December Blog - Heroes vs Heroins
Who do you think would win a fight between Wonder Woman and Captain America? You are probably thinking, what even made me think of such a thing? Well, I am the mum of two boys and in our house, we are superhero mad, especially when it comes to the Marvel superheroes. We each even have our own favourite: My husband likes Captain America, the all round American good guy. I like Thor, for obvious reasons. My eldest son likes Iron Man (which made for an interesting house hold when Civil War came out), as he likes all the inventions and my youngest likes the Hulk, probably because they both like to smash stuff.
But this year, someone new came on the scene. When I went to the movies with a friend, I wasn’t really expecting much when I went and saw Wonder Woman, but wow. That girl can kick ass! There is far more to her character though, than just a woman that can fight. She is righteous, yet naïve. She has strength of character, yet like us all, she has flaws. What I admired about her most of all, was her willingness to do and fight for what she believed to be right. Diana Prince - Wonder Woman - is a person with exceptional morals. And let’s also make note this movie was directed by a woman!
For years, if not even decades, there has been the debate about a lack of strong role models for girls. Personally, I believe there is a lack of good role models for boys too. When it comes to role models for both boys and girls, I think that for the most part, we guide them to look in the wrong places, when we should simply be looking around us. Role models in our children’s lives should be family members, close family friends and prominent members of the community. Of course, there will always be outside sources kids look up to as well, such as superheroes, sports people and celebrities.
Growing up, most of my heroes came from books and I was always able to find stories which had strong female leads in them. Now, as a writer myself, I hope my own main character Lexi, is a strong and independent woman, but like all of us, she also has flaws. Despite the debate about a lack of good role models, I think they have always been there. I grew up when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and with humanitarians like Mother Theresa and Princess Diana. All good role models in my eyes.
How does all of this relate to Wonder Woman though? She is a role model that has been around for over seventy years. Initially she was a character in the DC Comics, then there was the television show starring Lynda Carter. I would religiously watch the show and then go off into the backyard, pretending to be her. Growing up, she was my favourite super hero, then there was Buffy.
Now, with children of my own, we have come full circle with the reinvention of a lot of superheroes, including Wonder Woman. So, when my boys sat down and watched the movie, they were amazed. ‘She’s awesome Mummy!’ they told me. They never once questioned or argued about a woman being strong or being able to fight. Instead, they simply accepted it without question. So, when I put the question to them, ‘Who do you think would win a fight between Wonder Woman and Captain America?’, their answer was simple. ‘Wonder Woman’. Though, I’m sure their father would argue that point. Who do you think would win in a fight between Wonder Woman and Captain America?
