love about Sharon is she's well aware of high school stereotypes and people's perceptions of her. She doesn't stop trying to be Angela's friend, and, even at their worst, they are still there for each other. Sharon is as lost as every other teenager on the show, but she doesn't want to wallow in her own misery. She wants to have that experience people talk about having in high school, but, at the same time, she feels woefully out of her depth. Sharon is one of those characters that doesn't get enough credit because she isn't as memorable as Angela or Jordan or Ricky; she's the straight guy, the one who shows up when you need her and likely lecture you when she does, but she's there. She's sweet and thoughtful, and, just because she isn't making grand statements and profound realizations, doesn't mean she isn't thinking about the same things. Sharon is one of the most solid characters on the show, one of the reminders of Angela's "old" life, and, in Sharon, we see a different type of strong female character.
And that's a kind of kick-ass more teenage girls need to see.
I did not watch My So-Called Life when it was on television. Since it aired in 1994, I was 8-years-old and far more invested in Boy Meets World. I did not actually see MSCL until I was in junior high and one of my teachers showed us episodes. Like just about every girl, Jordan Catalano set the (dysfunctional) bar by which I judged boys, Ricky broke my heart, and I certainly felt like Angela Chase every day of my life. But even though I felt like Angela, I acted much more like Sharon.
Sharon was Angela's best friend prior to high school. She is a super achiever, active in everything, a cheerleader, and completely confused by Angela's defection to Ricky and Rayanne. Sharon tries to rekindle her friendship with Angela multiple times, and she often enlists Brian to help her with this, but Sharon is the antithesis of what Angela wants for her life. When Angela looks at Sharon, she sees someone who is bending to everyone else's will and doesn't have an opinion of her own; when Sharon looks at Angela, she sees someone who is pretending to be someone else and who is acting the way she thinks Rayanne wants her to act. But Sharon is just as insecure as Angela, just as uncertain about her life and her romantic relationships, and she needs her best friend, who has abandoned her for people who are "cooler" than she is.
What I love about Sharon is she's well aware of high school stereotypes and people's perceptions of her. She doesn't stop trying to be Angela's friend, and, even at their worst, they are still there for each other. Sharon is as lost as every other teenager on the show, but she doesn't want to wallow in her own misery. She wants to have that experience people talk about having in high school, but, at the same time, she feels woefully out of her depth. Sharon is one of those characters that doesn't get enough credit because she isn't as memorable as Angela or Jordan or Ricky; she's the straight guy, the one who shows up when you need her and likely lecture you when she does, but she's there. She's sweet and thoughtful, and, just because she isn't making grand statements and profound realizations, doesn't mean she isn't thinking about the same things. Sharon is one of the most solid characters on the show, one of the reminders of Angela's "old" life, and, in Sharon, we see a different type of strong female character.
And that's a kind of kick-ass more teenage girls need to see.