We all know how empowering it can be to identify with a fictional character; we see our struggles and our achievements reflected in them, and in turn they offer hope and empathy as well as entertainment. As part of building and of celebrating our history and culture, we have an opportunity to completely indulge in those mythical people whose bisexuality is oftentimes erased by the dominant heteronormative narrative.

It’s important too that we involve our children in our cultural heritage. Kids are never too young to learn about our history and our culture, after all, it is theirs too, and it is rich and colorful with fictional characters that equal and outshine those straight protagonists that seem to dominate. For that reason, I dedicate this piece to my daughter, Catie, who wishes that cool stuff like this would be taught in school: 10 female bisexual sci fi & fantasy characters you need to know:

Korra (The Legend of Korra)

When the shows creators, Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, confirmed that Korra and Asami are a couple, the bisexual community exploded with joy. The Legend of Korra has a cult following in the bi community and we were rewarded with our very own romantic finale when Korra and Asami walked hand and hand through a portal into the spirit world.

Korra is an avatar (in this context, someone who can manipulate the four elements in order to maintain balance in the world), in the tradition of Aang in the original series. She’s a glorious character we can all look up to for inspiration.

Mystique (Marvel)

Mystique is a supervillain, usually associated with the X-men series. She is a mutant and a shapeshifter with the ability to exactly replicate humans or animals. Mystique is the type of supervillain who will infiltrate the forces for good, acquire their top secret knowledge and then use it to her advantage for subversive and criminal purposes. She has an ongoing relationship with her fellow mutant, Destiny, a telepath, and she has had various relationships with men too. To quote Mystique herself: “Who am I? That, my dear, is an excellent question. Though not one easily answered.” That’s a statement bisexuals can definitely relate to.

Harley Quinn, aka Dr. Harleen Quinzel (DC)

Harley Quinn is well known for her relationships with Batman universe villains, the Joker, and Poison Ivy. She is a thorny, difficult character to say the least, both violent and compassionate. Above all, she is unpredictable which makes her a fascinating character: you are never quite certain if she will align with the forces of evil or good. Though in recent years she has been re-imagined as an anti-hero rather than a supervillain, which has diluted her character some, but she’s still great to watch.

Willow (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Willow is a complex character who starts out shy and unsure of herself but develops into a powerful witch. She transforms from bookish, vulnerable, and naive into a formidable and sometimes aggressive force. Willow has meaningful relationships with both men and women throughout the show and her story arc takes her all the way from innocence in the first season to villainy in the sixth season. When her lover, Tara, dies she transforms from Willow to dark Willow and outperforms the show’s protagonist, Buffy. (The debate still rages over Willow’s calling herself gay rather than bi but we definitely want her on our team – ed.)

Delphine (Orphan Black)

Delphine is openly bisexual, but her relationship with Cosima, another main character on the show, is problematic. Delphine is a femme fatale with power over Cosima in that could be abused. She is not necessarily a character we should all aspire to be like and the relationships she has are not healthy, yet there is something to be said for being visibly bisexual in a venue that usually erases that sort of thing.

There is also something to be said for being a nuanced character who does not play into the tired cliche of existing in the show merely for the male gaze.

Sailor Neptune (Sailor Moon)

Sailor Neptune is one of the primary characters in the Sailor Moon series. She is a magical warrior who assumes civilian form most of the time but can transform herself at will. As her name implies, her powers derive from the sea and her character references the Roman god of the sea. She fights alongside her lover Sailor Uranus against the Death Busters, mad scientist types bent on destroying the world. Sailor Neptune is a real superhero who will stop at nothing to save the world from the forces of evil.

River Song (Doctor Who)

Spoilers! River Song is the Doctor’s wife and a child of the TARDIS. She was actually conceived in that blue, time traveling, police box and has the capacity to regenerate as a means of escaping death.

Once involved in a plot to kill the Doctor, River changes her mind at the last minute causing all of time collapse giving the Doctor all of her remaining lives, sacrificing her own to save him. It’s… complicated. Too complicated to explain in a few short sentences. Suffice it to say, River Song is a rebel character who escapes and outsmarts the forces of evil. And she is unapologetically bisexual.

Asami (The Legend of Korra)

Asami Sato is a major character in The Legend of Korra but unlike Korra, she’s not an avatar. She is, however, a trained engineer, a skilled pilot, and an expert fighter. She defies those binary feminine stereotypes and stands out as a strong, highly intelligent leader in the series. She’s the one everyone turns to when they have a complex mechanical or technological problem. She also has relationships with men and women.

Bo (Lost Girl)

Bo is a Succubus or female Fae who feeds from the sexual energy of men and women. She has her feet in both human and Fae worlds, and is fiercely independent. Bo can both take a person’s chi or sexual energy, or replace it. She has the supernatural ability to control people with her touch, but this power goes beyond sexual healing. She can also combine the chi of several people to raise someone from the dead. If that isn’t an awesome power, I don’t know what is.

Catwoman (DC)

Catwoman is a DC comics character who has just recently come out as bisexual much to the joy of queer nerds everywhere. She is usually depicted as an anti-heroine and adversary of Batman although she will also team up with Batman and other heroes against greater evils. Catwoman is a character who has her own moral code – someone not easily defined. She is an expert in acrobatics, thievery, disguise, and martial arts. She is the quintessential badass bisexual.

Why are these characters important? Because they centre bisexual women and open dialogue about us – a dialogue that goes far beyond the stereotypes. They empower us when we are feeling helpless. They give us a sense of place in this world that is oftentimes too straight for us. And perhaps most importantly, they allow us to imagine ourselves as the brilliant, fierce, beautifully nuanced women we are.

Image 1:“Orphan Black promo screencap” by unknown. Shared under fair use via BBC America.

Image 2: Crop of “Korra” by Bryan Konietzko. Shared under fair use via Wikimedia Commons.

Image 3: Crop of “Promotional cover art for Mystique #11” by Mike Mayhew. Shared under fair use via Wikimedia Commons.

Image 4: Crop of “Niki Harley Quinn 3a” by jagged-eye. Shared under CC BY 3.0 via Deviant Art.

Image 5: Crop of“Willow Rosenberg promotional photo” by unknown. Shared under fair use via Mutant Enemy.

Image 6: Crop of “Delphine S2 promo image” by unknown, Shared under fair use via BBC America.

Image 7: Crop of “Sailor Neptune (Manga Image)” by shamanika. Shared under CC BY 2.0 via Deviant Art.

Image 8: Crop of “Promotional photo for Doctor Who” by unknown. Shared under fair use via BBC.

Image 9: Crop of “Asami Sato” by Bryan Konietzko. Shared under fair use via Wikimedia Commons.

Image 10: Crop of “Bo Dennis promotional shot” by unknown. Shared under fair use via Prodigy Pictures.

Image 11: Crop of “Julie Newmar as Catwoman” by unknown. Shared under fair use via ABC.