Little girls grow up learning about Sleeping Beauty and how, after nearly 18 years of sleep, she eventually became lucky enough for a prince to come kiss her awake. We read books about Cinderella to them and teach them about how after one dance at a ball, the Prince fell in love with her, and they wed. We turn “The Little Mermaid” into a childhood classic, and in turn teach girls that even without a voice, you can still seduce a man with looks. These are the models they have for relationships. Their goals and dreams reflect that. They dream of being as lucky, as they twirl in their pink satin gown that Santa brought them (and 500,000 other little girls like them). We tuck our girls in with romance and patriarchy, and though we hope they grow to be strong, we forget that we’re teaching them to, instead, be perfect.
Why are these the tales that we raise our girls with when we have access to other strong and inspiring female characters? Why can’t we look to female superheroes? Over the years, many comic books have been there to provide strong and diverse examples of female characters. While there has been quite a bit of sexualization within certain comics, the argument to avoid them altogether fails when you consider the amount of sexualization in every part of our society. I’ve seen quite a few disgusting Hardy’s commercials, but that won’t make me avoid commercials or fast food altogether. In general, comics have been here to break barriers and inspire readers. In 1980, the character Raven was written into play with her very own comic. Her birth was the product of her mother being raped by a demon, Trigon, and in order to stop her demonic father from returning, she formed the Teen Titans. In 2005, a newer Hawkeye, called Kate Bishop, was written. She began her training after she was brutally attacked in a park, and eventually joined the Young Avengers. One of the oldest female superheroes was first featured back in 1941. Her name? Wonder Woman.
When it comes to female superheroes, it doesn’t get much better than Wonder Woman. Hailing from a tribe of warrior women, Wonder Woman is the epitome of a strong female character. Not only is she strong, like her male counterparts, but she’s also loving and sensitive — characteristics that we often neglect to include when we write about strong women. William Moulton Marston, a psychologist, thought up the Wonder Woman character. In his words from a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, “Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.” For the '40s, Marston had some pretty forward thinking. Wonder Woman was created to represent strength, peace, love, justice, and gender equality. She was designed to draw attention to specific strengths that women have, while maintaining her bravery and confidence. Did I mention that she's a princess, too?
Gal Gadot, an actress and ex-Israeli military combat instructor, was recently cast as Wonder Woman, and will (finally) portray the feminist icon on film. In a recent interview with Ellen Degeneres, she shared a story about her four-year-old daughter: “One time I was telling her a story, and then she said ‘The princes [are] always so brave and courageous and strong.’ And then I asked her ‘What do you think about the princess?’ She said, ‘Nah’. And then I asked her ‘Why do you say that?’ And then she’s like ‘They always fall asleep and then the prince [is] the one to wake them up, and they do nothing.’ And that made me feel really good… about playing Wonder Woman… Boys always had Batman and Superman and Spider-man etc., etc., and girls had the princesses.”
But now, thanks to the the folks at DC and Warner Brothers, many young girls and boys will get to know Wonder Woman. Soon, women around the world will get to see a fierce fighter, kicking butt alongside her male counterparts, and we will finally start to teach little girls around the world that they are more than capable of saving themselves.
