The Supermom

Women are represented in many different ways throughout the media, in film, TV, animation, advertising and publishing. One such representation would be that of a mother, or in the case of this essay, ‘The Supermom’. The supermom, the identity construction of the working mother, grew out of the 1970s as a product of both second wave feminist sensibilities about the capabilities of women (women can do it all!), and a social reality that mandated that even strong, empowered women be “good mothers”. Since the super heroine was founded on characteristics of strength and independence, her ideological connection to Mothers is empowering [1]. Although this is applied more to mothers who double as superheroes, I feel as though this is also the case for mothers of dysfunctional families. And dysfunctional families don’t come any crazier than ‘The Simpsons’. 

Figure 1 [2] Marge Simpson. For original image click here: http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Marge_Simpson

 Marge is predominantly a homemaker, but does have her wilder side. Loving and supportive, her devotion to her family may be strained at times but is never broken [3]. Despite the lack of supernatural abilities or powers, I feel as though Marge is a definite Supermom. She is a brilliant mother, housewife, sex symbol, friend, and in episodes such as ‘The Great Wife Hope’ she kicks ass too. Her ability to keep tabs on her three kids, her husband and their antics, is what I consider to be her greatest superpower. 

Another similar example of this incredible ability comes from the mother of a slightly… ruder family. 

Figure 2 [4] Lois Griffin. For original image click here: http://familyguy.wikia.com/wiki/Lois_Griffin 

Mrs Griffin is a similar example, also a Supermom, maybe just a little rougher around the edges. What with Family Guy being a more adult, grown up show, it is only natural that this mother figure be a little more vulgar in her attitudes and actions towards her dysfunctional family. Despite this, she is still caring, motherly, sexy, and is able to keep a level-head in the situations that her outlandish and eccentric family get into. 

That being said, a level-head may be more useful for my next example…

Figure 3 [5] Helen Parr, or Elastigirl as she is more commonly known. For original image click here: http://pixar.wikia.com/Helen_Parr

My last example of the Supermom trope really is a little more super than the rest. Helen Parr or Elastigirl as she is known by her alter ego, has the added difficulty of dealing with family who can turn invisible, run at the speed of sound and throw cars around like they’re balloons. For me at least, this character really is the epitome of this Supermom character type. She may not have a career as such, but her job is to raise the heroes of tomorrow, an essential job that could have dire consequences if it was done wrong.
Usually, when an Action Girl is confronted with motherhood, she usually has two choices. She could accept the baby and her "fate" to ‘stay in the Kitchen’; or she can keep her Action Girl status by losing her baby by giving it up for adoption if it gets born [6]. The fact that all three of my Action Girl turned supermoms have embraced motherhood with open arms is a testament to their fictional characters.

References

[1] D’Amore, L M. 2012.
[2] Simpsons.wikia.com, 2015.
[3] TVTropes.org, 2015.
[4] FamilyGuy.wikia.com, 2015.
[5] Pixar.wikia.com, 2015.
[6]TVTropes.org, 2015.

Bibliography

D’Amore, L M. 2012. ‘The Accidental Supermom’-Superheroines and Maternal performativity, 1963-1980. The Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 45, No. 6, Page 1226. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Family Guy Wiki. 2015. Lois Griffin. [Online] [Accessed from 2015] Available from: 

http://familyguy.wikia.com/wiki/Lois_Griffin

Pixar Wiki. 2015. Helen Parr. [Online] [Accessed from 2015] Available from: http://pixar.wikia.com/Helen_Parr 

The Simpsons Wiki. 2015. Marge Simpson. [Online] [Accessed from 2015] Available from: http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Marge_Simpson

TV Tropes. 2015. Action Mom. [Online] [Accessed from 2015] Available from: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ActionMom 

TV Tropes. 2015. Characters: The Simpsons. [Online] [Accessed from 2015] Available from: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/TheSimpsonsTheSimpsonFamily