50 influential fictional women in nerd history

Jessie the Cowgirl

Before Toy Story 2, most of us watched the first Toy Story and had to relate to either Andy, Buzz or Woody. There were Lil Bo Peep and Mrs. Potato Head, but other than that, there was a shocking lack of cool female toys.

Maybe it is because Andy was a little boy, but still, it was a cartoon. They could have had more girls. So what did they do for the sequel? Well, they gave us one of the coolest toys to ever exist. It turns out that Woody is part of a series of toys — and briefly joins a collection.

But one toy that Woody brings back to Andy’s with him really stuck out. And I’m not talking about Bullseye. Jessie the cowgirl, Woody’s seemingly younger counterpart, joined the rest of our toys with her cowskin vest and red hair and made us love her.

For many of us, we had to be Woody because there wasn’t another option. But with Jessie we could have a different kind of enjoyment while watching the Toy Story series. It seems so silly, but it’s something that simply really means a lot, especially to groups who don’t typically get represented.

For girls, we didn’t have a toy that wasn’t a stereotype in that movie. To have Jessie was extremely cool.