No matter the age, every adult can recall their favorite cartoons from their childhood. However, the 2010's has been turning the animation world on its head. Nowadays, children's cartoons have more than just fun characters and pretty colors; they have intricate backstories, stellar artwork, and are even bringing things like homosexuality and feminism into their shows. And not just for a cameo appearance, as constant occurrences. Homosexuality is a topic that deserves its own article, but today we're exploring the feminist aspect of the show, and the underrated gem we're dissecting is Nickelodeon's "The Loud House" by Chris Savino.
"The Loud House" stars eleven-year-old Lincoln Loud; the middle child of a house with eleven siblings. Not only that, but he's the only boy. The premise of the show concerns how Lincoln lives with his sisters with all their different personalities. A simple premise that can evoke so much.
There's "typical teen" Lori (17), air-head Leni (16), guitar-shredder Luna (15), funny-girl Luan (14), star athlete Lynn (13), goth-child Lucy (8), tomboy Lana and pageant princess Lola (twins, both 6), super genius, Lisa (4), and the baby, Lily (15 months). Right off the bat, "The Loud House" uses their wide array of characters to their advantage. Appearing in every episode but never seeming too cluttered or distracting, Savino directly sends the message to young girls that girls come in all different personalities. You don't need to fit into the typical feminine standard if you don't want to. Your quirks and hobbies don't make you any lesser than anyone else. Also, on the other hand, being "girlie" isn't a negative thing either. As long as you are nothing but yourself, you are perfect the way you are.
Getting back to the plot of the show, from an outsider's perspective, you can probably guess that Lincoln's main issue with his living situation is keeping up his masculinity. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Lincoln doesn't see his sisters as an obstacle or roadblock. He sees them as regular people. The bickering Lincoln and [insert sister(s) here] face has to do with things like who gets to watch their show on TV, who has the hardest chore, and which family vacation they should go on. It never has anything to do with Lincoln being surrounded by women. And the show never makes it feel like Lincoln is against his sisters. On very few occasions are the sisters the antagonists. If they are, it's not because they're girls or anything of that nature. It's simply because they're kids that still make mistakes and have room to grow. Lincoln fully supports the girls and their personalities, as do the girls support Lincoln and his personality. Probably one of my favorite parts of the show.
Lastly, the sisters are never portrayed in the ways that other shows might. Very few times are the girls fighting with each other about shoes or clothes or boys. They fight about common things much like Lincoln does with his siblings. The Loud girls are anything but typical. They have thoughts, feelings, and opinions the same way any boy might, demonstrating to younger male audiences that girls really aren't that much different from boys. Boys could even relate to some of the girls as well. That's another wonderful thing about the personalities of these girls; almost all, if not all, can be the reverse gender and not much would have to change. Just like there are girls who like sports, there are boys who like playing dress-up.
Even though Nickelodeon hasn't released too many memorable shows lately, "The Loud House" is a brilliant new show that people of all ages can enjoy. I proudly stand by this show and I commend Chris Savino and the rest of the Loud House crew for bringing such a stand-out show to our attention.
