I used to be worried about showing my kids the Simpsons because, you know, Bart. But now that we've started, I see that Lisa more than makes up for it. In fact, she may be the best girls' role model on television. I don't think my boy kid would mind being like her, either. You should read Anna Holmes' super smart piece in the New Yorker for more insight on Lisa's contribution to the individualist girl tradition (as it relates to Harriet the Spy and To Kill a Mockingbird).  And here's TV's answer to Harriet and Scout, all Frenched up by the genius who made Triplets of Belleville.