Seeking Empowering Books/DVDs for Girls Age 3

[eko_mom]

We are TV-free but do watch selected DVDs. I'm having trouble finding female protagonists who aren't consumed with finding love or being saved. We have stayed away from Disney for the most part, but have watched Bambi lately. Hate it. My daughter is beginning to notice the gender of everything and I'd like her to see female characters that are active and strong. Even in movies where princess themes don't dominate, Spirit for example, the active strong characters are male saving females. Help.

We watch PBS Curious George, which we like, but there again, George is a boy. Ruby and Max seems o.k. except, Ruby is consumed with tea parties, taking care of Max and practicing baton twirling.

We'd like nature movies without a lot of emphasis on the death part of the life cycle. Any suggestions would help.

Not really looking for a debate, or judging the choices of others, just wondering if any like minds have suggestions for us.

[MsBirdie]

Dora, Wow Wow Wubzy (th older ones before daisy entered) One of his friends is Widgit who wears pink but other than that she is smart and an inventor. The movie Bolt , Bedknobs and Broomsticks. My Friends Tigge and Pooh ( I swear I am not purposely coming up with so many Disney movies). Backyardigans (depending on the episode). The Land before Time, Lilo and Stitch (especially Stitch the Movie.)

not that these are empowering but they do have female protagonists who aren't interested in romance. pretty sad list huh


March of the Penguins in terms of nature movies.

[Jenifer76]

Has anyone seen the cartoon movie Kiki's Delivery Service? Its looks to have a strong female character but I have not seen it.

[Daffodil]

Yep, I was going to suggest My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. They're great. Other Miyazaki films like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind also have strong female protagonists, but might be too scary and/or confusing for a 3 year old.

[eko_mom]

Is it REALLY this thin a selection?

[Whistler]

I feel the same way about stories. My DD usually connects with the stronger male protagonists rather than the female ones. I remember doing the same thing because boys got to do cooler stuff!

Some strong female characters I have found: Wall-E (Eve rocks!), Mulan and Pocahontas for Disney (I know you said you wanted to avoid for the most part, but Mulan is WAY better than Bambi for that if you ask me), Bob the Builder (Wendy is cool even if she isn't the main character and some of the trucks are girls), Martha Speaks, Clifford, Dragon Tales, Word Girl.

I totally agree that I'd like to see strong, interesting female characters. I even like Princess Presto in Super Why because she is totally "girly" but she is smart and helps save the day, never needing to be rescued. Good stuff!

[lorijds]

Originally Posted by Daffodil

Yep, I was going to suggest My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. They're great. Other Miyazaki films like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind also have strong female protagonists, but might be too scary and/or confusing for a 3 year old.

This.

My neighbor Totoro continues to be my all time favorite movie for kids. What a beautiful, imaginative, fun film.

[Just My Opinion]

Dora. Yeah, yeah, she is annoying and loud at times and sort of screams everything she says, however, she is always the one doing the "saving" of people and things, she is always the one who "figures things out" and whatnot. Strong female lead who very rarely (if ever) gets saved by others.

We love the book "Girls Hold Up This World" by Jayda (sp) Pinkett Smith all about how girls are awesome, without putting down men/boys. Lots of images of women/girls, multi-cultural too.

Also, chapter books like Anne Of Green Gables, we read a chapter before bed. She is a strong, opinionated, smart female lead.

[Daffodil]

It's not in the same league as My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service, not by a long shot, but Tinker Bell has a reasonably strong female character. She likes to build and invent stuff, and doesn't get involved with any male fairies, except as friends. The way I recall it, almost all the characters in the movie are female, and there are no particularly strong male characters.

[roostery]

My DD loves the book "Sally Jean the Bicycle Queen". We also like "Willa and the Wind".

She loves the giraffe movie "Tall Blondes" and I love "Madagascar" narrated by Maya Angelou. Not any death in either of those if I remember correctly.

You might want to check out the book "Great Books for Girls". It has helpful descriptions of everything from picture books through young adult reads. All of them with strong female leads.

[eko_mom]

I was avoiding Disney because of the exaggerated idealized body images for females and the old roles but will look into Mulan as suggested. DD didn't like the beginning of Tinkerbell that Grandpa gave her to watch, and I wasn't crazy about the set-up where all the fairies were judging each other but, we didn't get that far into it, so maybe, I guess.

What I'm really looking for is media where it is just regular characters doing regular things, but where the lead or active characters are female. Even where the lead characters are male animals, like in Spirit, I think girls internalize the messages of roles. I'm actually quite surprised that there aren't more choices. Dora, I find annoying, especially since Disney has princess-ized her too now. But maybe I'll look into the older ones. I just don't want to get her hooked on all the merchandising.

Tall order, I guess.

Thanks for the book suggestions. I do have the book referred to, Great Books for Girls, but have found most of them to be old and some out of print...but its a useful place to start.

Here's some research on girls and media that I found interesting if anyone else is on the same quest. http://www.thegeenadavisinstitute.org/research.php

[christinar]

We also don't watch much tv - the kids mostly do videos from the library.

I don't know that these fit "empowering", but at least gender-neutral, which is a step above disempowering!! And they're animal movies:

Brother Bear (Disney, I think, mostly about brother bears, but a very powerful woman plays an important role)

Milo & Otis (dog and cat - I think they're both male)

The Incredible Journey movie (the female cat is awesome)

The Little Foot movies (the protagonist dino is male, but Sarah is a strong female triceratops)

My kids loved the National Geographic Geo Kids videos from the library (I don't remember anything gender-wise in them, beyond the fact that there were some male & some female animal characters). Very tame & yet informative.

Also Magic Schoolbus.

And the Scholastic videos where they read stories are nice too (you could pick ones with stories that work for you).

[spughy]

I second (third? fourth?) My Neighbour Totoro. It's lovely, and my 3-year-old adores it. It's just a beautiful film, the family life portrayed is so gentle and comfortable, and the girls are just *girls* - not superheroes or anything, just ordinary girls.

Dora is ok but annoying. I recall Mulan being good, I haven't watched it in a long time - I'm on a bit of a Disney boycott.

Wonderpets is great, though - and the leader, Linny, is female. Most of the animals they rescue are male, if that makes any difference?

One show that my DD likes that I was initially concerned about but then changed my mind and gave it the OK is Scooby Doo. Daphne and Velma are actually pretty good role models, and Velma even has a reasonable body type. And Daphne's unreasonable body is balanced by Fred's equally unreasonable body - but Shaggy and Velma are normal, and likeable characters. Velma is smart and respected for it, and Daphne isn't too far behind her, smarts-wise. There's no actual violence, just some scary "monsters" (which always have a rational explanation) and a lot of chasing. And the girls are kind of the "leaders" - Fred's only function is to come up with crazy contraption-oriented plans that may or may not work to capture the monster du jour. (Note: this refers to the cartoon - the movie version is a whole 'nother story and should be studiously avoided.)

[Daffodil]

Originally Posted by christinar

Also Magic Schoolbus.

Oh, yes, Magic Schoolbus! My kids love Magic Schoolbus. Ordinary kids, equal numbers of boys and girls, no significant gender stereotypes, with a cool (but not at all ordinary) woman teacher who loves science and adventure. Plus actual useful information about science. The books are great, too, especially the originals by Joanna Cole.

[roostery]

Originally Posted by eko_mom

I was avoiding Disney because of the exaggerated idealized body images for females and the old roles but will look into Mulan as suggested. DD didn't like the beginning of Tinkerbell that Grandpa gave her to watch, and I wasn't crazy about the set-up where all the fairies were judging each other but, we didn't get that far into it, so maybe, I guess.

What I'm really looking for is media where it is just regular characters doing regular things, but where the lead or active characters are female. Even where the lead characters are male animals, like in Spirit, I think girls internalize the messages of roles. I'm actually quite surprised that there aren't more choices. Dora, I find annoying, especially since Disney has princess-ized her too now. But maybe I'll look into the older ones. I just don't want to get her hooked on all the merchandising.

Here's some research on girls and media that I found interesting if anyone else is on the same quest. http://www.thegeenadavisinstitute.org/research.php

We just end up staying away from anything except nature movies. I think that we have to provide strong female role models from books and our own lives because they just aren't out there in film. I haven't found anything yet that I would show to my DD. Another suggestion is the BBCs Planet Earth which is unbelievably good. My DD has been watching it for over a year and just loves it.

Thanks for the link. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff for my DDs to enjoy.

[lorijds]

I know I've already commented, but I thought of some more.

I don't know how old your kids are, but my kids liked the Journey of Natty Gann.

Didn't the Kit American Girl books get made into a movie? That would have a strong female character, and the story is nice.

Bridge to Terabithia would be another strong female lead.

Really, you can't go wrong with anything by Studio Ghibli, as far as I'm concerned. Some of them deal with scary subjects, war for example, but all the girls are strong characters, and everyone is so complex. Even the "bad guys" aren't all bad. The good guys are flawed. The bad guys have good aspects or at least have some redeeming qualities. Even though my kids are older now, they still really enjoy the Studio Ghibli movies. Except Grave of the Fireflies. Don't get that one unless you want to bawl your damn eyes out. Two kids slowly dying of starvation after the bombing of Japan. A great movie, but not something lighthearted to watch with the kids.

ETA: Oh, and don't forget the Secret of Roan Inish!

[philomom]

Books:

Tatterhood Tales

Maid of the North

Princess Smartypants

Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter

Girls to the Rescue

[roostery]

An additional DVD suggestion. My DD really enjoys watching the Families of the World series. We get them at the library. They show children and their families going about their daily lives, I've noticed that lots of the moms have cool jobs.

[BaBaBa]

A few Miyazaki movies have already been mentioned but I want to add Spirited Away.
http://www.spiritedaway.com.au/
He seems to do a lot of young female protagonist driven movies.
I love them all:

[1littlebit]

the 4 yr old i used to nanny for liked these books with a girl character....she was in kindergarten and she did normal stuff like ride the bus. i'll be back when i remember the title