Although almost everyone enjoys sitting down and watching a good film, many movies feature female characters who don’t provide for very much except a love interest. In honor of Women’s History Month this March, The Lasso has provided a list of must watch movies with dense female leads who have a little more substance than your typical rom-com women. (No hate to Allie Hamilton from The Notebook!)

On The Basis Of Sex

This movie is about equal rights advocate icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg. On The Basis Of Sex  follows a young Ginsburg navigating through her law career when the industry still had very few women working as lawyers. Not only does she deal with misogyny on a daily basis, she holds her head high while shutting sexist comments down. The movie explores her first ever court case and not only is it a feel good story, Felicity Jones does a genius job portraying the former Supreme Court Justice.

Miss Americana

Believe it or not, this documentary is about the music industry, Taylor Swift. Taylor opens up many important discussions about struggles with sexism women in the music industry face. Even if you aren’t a Taylor Swift fan, this movie will make you one because she talks about how people often make comments about her that are never made towards similar male artists. It’s similar to the recent Britney Spears documentary, showing how much the media can manipulate a woman’s image. If you want to watch one of the most powerful women in America tackle important issues facing women in show business, Miss Americana Taylor Swift is definitely worth a watch.

Enola Holmes

Enola Holmes is a Netflix movie featuring Millie Bobby Brown as Sherlock’s sister Enola Holmes. If you’re a fan of detective shows and films, this is definitely for you. Enola Holmes follows a young Enola on a search for her mother while showing her big brother what she’s made of. It’s suspenseful and sweet, and the time period it takes place in makes it ever more interesting. Enola confronts some of the extremely sexist social norms of the period, after all she’s smart and will do anything she can to prove herself.

Hidden Figures

Even though the plot of Hidden Figures takes place in the 1950’s, the story is still very important to learn about; black women first entering the workforce.  Katherine Johnson is a mathematician for NASA, and not only is she a woman working in a male dominated field, but she’s a black woman, making it that much more difficult to gain the respect of her white, male colleagues. Her genius helps send John Glenn to space as well as earn her the Presidential Medal of Honor. Johnson also has a research building named after her in Hampton, Virginia. 

Becoming

Don’t have enough time to read former First Lady Michelle Obama’s memoir? Consider watching her documentary on Netflix. Michelle talks about her time in The White House and the responsibilities and pressures she took on as the first Black First Lady in the United States. The viewer gets to follow her on her beyond successful book tour as well as watch her interact with the young black women who look up to her (Michelle provides some very good advice). The heartfelt moments in this doc are refreshingly raw, something that every strong woman should be proud of.