Isaac’s story hit the mainstream media when his mom, Katie Alicea, published his story to Romper.com. In her post, she tells the story of how her 5-year-old is starting kindergarten in a few weeks and is beyond excited. In order to distract him, she decided to take him on a trip to buy school supplies and to pick out a brand new backpack. Once there, rather than spend ages looking for the perfect one, he knew exactly what he wanted: a Wonder Woman backpack. She continues to write about how she worries for her son, not for his identity but for the experiences he will have outside of their household where the world may not be as understanding. She writes:
“Why are we trying to get our boys to live in a muted world of blues, browns, and greens, where it’s fine if they play with guns and trucks, but not with Barbies?” -romper.com
To tell boys that they should stay away from feminine things implies that they are inferior, different, and/or not as special. Ms. Alicea admires her son for thinking of Wonder Woman first when thinking of superheroes and calls for a time where our sons don’t see Wonder Woman as inferior or weaker to her male counterparts.
After her article was shared thousands of times, Gal Gadot (the actress who portrayed Wonder Woman in Patty Jenkins’ 2017 hit) tweeted a photo of the headline with the caption:
“Just read this article about breaking gender stereotypes by Katie Alicea. Such an important topic and something I believe in so strongly. I hope Isaac wore the crown and his WW backpack proudly to school.” -twitter.com
With Gal Gadot’s nod of approval and encouragement, let’s hope Isaac has a wonderful day at kindergarten with his new backpack and that the world may change so that this isn’t news anymore. Ms. Alicea expresses how we all feel when she wrote:
“As much as I want to protect Isaac from the world, I want to confidently release him into it even more.” -romper.com
h/t: Romper.com