Female Thor

I've recently been thinking about the announcement that Thor is going to be female in the comic book.

One of the things that popped into my head was the film Adventures in Babysitting. The little girl in that film idolized Thor. It didn't matter he was a male superhero. No one was telling her she couldn't like Superheroes or that they weren't for girls. She didn't like him because she had a crush on him. She liked him because she thought he was awesome. That was something beneficial to see as a kid. Because I liked things that had been deemed "for boys" such as dinosaurs and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I thought of how when I played make-believe TMNT when I was a little kid, the boys would always make me be April because I was the girl. But I would be one of the Ninja Turtles when I played on my own. I had people telling me the way I was suppose to be a fan or how I couldn't be a fan (these are probably the same people who grew up to tell women they can't be fans of comic books) but I disregarded that. I was (and still am...don't ruin that Michael Bay) a fan because I wanted to be.

Little girls, like me, pretended to be whatever superhero we wanted, regardless of gender. We had to do this because we had no other option. It becomes difficult as you get older. You are bombarded constantly with gender roles and the lack of representation of women. I'm glad that I had enough care and confidence to tell society's gender "rules" to eff off and parents that didn't tell me what I could and couldn't like. I liked Barbies and Dinosaurs and Disney princesses and Superheroes (although it has been pointed out that Thor is technically a Disney Princess now since Disney owns Marvel...*eye roll*) and so much more...

Thor being female is important. It matters.