I recently watched one of the latest TED X Talks hosted in Colorado Springs and delivered by Professor of Media Christopher Bell. I think it was the title that initially caught my eye “The Importance of Female Superheros’. Being a TED talk, I knew there would be a bit more to it than just telling us all how cool Wonderwoman is or how sassy Catwoman was in Batman. It instantly made me think of when I was a little girl and the superhero character I admired the most was She-Ra. Now for those of you born in the 90’s or later, you may be lost as to who she was…well let me educate you…She-Ra was a ‘off-spin’ of the cartoon He-Man (the Master of the Universe and the strongest man in the World) and in my eyes, was the best superhero going. She was beautiful, strong, confident, had gorgeous long blonde hair, always beat the bad guys and always stood up to the men. As a child I would run around with my tennis racquet shouting her catch phrase “for the honour of Greyskull!” (I promise you I have grown out of that!) Before you think I’m going crazy, check out the opening theme…I challenge any woman out there not to be a little bit inspired 😉
Anyway, back to acting my age…so after listening to the aforementioned Ted Talk, I depressingly realised how manipulated I had been and how in fact many of my adult beliefs had been conditioned into me from being obsessed as a child by this made up character. To this day I still strive for the ‘perfect body’ of slender yet powerful, I am still growing my hair long and get it bleached blonde at the salon every 6 weeks, and rightly or wrongly, I refuse to let any man think he has got the better of me. (Which has often caused me a few issues along the way in my coaching career!)
So, here is the TED Talk for you all to watch. I would love to read your thoughts and if it has stirred up any memories of your own superhero loves as a child.
