A few decades ago, a bumper sticker proclaiming that Girls Kick Ass would have been unthinkable. It is only recently that women have been encouraged to be strong, independent, self-confident and even arrogant. And nowhere is this more evident than in the character of the superheroine.

These victorious women now come in a multitude of forms and personalities. No longer are the choices simply the crafty Batgirl or the Amazonian She-Ra. Superheroines can be brilliantly smart or a little ditzy. They can wield a menacing sword or conquer all with magical powers. They can be imposing women or they can be cute little girls with a penchant for iced lollies.

Does this mean that ideas about femininity itself have changed? Qualities associated with femininity have included frailty, ignorance, an inclination towards nurturing, frivolity and an interest in ballet. Some still ascribe those qualities to femininity while noting that more women are taking on masculine characteristics and vice verse. But others believe that not only ‘gendered’ traits are socially contingent, but that the categories of ‘men and ‘women’ themselves are constructed.

The ideas of deconstructionist feminism be helpful in decoding the meaning of female icons. Cultural manifestations of supercharacters, male or female, have often been splendidly camp. Dressing up has also been seen as a camp joy. Perhaps we could imagine that many recent manifestations of superheroism are examples of dressing up, or of drag. What is drag but trying on the external trappings of a role in order to inhabit it? There is nothing inherently feminine or masculine in heroic characters. We are shown now that anyone can dress up in the role of Buffy or Wonder Woman or Hercules, that in fact that the persona of a powerful figure is nothing more than superheroic drag. Thinking about gender roles and power in this way can be liberating. If all of us are playing at being men and women and using well-known figures as gender role models, then we can still be whatever type of man or woman or person we want to be. However enticing this idea of play is, though, it still exists within a system of hierarchy which must assign power and worth to one of a pair of binary opposites. Until everyone is super, we still must travel further.

And, in conclusion, I’d just like to say that The Powerpuff Girls are super cute and I love them.