Superheros and Engendering Differences :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being able to fly, to defeat all the villains of the world, and having supernatural power are just some of the supernatural characteristics of a superhero. However, these characteristics are the personification of what society would indicate to be the perfect man; or, depending on what superhero, a woman. I grew up admiring and idolizing Superman. From wearing his underwear to owning every one of his videos, I yearned to become Superman. This, however, was obviously impossible. Superman can fly, create a laser beam from his eyes, and he can lift the heaviest of objects. Thus, not being a totally clueless kid, it was the ideals of being a man, that superman possessed, that I tried to copy: having incredible strength, being flagrantly courageous, and being heroic. This, through my admiration of Superman, is what I thought a man should be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some would say that aggressive male behavior is innate; however, it also has to do with the glamorously powerful superheroes that act as role models to males as they are growing up. Superman?s incredible strength has led him to victory over even the biggest and strongest of enemies. Watching him, I thought I could prove my strength by defeating other kids. This did not mean that I went and tried to beat everyone up. Instead, I tried to be better than others at everything. I would try to hang on the monkey bars the longest, be the person who got picked first for any sport, and wrestle anyone to submission. Although my behavior sometimes got to aggressive, and got me in trouble, it always seemed to make me feel like more of a man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Superhero?s also possessed that perfect body that went along with being powerful. They would have perfect biceps, gigantic pecks, and six-pack abs. Although body image is more of an issue with teenagers and adult, this does have an effect on kids. The role models, that kids are introduced to, almost always have a perfect body. Superman, undoubtedly, had a perfect male body: lots of muscle and no fat. In fact, I cannot remember a superhero, male or female, that did not have a perfect body when I was a kid. It is from these images that teach kids, from the beginning, that being fat and weak is ugly. This translated into the ?ugly? kids being made fun of. I, too, fell into the trap of mocking others, who were not perfect, when I was a kid.