ContraverZow! – a New Kids Cartoon Seems to Have Stirred Some Pots

As a conscientious parent, I try to keep a finger on what media my kids consume. And as a nerd/geek/fan of super-hero related things, I naturally have tended to try and steer them toward such interests (luckily with limited resistance). Even when they were at young ages I would sit and watch cartoons with them, and as a result many shows quickly fell out of the lineup just because I couldn’t stand watching them. Now they consume more without me, but not without at least my blessing (I can only stand My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic  in very small doses and have to leave the room when Littlest Pet Shop  comes on).

A show that I’ve recently become aware of through my regular online reading is a new HUB show called SheZow. This show revolves around a boy (named Guy) whose family inherits a house and possessions from a dead aunt who turns out to have been the eponymous superhero. And in a moment of mocking disbelief, Guy inadvertently becomes the new bearer of this mantle of power … but in the same girly costume that his aunt wore (e.g., mini-skirt, high-heel boots, leopard-print top).

This show caused a stir even before it aired a single episode. One Million Moms, an admittedly conservative alliance of American mothers and supporters, issued a call-to-arms against the show. Meanwhile, there seems to have been mixed-reactions from the other end of the spectrum. While some more liberal groups want to be supportive of the show in reaction, others are on the fence. While they can agree that conservatives are making mountains out of molehills, further scrutiny has yet to determine how much of the molehill is good, clean dirt and how much is something else.

One example of someone taking the time to scrutinize this show further can be found on the popular, female-oriented blog, the Broad Side. In this article, Chris Trejbal points out that while there is no real gender-bending going on here to be concerned with, the level of stereotyping in the gender roles depicted is not necessarily something parents should easily give a pass to. Having both a son and a daughter, I tend to appreciate this point. That said however, I have viewed a few episodes of this show with my children and I’m willing to give it a pass.

Here is why I’m okay with this show. While yes, it does in fact play off of a number of common and questionably-founded gender tropes, it tends to do so comically and without necessarily lauding them or cementing them as accurate. Instead, many of the female characters aside from the hero and his/her villains are depicted as more promising examples of the variegated female population of the show – such as Guy’s sister who is not superficial and ‘girly’ but rather the more nerdy and knowledgeable member of the crew, or Guy’s mom who is a strong independent matron and feminist who saw SheZow as a great role model for girls. Equally the boys and men of the show are not at all homogeneous in behavior either – Guy’s brother, who initially guffaws over Guy’s predicament quickly turns to support as his ever-vigilant (if comedic) sidekick du jour, while their dad (who like their mom is in the dark on SheZow’s new alter ego) is a cop who hates SheZow as a grandstanding vigilante who makes hard-working officers of the law look like incompetent buffoons. The most stereotypical depiction and behavior of the show comes from the protagonist in both forms and as such is somewhat unfortunately, but quickly overshadowed by the other characters and story elements and hopefully a point of growth for the character over time.

I’m not at all saying that this is Shakespeare – this is clearly written and drawn to be enjoyed by young kids. And as such I will likely only tolerate it in small doses myself. But so long as the kids enjoy it and don’t seem to be getting weird ideas about things as a direct result, I plan to let them keep watching it. And even if questions do arise, as a parent of the modern era, I think I’m prepared to answer them.