What exactly is hot girl summer? I’m so glad you asked.
Hot girl summer is a term coined by fans of Megan Thee Stallion.
Image via Billboard
The rapper explained the movement to The Root:
“It’s about women and men being unapologetically them, just having a good-ass time, hyping up their friends, doing you.”
And that’s really all there is to it. Hot girl summer is about exuding confidence, and helping those around you love themselves in turn.
Now, which literary heroines deserve to strut their stuff and throw it in a circle all night this summer?
Wow, I’m so glad you asked.
1. Fleur Delacour
Image via Pottermore
Fleur deserved better. There I said it.
By the end of all the Harry Potter books, Fleur is married to Bill Weasley and the couple have three children together. That’s all well and good, but I feel like Fleur never got the chance to reach her full potential as the enchanting siren of temptation that her introduction in Goblet of Fire makes her out to be.
Plus, Ginny calls her ‘Phlegm.’ And that’s just not very nice at all.
2. Bella Swan
Image via Fanpop
Bella Swan is easily one of the most hated characters in literary history. But if you look past the painful internalized misogyny, and the general blandness, what’s left to hate?
The fact that she has a hot vampire boyfriend, and you don’t?
Jealousy is a disease, sweetie, get well soon!
3. Helen of Troy
Image via Entity Mag
Helen of Troy is a very well known facet of Greek mythology, and has been written about thousands of times. However, in pretty much anything you read about her, she’s a boss.
She caused a 10 year war, and the deaths of over ten thousand men, just by being the hottest hottie in all of ancient Greece. That’s some real hot girl stuff (I’m, sadly, not allowed to swear).
4. Janie Crawford
Image via Pinterest
Janie Crawford is the main character in Zora Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and, as a black woman living in North America during the early 1900’s, she suffers at the hands of almost every person she meets.
But, as we witness her life story, we see Janie’s liberation from the dictations of society. She bravely opposes those who try to limit her identity to her sex or race, and comes out the other side with the sense of self that had once been taken from her.
Maybe hot girl summer is when the pear trees blossom…
5. Lisbeth Salander
Image via Los Angeles Times
Lisbeth Salander is similar to Janie Crawford in terms of the abuse she has suffered. And like Janie Crawford, Lisbeth seeks to defy those who have hurt her.
Hot girl summer is about loving yourself, and I think exposing a serial murderer and rapist after suffering through sexual assault yourself certainly falls under the proverbial self-love umbrella.
6. Wendy Torrance
Image via Twitter
Wendy had a bad winter, there’s no denying that.
But now it’s summer, baby! Time to shed that cowboy cardigan, make your way down the mountainside, and dip your toes in the warm sand!
Wendy is newly single and ready to mingle with a man who loves kids and HATES wielding axes.
7. Katniss Everdeen
Image via Forbes
Katniss is one of the first characters to come to mind when thinking of badass heroines, and that alone gets her a spot on this list.
Plus, if you’ve read Mocking Jay, you know that things get -erm- literally hot for Katniss… She’s earned a little time to relax and let her braid down.
8. daenerys targaryen
Image via The Hollywood Reporter
Okay, I’ll confess. I’ve never read or seen Game of Thrones. Sue me. I’ve included Daenerys based on the research I’ve done about her character, but I won’t pretend to be an expert.
Instead of making an argument that might fall flat on the ears of dedicated fans, I’ll turn to this quote (I also don’t really know if this quote is a spoiler, proceed with caution):
“Do you know what kept me standing through all those years in exile? Faith. Not in any gods. Not in myths and legends. In myself. In Daenerys Targaryen. The world hadn’t seen a dragon in centuries until my children were born. The Dothraki hadn’t crossed the sea. Any sea. They did for me. I was born to rule the Seven Kingdoms, and I will.”
9. Nancy Drew
Image via TVLine
Nancy Drew is an icon in every sense of the word. I don’t think anyone says it quite like my personal lord and savior, Shangela;
“Figure it out like Nancy Drew/Catch up quick like, Halleloo!/Who gon’ check me boo?/Not you!/I’m a pro!”
She’s smart and she knows it, and that is some real hot girl crap (is ‘crap’ any better than ‘stuff’?)
10. Elizabeth Bennet
Image via 8Tracks
Okay, now it’s real hot girl hours. Possibly the most iconic hot girl of them all. Maybe the hottest of all the girls.
Elizabeth Bennet has all the men around town tripping over their heels in a rush to propose. She gets to turn down two proposals, and when someone asks her to refuse the next one she decides to say yes.
Having emotional depth, a complex psyche, and enough self respect to listen to your heart and do things on your own terms? That’s some real hot girl-ness (I’m sorry).
Featured image via Pinterest