Female role models in literature and media have come a long way. Sure, it's not hard to rise above the June Cleaver/Disney Princess archetype of the 1950s, but still - a lot of girls in books and TV shows really kick butt.
Olivia Dunham from Fringe. She'll set you on fire with her mind...if she doesn't shoot you or punch you out first.
I think it's wonderful that girls are encouraged to be themselves and yet aspire to sheer awesomeness. Children's lit is full of spunky, courageous heroines who conquer and take names: Pippi Longstocking, Junie B. Jones, and Eloise are just a few. Though on the continuum between Pippi Longstocking and Shirley Temple, I can tell you which side I fall on. And it's not the side of the girl who has superhuman strength, stands up to authority figures, and single-handedly chases two robbers out of her home.
That would be Pippi.
I'm far too quick to ask for help, whine, or cry. When I need to stand up for myself, the words just don't come. Other people's opinions of me matter much more than they should. I can't even carry a watermelon to the car without getting exhausted (granted, it is 100 degrees outside, but still). I'm wide-eyed and naive...and I sing to my animals. In a list of 150 adjectives to describe me, I think "tough," "independent," and "ass-kicking," would likely be absent.
When someone like me tries to act tough, it ends up looking like an 80s Music Video:
Wait, no. Even Billy Joel is tougher than me. How about this one?
Drawing from these two videos, here's a list of things I can do to get tougher:
Hang out in places where there's more graffiti
Learn to dance (especially moves with lots of hopping)
Get an extra-large shirt that says HOMEBOY
Become a mechanic
Actually, that last one isn't so bad. Worked for Kaylee on Firefly - she's still a shrinking violet next to Zoe, but at least she gets dirty and likes machines. The show had to do something to balance her saccharine effervescence.
That's one thing I really enjoyed about Disney's Enchanted - even though it subverted and broke Disney and fairy tale tropes to high heaven, at the end, it was really ok for Morgan (Robert's daughter) to want to be a princess.
Olivia does kick butt. It took until the very end of the second season finale to get her in any kind of a helpless position (let alone show affection to Peter!).
Whatever, Katie. I *know* you can set people on fire with your mind. I've seen that look that made my eyebrows smolder.
ReplyDeleteHasn't everyone else noticed how sometimes I have a unibrow, and sometimes I don't? Fun fact: it's not because I shave there.
... I get the feeling you are going to be bald by the time we all show up for game tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOlivia does kick butt. It took until the very end of the second season finale to get her in any kind of a helpless position (let alone show affection to Peter!).
ReplyDeleteWell, Peter was kind of digging her sister for a while - it would put me off the affection train, and I'm way cuddlier than Olivia. :)
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