There are lots of examples of bar ass characters who happen to be women... Ripley is the big names from Aliens, but how about Vanquez, the machine gunner? Clearly a bad ass. Gender for that character means as much as hair color...just a descriptive. How about Sarah Connor? Yeah, she had to be a woman because of the mother to John Connor thing, but still bad ass. Lewis from RoboCop. Marion Ravewood from Raiders of the Lost Ark was pretty bad ass. Zoe and Rover Tam on Serenity/Firefly. Clarice Staling from Silence of the Lambs. And these are just off the top of my head. Why they stick out to me? Like Liz said, the characters were good, and were bad ass. Most handled a weapon really well, which is bonus points for me. Oh, they were women too. That says it all...