15 girls every queer '90s kid secretly loved
| 12/17/20
brianasalese
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The WB/UPN; ABC; NBC
'90s TV shows were LIFE for kids that grew up in the greatest (and last) decade of the 20th century. Every show that Nickelodeon and Disney broadcast, we watched. (Even the shitty ones.) There were also the occasional sitcoms on cable networks that we were also fully obsessed with too.
Given the fact that there were so many exceptional shows to watch, it’s not a surprise we had a few girls we were secretly crushing on! Here are 15 of our favorites.
UPN/The WB
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was all the rage in the late '90s — the TV show, not the movie. Well, that also depends on who you talk to, because they each have a cult following, but for the purpose of this article we'll go with the TV show — and, more specifically, Sarah Michelle Gellar. She was one of Hollywood's favorite "it" girls in the '90s, and Buffy is a show that still lives on to this day.
Nickelodeon
Anything Amanda Bynes did on either All That or her eventual The Amanda Show was pure gold. "I'm Penelope Taint, her number one fan-da" will always live in my mind.
The WB/UPN
While we had fun watching the Olsen twins grow up in the '90s, Tia and Tamara were the ultimate teen twins, especially on Sister, Sister. Their comedic timing and talent has paved the way for flourishing careers for both of them, but their characters from the sitcom will remain forever in our hearts.
Nickelodeon
Tomboy Alex Mack was the coolest girl on '90s television. She had wicked style, quite the attitude, and she could turn into WATER. The coolest superpower nobody would have ever guess to have. Plus, she popularized girls wearing snapbacks, which we're all very thankful for.
Viacom Productions
Sabrina was just the best. She dressed so cute, was always experimenting with new hairstyles, and her best friend was her talking black cat. Plus, she lived with two of the dopest aunts any of us had ever seen. A loveable cat and Sabrina's magic wasn't the only reason we watched this show....
Disney
Everyone loved Hillary Duff on Lizzie McGuire, because how could you not? But, we all crushed on Miranda. Maybe it was her spunk and moral compass that made her believe pretty much everything in her middle school life was bullshit, but either way, nobody made straight across bangs look as good as Miranda did.
ABC
Boy Meets World was easily, one of the more influential shows of all of our young lives. We watched the cast grow up before our eyes, and experience everything, but it was Topanga Lawrence who always had our hearts. She was sensitive, nuturing, but still a strong girl that stood her ground. Even though we were always rooting for her and Cory, we were also hoped it wouldn't work out, so she could end up with us.
Fox
That '70s Show's Donna was the SHIT. She was a tomboy, smoked with the boys, and was constantly getting annoyed with Jackie for being such a stupid girl. There were so many layers to Donna that made her such a secret crush, and so it's no surprise she's become such a lesbian sex symbol on OITNB. Laura Prepon slays.
NBC
Maybe it was the fact that we were so young when The Cosby Show was on, and Denise was the smart, sexy older sister that we looked up to, but something about her personality and style was sooooo hot. She def affected many of the feminist beliefs us '90s queer girls have, but she also sort of spelled out what relationship goals for junior high school kids everywhere.
Disney
Clearly the big sisters were a hottness factor for us '90s kids, because even though Ren from Even Stevens could be a total bitch to the hilarious Louis, her bossiness and spunk was something that made us like her when everyone else hated her.
Nickelodeon
'90s television was at the peak of kid game shows, and one of the greatest ones was Figure It Out and 50 percent of the reason that is, is because Summer Sanders. Baby girl could easily have been our mom, and none of us even knew she used to be a professional swimmer, until when we learned the fact on the show, but those beautiful legs, her sense of humor and bubbly personality was enough to have us all swooning.
Fox Kids
No one cares which Power Ranger you were, but we all know the Pink Ranger, aka Kimberly, was the leader of the chick Power Rangers, making her the forerunner for who to cursh on. Plus, it was a delight to get to see her without her helmet on. Oddly, a lot of gay boys claimed the Pink Ranger on the playground.
Nickelodeon
Before Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Melissa Joan Hart was playing the coolest girl on TV on Clarissa Explains It All. Prime '90s fashion, a see-through land line, and a cool BFF who climbed into her window on the reg made Clarissa ridiculously cool. She also had a 'tude we all admired, and no problem talking shit to her annoying bro. #goals
ABC
Pretty much everyone on Roseanne was absolutely hilarious, but for our young '90s queer hearts, Darlene stole the show. Her big hair coincided with her big personality so well, and with her fuck you attitude, and fuck you fashion sense, the Roseanne writers made it easy for us to fall for her.
Disney
So Weird may not have been on for long, but it has definitely become a cult favorite for our generation. Fi made being the weird girl cool, because her smarts and curiosity allowed her to see and experience so much more of the world than everyone else was. Which was easily relateable for us young queer kids, and made it really easy to like like her too.
<p>A proud, queer, Latina, identical twin with a penchant for brash humans and things that make me cough laugh.</p>
<p>A proud, queer, Latina, identical twin with a penchant for brash humans and things that make me cough laugh.</p>
Andrew J. Stillman is a freelance writer and yoga instructor exploring the world. Check him out at andrewjstillman.com or follow him @andrewjstillman on all the things.
Andrew J. Stillman is a freelance writer and yoga instructor exploring the world. Check him out at andrewjstillman.com or follow him @andrewjstillman on all the things.