I was a 90s kid, late 90s but born just in time to live out my childhood in the 90s and early 2000s (which was basically a continuation of the 90s up until about 2005). I like to call it the last good decade. I remember diversity being a big thing and television, especially kids tv, incorporated all different races and cultures into programs. In addition to jelly shoes, VHS movies, grunge clothes and NSYNC we also had some solid television programs and with that quality tv came great representation of females.
Children are impressionable and often look to pop culture for guidance. My favorite thing about 90s tv was girls had so many different role models. Tv today often features the generic and basic sassy girl who looks, acts, and talks exactly how you would expect.
One tv show that had a big impact on me as a young girl, trying desperately to fit in, was Wild Thornberrys. This adventure cartoon follows a unique and pretty nerdy family as they travel the world studying wildlife. The star of the show is not your typical plastic, boy-crazed princess. She is a geeky girl. She did not adhere to society's idea of beauty with her frizzy red hair, glasses, braces and awkwardly proportioned face. Her dorky appearance helped drive home the point of her character. She did not need good looks to be the bad-ass central character that she is.
Eliza Thornberry was granted with the ability to talk to animals by an African Shaman (so much culture, love it) after her heroic act regarding an animal in need. The show follows her and her unique passion as she finds adventure everywhere she goes and uses her gift to have a positive impact on the animal kingdom.
With Eliza Thornberry girls are exposed to a character defined by bravery and compassion, traits we do not get to see in modern day leading ladies. Her story is about adventure, taking risks, pushing the limits, and learning. Some girls can relate to those things much better then the glamorous pop star who is suffering from a bad case of stage fright or the girl who steals the show with her incredible beauty at the school dance.
What the 90s did so well with characters in pop culture was give girls options. Instead of pressuring them to fit into the world's archaic perception of how girls should look and act lets give realistic and varied females that they can relate to. Being a glitzy, sassy girl is not something we should frown upon or kick off television because some girls do relate to those characters and look up to them, which is fine! It is ok for girls to want to be a princess or a movie star but it is also ok for girls to want to be adventurers or brainiacs or athletes or any combination of these.
Characters like Eliza Thornberry helped show girls that you do not have to fit into the patriarchal mold of what females should be like in order to be happy or successful or loved. This is what we need to bring bak. With the pressure on young girls being stronger than ever, we need to remind them that they can be whoever they want to be and feel comfortable and confident in who that person is.
