With the magic words “You Go Girl!” a 12-year old boy transforms himself into SheZow. He dons a skirt, a cape, pink gloves and white boots. She proceeds to kick ass.
The Australian-Canadian cartoon show was just picked up by The Hub and there’s been an uproar of criticism. Ben Shapiro leads in negativity, whining that the content is inappropriate for children and that The Hub’s chief executive Margaret Loesch “may or may not have been high (and leftist) when she greenlit the project.” Alternatively, SheWow is gaining a more level-headed, very enthusastic audience who find that SheZow has a positive message about challenging restrictive gender roles. Here’s a leading character that achieves strength in his girly-alter ego: it embraces the idea of finding empowerment and identity, and in doing so presents a very positive atmosphere for children. What’s not to love?
Series creator Obie Scott Wade has come forward to say that the show isn’t trying to make a political or social statement. He just wanted to make a cartoon he’d have liked as a kid. Whether or not they intended it, we think that the show has a pretty cool message.
Besides, cross-dressing isn’t really a new concept for cartoon characters. First came Quality Comics’ Madame Fatal (1940), whose alter-ego is an elderly woman – and let’s not forget about Bugs.
Check out the show’s intro here:
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Farrah Khaled is an intern at the Toronto Standard. Follow her on twitter at @farkhaly.
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