9 Female Icons That Redefined Sexuality Forever

Female sexuality in pop culture has hardly ever been just a personal thing. It usually gets molded into something that would make people buy the product, whatever that might be. But of course, there are levels and shades of grey to everything, and the women mentioned here either bent the rules or completely broke them. Some became icons with carefully crafted images, while others took charge of their own stories, and many faced heavy consequences for the public’s obsession with them.

From the hypersexualized gaming scene to Hollywood’s classic sex symbols, these women redefined sexuality forever.

Lara Croft

Lara Croft jumped from video games to being a full-on pop culture icon with her own movies, animation, and so much fan fiction in just a few years that she deserves a spot alongside real women on the list. The most famous live-action portrayal was in “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” (2001) with Angelina Jolie (we’ll get to her, too, don’t you worry). She was a groundbreaking female character: smart, tough, and totally fearless. But Lara also stirred up a lot of controversy, mixing empowerment with hypersexualization. In the early games, she had over-the-top features like the iconic big pyramid-shaped breasts, tiny waist, athletic build, and a ton of revealing outfits and weapon garters, which tickled our immature male brains in just the right way.