(s)heroes

Cuddling in bed with my youngest this morning, we watched Strawberry Shortcut’s The Sweet Dreams Movie. It’s actually a very cute video (if you like that sort of girly thing). About never being afraid to dream, not letting anyone steal your dreams. You know, that sort of thing. But as I lay there cuddling with my sweet, impressionable young daughter, I let my mind wonder. Wander, even. What do boys of this age watch on video as they cuddle with their mommies? And — do those said videos lack the same honor for females that their counterpart videos for girls lack for males?

I mean, truly. Am I the only one who’s noticed that, while Dora is a wonderful teacher of espanol, pretty much every single male in any given episode of Dora The Explorer is an idiot or bad guy? Well, ok, Boots is nice. Boots is a boy, right?

So I was thinking about Batman and Spiderman, and the era when they were introduced in pop culture. I wonder if it has to do with the women’s lib movement? Did they notice that those shows only had men as heroes? Is that when they introduced Wonder Woman and She-ra? Well, I say, at least they made up for it and didn’t present all women as imbiciles. Women can be heroes as well as men. It’s an invidual thing.

I realize I could very well be overthinking this whole thing. I just don’t know. I mean, their young minds are so impressionable. And they take in way more than I can even imagine. Especially as they watch TV and movies.

I want my daughters to know that they can do anything they set their mind to. I want them to dream of being somebody’s hero. Everybody’s hero, even. But I want them to know that, while women can be effective at this, so can men. It’s not about one sex being superior to the other. It’s about everybody doing and being their best. It’s about doing and being who God made us, to our full potential, no matter what sex we are.

So — next time we watch Dora, maybe I should start a conversation about who can be a hero. Or maybe that’s too much for my youngling to grasp. I don’t know. Maybe I should just stay mindful of it and take every opportunity to reiterate that anyONE (male or female) can be the hero and do the hero things that God gives them to do. Or maybe I should just sit back, relax and learn some more espanol. Because, after all, I have been known to overthink things…