More girl heroes on shelves and screens
Parents are used to scanning a movie’s reviews to help decide whether it’s too sexy or violent for a child to watch. But on Tuesday, the watchdog group Common Sense Media announced that in addition to informing parents about those qualities, it will also judge children’s film and television on the basis of whether they challenge gender stereotypes.
This was fabulous news for me — and I wish the attention extended to books. I have an 8-year-old daughter. I’m thrilled she’s an avid reader. Yet it’s shockingly hard to find strong girl characters in books written for her age group.
Now, with the help of these new ratings, I’m thinking about sometimes swapping the library for the movie theater or our own TV this summer.
“Wonder Woman,” for example, has the Common Sense Media seal of approval because it’s all about a woman kicking bad guy butt. Had they told me as much the movie opened earlier this month, it would have saved me a ton of maternal agita.
My daughter is a “Wonder Woman” shows countless violent deaths and a steamy pre-coital smooch. The evil sheep in “Zootopia” disturbed Sarah’s sleep (and mine) for weeks. As I debated seeing “Wonder Woman,” I wondered: would it do the same?
I took the risk, and we rushed to a downtown Brooklyn multiplex to catch the show. Sarah did spend much of the movie with her head buried in my shoulder. But when the lights went up, she was elated.
“I liked when she was fighting. And when someone tried to get her, she just got more power in those wrist thingies,” Sarah said, crossing her forearms and crouching in imitation of Diana.
A few days later, she made a caped doll in her sewing class which she calls a “princess superhero.” Clearly, I made the right call.
Sarah is starved for superheroines. If she gets them on screens because books don’t give them to her, so be it.
The years between 8 and 12 — which children’s publishers call “middle grade” — are a crucial time for girls. That’s when they leave the princess phase behind and start to think more realistically about what it means to be a grown-up.
Yet the characters in the “Dork Diaries,” the blockbuster franchise that dominates the girls’ bit timid. middle grade market, strive to be adorable, not powerful. This series of graphic novels tells the story of Nikki Maxwell, who is sweet, artistic — and still not a good role model.
She is locked in a battle of sorts, but it’s with a classmate over a boy. Nikki’s highest goal is to be cute, cool and popular. Whenever she has a rebellious thought, she sets the reader a bad example by swallowing it: “I just said it inside my head, so no one else heard it but me.”
In 2016, a “Dork Diaries” book was the only middle-grade title for girls that sold more than 200,000 copies in hardcover, according to Publisher’s Weekly.
The numbers show that a generation is growing up on a steady diet of “Dork Diaries,” and the danger is that they might internalize its limited notions of girls’ self-image (poor), friendships (fraught) and ambition (limited). Just when I want Sarah to start dreaming big, Nikki Maxwell is telling her to lower her sights. Six boys’ books made the same Publisher’s Weekly middle-grade bestseller list. They all featured either Harry Potter, demigod Percy Jackson or Greg Heffley of the “Wimpy Kid” series. Of course, these books have female characters, but they’re always the sidekicks, never the stars.
It’s not surprising that girls still get a raw deal. Women working full-time make 20% less than men in the United States. They’re underrepresented in boardrooms and the halls of Congress. We elected Donald Trump President after listening to him boast about his penchant for sexual assault.
Fortunately, despite all that, “Wonder Woman” is here — and so is rising awareness of media that encourages girls to revel in their strength.
More moms and dads of daughters should use Common Sense Media’s reviews, and encourage them to extend the gender system to bestselling children’s books. In the meantime, check out the Amelia Bloomer Project, an annual list of feminist books for children compiled by librarians.
We can all also support the “We Need Diverse Books” movement, which is fighting for racial diversity in children’s publishing. All girls deserve a Wonder Woman to whom they can relate.