Name A Bitch Badder Than Taylor Swift Meme, Girl Power

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It's not often that a meme comes with a history lesson — especially when it starts out as a Twitter tribute to Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" lewk.

Last month, a Swiftie tweeted an image from the pop star's first music video off Reputation. The caption was both adoring and defiant: "Name a bitch badder than Taylor Swift."

If the original poster was fishing for responses like "yas queen" or "I can't," that plan backfired. If, however, they were looking for internet strangers to chime in with a next-level history lesson on the baddest bitches who ever lived, tributes to the resistance, and even some fictional women...well: mission freaking accomplished.

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Name a bitch badder than Taylor Swift ??? pic.twitter.com/AkSyQBUIME
— Nutella (@xnulz) November 10, 2017

As it turns out, there are plenty of ladies — some real, some fictional, some dead, some living, some famous, some not — who could maybe rival Swift in terms of sheer badassery. (Gentle reminder: It's not a competition. We can all be badass.)

Just take a look at this gal, for instance:

The cleaning lady from Family Guy pic.twitter.com/6X5mfCoJNC
— Annon (@soundsannon) November 11, 2017

The woman who did this to Trump nominated herself. (We second.)

me pic.twitter.com/lERHQrZlmy
— Janey Godley (@JaneyGodley) December 2, 2017

Ieshia Evans and Saffiyah Khan, two women of color who famously faced down riot police and far-right protesters, also drew praise.

pic.twitter.com/4ZIkoCuuEF
— Kali Devi (@GoddessKaliDevi) December 2, 2017

Safiyyah Khan, British-Pakistani girl who smiled down on an ultra right protester.https://t.co/4G22Ot9wI8

And she's wearing FREE PALESTINE t-shirt while at it. pic.twitter.com/vAOnp6to0F
— anak baik-baik™ (@pitoist) December 3, 2017

Several famous historical figures, including Rosa Parks, Ada Lovelace, Marie Curie, and Jane Austen, were recognized, but it's the lesser-known, unsung heroines who have dominated the comments section. Consider the story of Franceska Mann, the "Nazi-slaying ballerina" who reportedly shot and killed a guard during her imprisonment at Auschwitz.

Franceska Mann, the Polish ballerina, who, while being led to the gas chamber, stole a Nazi guard’s gun, shot him dead, and started a female-led riot that gave hope to all of the prisoners of Auschwitz in the face of certain death https://t.co/s7yM6MDYT5
— Hollywood Histories (@moviehistories) December 2, 2017

There's also Mariya Oktyabrskaya, a rare female Soviet tank driver during World War II.

Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya: her husband was killed by the Nazis in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. She went to the Soviet gov’t and demanded to get a tank to kill Nazis. The gov’t relented and she killed Nazis with her tank. pic.twitter.com/9Iinz8ndxx
— (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ (@shonan_naminori) December 2, 2017

Cleopatra's got nothing on the mysterious Queen Nitocris, who is said to have drowned her husband's killers. Egypt can also lay claim to the long-reigning pharaoh Hatshepsut.

Queen Nitocris of Egypt. She invited the murderers of her husband to a banquet, then killed them by flooding the sealed room with the Nile. To avoid the other conspirators, she committed suicide by running into a burning room. pic.twitter.com/2jT5ysVyQ6
— Jonny Cairo (@HereticPharaoh) December 3, 2017

Pharaoh Hatshepsut; she one of the longest and prosperous reigns of any pharaoh (male or female). #WomenInHistory #AncientEgypt #Kemet pic.twitter.com/mp4X93zjK7
— Jonny Cairo (@HereticPharaoh) December 3, 2017

And what could be cooler than a female pirate captain lording over the South China Sea?

Ching Shih, who took over her deceased husband's pirate empire, united it further, defeated the Chinese, English, and Portuguese to rule the seas for decades.
— lynn boyden (@lrb23) December 2, 2017

On a more personal note, commenters are also shouting out the inspiring women — trailblazing grandmothers, cancer-fighting mamas, survivor sisters, etc. — in their own lives. Read the entire ongoing conversation to pump a fist, raise a glass, and shed a tear in solidarity.

Sigh. Look what you made us do.

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