The Powerpuff Girls made me into the woman I am today

Miss Bellum did not back down from a fight


Everyone has imagined themselves as someone greater – whether it’s a fire fighter or a superhero, every child has looked up to someone they thought was a perfect image of what they wanted to become when they reached adulthood.

My childhood heroes were of course my parents, but also The Powerpuff Girls. As I have grown older, I’ve realized that some of the most important parts of my childhood were how the things around me taught me to respect myself as a woman and women around me.

The Powerpuff Girls began the year after I was born in 1998 and I remember watching it until the final episode aired in 2005. While it didn’t seem like more than a TV show when I was younger, I’ve realized that a majority of the respect I’ve gained for women I’ve learned from three little girls that were made from sugar, spice and everything nice.

I would sit inches from the TV screen to watch Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup play with their toys or friends, but also save the day and Townsville. I remember pretending to be Blossom when I would play with the neighborhood kids because I always wanted to be the leader. Leading was important to me because that meant that I could call the shots during our games. I know every person writes “incredible leadership skills” on their resumes, but I sincerely learned my skills from watching Blossom strategical plan and command the triplet’s life-saving missions.

Every character in The Powerpuff Girls had an important role in the show, but some of the characters stuck out when it came to being empowering women.

Miss Bellum

Miss Bellum and the Mayor of Townsville

Miss Bellum may have been drawn with unrealistic body proportions, but she did not back down from a fight. She was strong-willed and held a position of power underneath the Mayor of Townsville. She was depicted as having a sexual disposition yet that didn’t stop her from coming off as one of the most hardworking personas, regardless of her features.

As a six year old, I didn’t think much of her hourglass figure or erotic appeal, I only saw her as someone who helped The Powerpuff Girls and protected them. (In all honesty, she reminded me a lot of my mother because she had really curly hair too.) Now, I look at Miss Bellum and think of how inspiring she was for young girls because she was employed as a woman and diligent with her work.

Him

Him

Him instilled a new brand of curiosity that I wouldn’t have gotten from anywhere else at my young age. He was male by character, yet dressed feminine and wore makeup. He brought forth psychological terrors that normally would’ve scared other kids but it just intrigued me. He was always my favorite character, right behind Blossom. He opened doors for my imagination that I would’ve never fantasized before and he also opened my eyes to the possibilities of different genders and sexualities.

Princess Morbucks

Princess Morbucks

Princess Morbucks was the biggest brat but she also gave a sense of reality that you can’t always get what you want. While she used her father’s money and his soft spot towards her to get the things she desired, she was denied entrance into The Powerpuff Girls because she didn’t fit the quota. Discrimination against those who didn’t have superpowers wasn’t even the main problem for Princess Morbucks, it was simply that she wasn’t kind and didn’t want to help the citizens – she only wanted in to the superhero group because she wanted the title. She taught me that fitting in isn’t the most important thing, even though that’s all she wanted.

I genuinely believe that although the Powerpuff Girls ended over a decade ago, it is still an incredibly important influence for young girls and how they view themselves. Each character resonated with me in a way that other characters from different shows wouldn’t have been able to do because the variety of each was so strikingly divergent.

The show will definitely be something I show my children, whether or not I have girls, because it shows a true diversity of characters and each has their own lesson to teach.