You are weak, you are emotional, you don’t have what it takes.
At times it looks like the world is using a woman’s emotions as her weakness to get ahead. And then comes a superhero that every woman needs, a superhero that rises against all these biases and weaknesses. I was recently invited by @ArielIndia to watch Captain Marvel’s preview and the movie made my women’s day even more perfect. All the while watching the movie I kept wondering as the Little girls and boys who watched this movie along with me will grow up with new age role models and how movies and initiatives like these help change the generation at a subconscious level. When they see women can take on absolutely anything and their emotions are not their weakness but their strength and that is what differentiates them it will be a huge step in removing gender biases.
The story revolves around Carol Denvers was abducted by a team of racist aliens. Her memory was erased and she was trained to fight against skrulls, a threat to the alien world. During a mission she lands to earth and figures out that she was fighting for the wrong side and that’s when her transformation happens to Captain Marvel. She is the first avenger of the Marvel series. She is tough, reckless but with a heart of Gold. From what I have seen, she seems to be the toughest avenger. After Wonder Woman, I am so glad Marvel has come with another strong female lead.
So why do I think that Captain Marvel is a shining example of #ShareTheLoad a campaign being championed by @ArielIndia?
#ShareTheLoad is about role reversals and also about gender equality. It is only when men and women stand equal in our society when load will be shared equally. Today women are seen as emotional beings, incapable of taking up roles which need a strong head and mind. So much so, that there is a certain subtle bias that exists when considering them for senior leadership roles when it comes to corporate lives or even seen as hinderance when recruiting them for roles where their physical strength is tested. Honestly, the generation earlier has grown up believing in superheroes that are all men saving the damsel in distress, and that’s how little girls have grown up waiting for their prince. I am so glad that not only in movies like these where we are creating women superheroes who stand taller than the men around, there are so many real life examples of women breaking barriers. We have female fighter pilots like Avani Chaturvedi, world boxing champions like Mary Kom, A social evangelist like Malala and even outspoken actresses like Emma Watson, are making the world sit up and notice that women have the power, even more then men at times to do their jobs well.
Or even when my boys, see me fulfilling my dreams, climbing a certain mountain, running a race, receiving awards and accolades for my work, seeing my husband pitch in household responsibilities time to time.
The boys and the men are conditioned to assume a male dominance in every role and that causes a lack of respect for the opposite sex. Unless they watch and learn more about women who are achievers in their own might and are also respected by society, how will an entire generation of men grow up to give women the respect that they deserve? All this helps them grow in a new normal. Normal, that believes in women taking up whatever they deem right, normal where men #ShareTheLoad even if it comes to helping in doing laundry, normal that does not define roles or segregation based on your gender.
It’s time we changed the narrative. It’s time to bring in the new superheroes.
