My friend, Aarti, recently hosted a baby shower for her new-born twins. An adorable girl named Bhuvi and cute boy named Bhuvan. What irked me was that Bhuvi was dressed in pink and Bhuvan in blue. They’re too young to be pigeonholed like this, I said, but Aarti laughed it off. It got me thinking about the time, as a child, I played with and collected Power Rangers toys, whereas my friends collected Barbies. I was fortunate that my parents didn’t force choices on me and gave me the freedom to develop my own likes and dislikes.
Recently, I read about a mother in Australia, Rebecca Millar, who empowered her daughter with homemade superhero dolls. And I was mighty pleased. Rebecca’s daughter Abigail loves superheroes, especially the Avengers and Spider-Man, and has a proud collection to prove it. When Abigail asked for a Black Widow doll, Rebecca scanned the stores, but in vain; and the online options were too expensive. That’s when Rebecca decided to make the Black Widow doll herself to make her daughter happy.
My daughter wanted Black Widow. There are none. Made one. #WheresNatasha #avengers #GirlsLikeMarvelToo #parenting pic.twitter.com/lmAeQJUKYI
— Rebecca Millar (@bktlistingblog) May 4, 2015
“I just want her to know that girls can like Marvel and superheroes, just the same as boys can like Frozen and princesses and that both are totally fine,” said Rebecca. Once the makeover was done, she tweeted an image of the DIY Black Widow doll and several superhero-loving people around the globe rallied behind her. And what started out as a one-off-experiment has now lead the way for something bigger.
What happens when I reinvent Cinderella as a superhero. She also has sensible hair. #superheromakeover #dolls pic.twitter.com/XsM6vhBWXf
— Rebecca Millar (@bktlistingblog) June 19, 2015
Millar now posts several tutorials on Facebook and continues to take requests for more how-to explanations, hoping to encourage creativity, empowerment and imagination among others.
Abby from #NCIS doll makeover. Here's to strong, intelligent female characters & awesome role models! @PauleyP pic.twitter.com/4NGbuZDTPe
— Rebecca Millar (@bktlistingblog) July 19, 2015
She also sells dolls and takes orders. And with the help of Abigail, makes original superheroes too—what a way to fuel a child’s creativity!
Parents to empower
Parents condemning their child’s choices are often heard, that this account is heartening. While there has been negativity with people laughing at Abigail for wearing a Thor helmet and Batman cape, Rebecca has continued supporting her daughter’s choices and declared, “Toys and clothes don’t have a gender, and I find it a bit silly that people still assign gender to those things. Her superheroes make her happy, which makes me happy.”