Many of you are probably wonder why a 39-year-old married man is blogging about a female in tights and a cape? It is because TV’s newest superhero is the type of role model that my five-year-old can hope to emulate.
I have to honestly say that two episodes into CBS’ new hit series ‘Supergirl’ starring Melissa Benoist is a breath of much-needed fresh air from all the testosterone-fueled male superheroes on primetime television.
We have shows such as Smallville, Flash, Marvel’s Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D. and even Heroes Reborn that have all sorts of individuals with remarkable abilities. You also know what else they all have in common? They all are predominately male-driven.
As a lifelong fan of comics, there were many superheroes I wanted to emulate growing up, but of all of them, I admired Batman and Iron Man the most. Why? Because they were average people who didn’t have superhuman strength or mythical god-like powers, but rather had exceptional intellect and brains.
While Supergirl lacks those abilities, despite her being from another world, she is remarkably human. It is these qualities which not only makes her relatable to women and young girls such as my daughter, but I think that is part of the reason I like the show so much, because she is a modern-day shero.
Yes, I said, she-ro, as in a female hero, one who stands up for women’s beliefs and rights.
Thanks to everyday media over-sexualizing women on the covers of magazines such as COSMO, MAXIM, in movies such as Transformers, and other form of media, today’s generation of women do not have a female icon to look up to that isn’t either a size 2 or not digitally retouched and airbrushed in Photoshop.
Throw in the new trend of slut-shaming and ingrained insecurities of either being too fat, too thin, too sexually promiscuous and constantly being bombarded that you do not measure up to such unrealistic standards, and one wonders why today’s generation of Millennial/Generation Z women are so self-conscious.
Enter Supergirl.
As I stated above, what I love about the series so far is that Kara Zor-El—in her own dorky, nerdy and ever-so-young and innocent attractive wallflower kind of way—is someone who wants to help people with her powers and abilities, after being in hiding for 12 years. While she is not “hot” as other Hollywood bombshells such as Megan Fox and Kate Upton, Benoist stated in a recent CBS This Morning interview that she WANTS to be a positive role model for girls and even women too.
Apparent even GOP presidential hopeful, Jeb Bush seems to agree.
The show itself—which has already gotten some pretty decent reviews—is practically becoming a vehicle for positive female empowerment. And honestly as both a husband and father, I’m okay with that, because just as there are not enough African-American superheroes—save for Spawn, Falcon and Black Panther—this more gender-neutral society needs someone like Benoist as Supergirl.
While it has taken close to 40 years for women to be featured in a superhero TV series, with upcoming female-driven series such as A.K.A. Jessica Jones set to debut on Netflix, the future is bright for modern-day sheroes. Thankfully, both Jones and Supergirl give young girls such as my daughter someone she can admire in a positive way.