Alpha females

Modern day examples of characters who challenge the roles of women expected by society:

Lara Croft (Tomb raider)

There have been many variations (cartoons, comic books, movies etc.) of the character Tomb Raider, however the character stays exactly the same throughout.

The character in Tomb Raider is the English archaeologist Lara Croft, a female adventurer in search of ancient relics. Throughout her journeys, she stumbles across many enemies which she has to defeat. At the end of all of the comics and movies, Lara succeeds in her missions and becomes the hero.

This character challenges the stereotype of women because she is capable of conquering tough situations on her own without a man. Women nowadays are perceived as people who are in constant need of a heroic man to come rescue her.

Hit girl (Kick ass)

Hit-girl (character's real name is Mindy Macready) is a fictional character appearing in the series, Kick Ass. She is only young but she is a tough vigilante who was trained by her father Damon Macready (also known as 'Big Daddy') from an early age to be a costumed superhero and assassin.

Hit Girl is considered a 'feminist hero' because of the fact that she pays no attention whatsoever to gender stereotypes. In the first film, although she isn't the main character, she turns out to be the hero. Hit Girl comes to the rescue of (also superhero) Kick Ass when he is in trouble; without her help, Kick Ass would be dead.

Again, this character has challenged the stereotype of women by coming to the rescue of a man - whereas in real life, people would presume she would be  the one to need a mans help.

Alice - Resident evil

Alice (portrayed by Milla Jovovich) is the main protagonist of the Resident Evil.

The basic story line of Resident Evil is about an outbreak of the "t virus". In the film(s), Alice sets out to search for someone/something and is caught up within the zombie-like monsters that now rule the city. She, in the end, completes her mission and defeats her enemies and becomes the hero. Again, this challenges the stereotype of the modern day woman - she doesn't need a mans help and it capable of doing things by herself.

Letty (Fast and Furious)

Leticia "Letty" Ortiz is a main female character in the Fast and Furious movies series and is portrayed by Michelle Rodriguez. She is a highly skilled street car racer and mechanic. Letty was Dominic Toretto's ex-girlfriend. 

During the events of Fast and Furious, Letty is on Dominic's crew in his gang of fuel tankers. It is revealed that she contacted FBI agent Brian O' Conner and became a double agent for Braga's crime ring in order to allow Dominic to return home.

The character of Letty challenges the stereotype of women. She's part of a 'sport' that is most commonly known for being a male sport (street racing) and her role as the 'mechanic' shows that she isn't just tagging along with the boys ... she actually knows what she is doing. Stereotypically, men are supposed to be the ones who play with their cars a lot and women are scared to get even a speck of dirt on them. Whereas the character isn't afraid to get dirty. She also has the brains to become an FBI agent!

Selene (Underworld)

Selene is the main fictional protagonist character from the Underworld series; Selene is portrayed by Kate Beckinsale. The films feature enemy characters such as vampires and lycans (an ancient species of werewolf). Alice is a vampire and belongs to the Death Dealers. Selene basically wants revenge because about 600 years ago, Lycans slaughtered her family when she was a child. In the movies, Selene is seen as being very headstrong.

This character challenges the stereotype of women because she has the capability of conquering her enemies. Normally, nowadays, a man would be the one to come to the ladies rescue - however, not in this case.