Disliking female characters versus disliking the writing of female characters

(This rant/pondering/opinion was inspired by this secret posted at fandomsecrets.)

I'll come right out and say it. Very, very few things bug me as much in fandom as the tendency to go actively hate on female characters and the way this is often done.

( The kind of hating on female characters you often see in fandom and why I really abhor it )

However.

I also have a problem with how a lot of TV shows and movies and books write female characters. As a woman, a lot of potrayals feel sexist to me, overtly or subtly so.

( Women are not from Venus but the same species, writers, and have personalities too )

I guess my point boils down to this: I abhor a lot of the bashing of female characters in fandom, and at the same time often have problems with the portrayal of women in fiction. (And in real life media, hoo yeah.) I don't think either excludes the other, because both can be motivated by sexism, consciously or otherwise. And whenever I find awesome female characters that writing and portrayal makes so, I am all the more happy.

So now I'm thinking about doing a Female Character Appreciation Week - spotlighting some fictional women I really like. I already know I'd stick in Laura Roslin, Miranda Bailey (I don't much like Grey's Anatomy these days, but she kicks ass from here to Jupiter) possibly Harriet Jones and/or Sarah Jane and a couple of other candidates. Who would be yours and why? I'd like to spotlight some beyond my fandoms too - and feel free to add yours reasons to those I've mentioned.