My Daughter the Superhero

When I was in elementary school, back in the early '80s, I loved to watch Linda Carter in her role as Wonder Woman.  I'm sure that there's a whole generation of women out there who used to spin around really really hard in the hope that somehow they'd transform into Wonder Woman.  Wonder Woman made being a superhero seem so stylish and powerful... and yet so decidedly feminine.  As a general rule, I embrace superhero play; I much prefer it to this silly princess business.  Superheros get things done, and nobody fools them into eating a poisoned apple.  True, there's kryptonite and Superman, but at least he avoids it. 

Lately, my daughter "Shonkey" as we refer to her, has taken a liking to superheros.  However, she's not really interested in the feminized version of them... she wants the real deal.  No Supergirl for her; she's the man of steel or nothing.  It's not that she particularly wants to be male, she just wants ALL of the power.  On Sunday, we made one of our mother-daughter Target trips and we strolled through the children's sleepwear section.  Claire saw the boys' superhero jammies and was hooked immediately.  When I showed her the Superman and Batman jammies, she said, "Oh Mom, these are beautiful."  She said it with the same enthusiasm and intonation that she used when referring to a pink tulle Easter dress just a few weeks ago.

I'm a sucker, and I bought her a set of each.  Each jammy has a long-sleeved top, pants and cute, little detachable cape.  So far she's alternated each night between Superman and Batman.  After her bath, she suits-up and does some necessary "zooming" around the house.  Tonight, we had a more in-depth conversation about the role of superheros in our society.  I asked Claire what superheros do; she responded that they, "Fight bad guys and destroy monsters."  I also asked about special powers.  Specifically, which power did she posses?  Claire said, "I have super-lifting powers."  I said, "so, you're super-strong?"  "Yes," she replied, "and super fast."  That didn't surprise me a bit.  She then proceeded to sing a superhero song and then did her best to super-avoid bedtime.

If my daughter is going to emulate anything, let it be superheros.  Superheros are altruistic, embrace strength, face danger with courage, are confident in their bodies and themselves, and take chances to save others in situations where the odds are stacked against them.  Can princesses boast all of that?  Sure, they're stylish, sweet, sensitive and delicate.  But how far does that really get you in our dog-eat-dog world?  It's no coincidence that superheros are marketed to boys, but princesses are marketed to girls.  You don't see Disney launching a line of Prince Charmings?  Aladdin characters don't hold a candle to the popularity of Jasmine. 

I'm just glad that I'm raising my daughter in a society where she can be a princess today and superhero tomorrow.  I wonder if those capes come in my size?