To celebrate International Women’s Month, I wanted to shine a spotlight on my favorite movie character of all times. I was enthralled by Kat Stratford instantly when I watched 10 Things I Hate About You for the first time. It’s a film that captures adolescence in a more accurate way than most coming-of-age films. Even now that I’m older, I still wish to be like Kat, I always loved how little she cared about what others thought of her or fitting in with the rest of the crowd.
Kat is smart and witty. Throughout the film, she’s seen reading The Bell Jar and The Feminine Mystique; today she would be called “woke” due to her knowledge of feminist literature. She always has a comeback for the people that test her patience and is not one to be messed with.
I love how Kat is comfortable with herself and knows that she does not need a man’s companionship or validation to feel happiness or satisfaction. This is why she was not impressed in the slightest by the attempts of Patrick Verona to seduce her. It’s comical and a little pathetic to watch him make the most elaborate attempts to grab her attention, just to receive an eye-roll from her.
Kat is an icon for the modern feminist because she was ahead of her time. On the outside, she appears to be tough, but she has a soft heart on the inside. She’s confident, intelligent, hilarious, talented, and unique. These are qualities that I believe represent the woman of today, We are much stronger than we may believe ourselves to be.
