This is in response to “Do We Have the Right Superman?” which is one of our many Call for Submissions.
The right Superman for our age? He’s got to learn from the Superwoman.
Not that she is in any way perfect. But, just like the Superman, she’s been through a lot since when she first appeared in Detective Comics more than half a century ago. Her body and character have gone through major transformations. In fact, there is not just one Superwoman. She is made up of several fictional characters. Some of those can give Superman a good lesson. Others just show him how to not do things. Let’s take a look at what the Superwoman can teach the Superman of our time.
Superwoman is sex on legs.
That is debatable. She is and she isn’t.
She is the creation of someone’s imagination—the writer, the illustrator or the film director. Their views do incorporate some of the preferences of the population at large. But it is their subjective interpretation of what is sexy and popular. The right Superman needs to be someone who is a bit more that a “mass produced” idol. He needs to be comfortable in his own skin. He doesn’t have to fit the standard.
Superwoman is meant to be as beautiful as Aphrodite. Have you seen any statues of the famous Greek goddess? She is rather chubby. Her legs aren’t terribly long. She’s got delicious curves—her tummy, hips, and all. But these are now regarded as signs of being overweight rather than physically attractive? Her face is not everyone’s cup of tea either. The moral is: standards of beauty change.
The Superman won’t be showing any admirable superpowers if he spends his days chasing after these fleeting trends.
Technology gives Superwoman her super powers.
Superwoman comes from the future. She brings all sorts of fancy gadgets and equipment with her. She is able to do impressive tricks, but it is often the technology that allows her to do that. It’s a bit like taking a mobile phone or a bullet train back into the past. You’d been seen as a Superman if you were able to leave Europe and land in Australia in less than 24 hours in the days when other people had to spend 6 months on ships to get there. Would that actually mean you had any real superpowers? No, not really.
A Superman of our time should make use of the new ideas, inventions and technologies, and do so without feeling superior. He should also remember that some things will (hopefully) never be replaced by machines. Some jobs will always require humans to perform them, like child care or looking after the elderly.
The right Superman will not be obsessed with technology and gladly do some things the natural way.
Superwoman is not constrained by the time limits.
According to a dictionary definition, Superwoman is someone who can work full-time, study part-time, look after the house and the children, and do a bit of voluntary work on the side.
She can do several different full-time jobs simultaneously, and she does them equally well.
Should the right Superman continue to fight against the time as we know it on Earth? 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week. No more, no less. We are meant to live well in those hours, and that doesn’t mean running around like a headless chicken. Some jobs will never get done. If there is a super power worth being nurtured by the Superman it is the power to accept the busyness of life without becoming a slave to it.
Superwoman can be super great and super evil.
Actually, the female equivalent of the Superman is the Wonder Woman. Superwoman is often an anti-hero. A super powerful villain. That’s the danger with anything “super.” Super-sized portions lead to super-sized bottoms and a super high risk of diabetes as well. Yet one cannot exist without the other. Some people are super kind while others are super greedy.
Perhaps, the right Superman for our times is someone who can find the golden mean between the two extremes. He is kind when it is appropriate and shows kindness in a way that is sustainable. It’s not just a one-off act of extreme generosity. He may occasionally get a bit tight. But he keeps those tendencies under control so that they don’t lead to super poverty and super inequality in the world.
Superwomen age too.
In one of the stories, the evil Superwoman is an aging Amazon with a streak of grey hair! This detail points at our obsession with and fear of aging as well as the oppressive cult of youth that dominates our lives. The new Superman will restore some of the old traditions from the past when the elderly were regarded as a source of wisdom, stability, kindness and nurture. The right Superman will proudly wear a silver crown on his head. His hair doesn’t have to be pitch black. Ageing is a part of life, of being human. But meeting it gladly, with dignity, requires supernatural patience and humility. Ageing also means we can experience the joy of learning from older people and practise compassion while caring for them. It is other people’s struggles and suffering that allow us to develop mature personalities with a supernatural strength of character.
Superwoman is human…well, kind of.
She makes mistakes—the most natural and common type of human “imperfection.” In one of the stories, Supergirl fails to dispose of some kryptonite and ends up creating a Super-Cat. Our mistakes make us into the great, super creative inventors that we are. The new Superman will make mistakes in order to continue to develop and not stay static in his “perfection.”
However, one can’t help questioning the usefulness of having a Super-Cat that can fly. There are creatures that fly and creatures that crawl. Those who live on land and those who stay under the sea. Each species, including humans, has its own unique set of marvellous qualities.
The right Superman will not look down on his humanity. He will embrace and celebrate it.
Superwoman is a dreamer.
Among our super human abilities is our capacity to dream big and work for the good of all.
The poor Super/Wonder Woman doesn’t actually have any such thoughts (“I have a dream” type thoughts). In the early stories, she is just a woman who desperately wants to gain some super powers (yes, as a woman, she can only dream about such powers. But let’s not be too harsh on the rather sexist content of the earlier books). She manages to get some powers but often loses them by the end of the story. The important point to notice, however, is this: she dreams and she gets what she wants. Even if for a short period of time. Hence, she is able to enjoy the benefits of being fully-human (all the time) and super powerful (some of the time).
The right Superman will not be obsessed with being a superhero. He will be able to slip in and out of his super-hero costume without feeling under pressure to always perform and impress.
Superwoman chooses suffering and self-denial.
Unlike her male colleague, Superwoman is not entirely indestructible. As an anti-hero, she dies in quite a few stories. There is one rather glorious death as well. One of the Superman’s fans, Dana Dearden, nicks some mystic artefacts and gains superpowers. She desperately (and unsuccessfully) tries to make Superman fall in love with her and, later, dies a heroic death while fighting to protect him. The story of this somewhat clingy woman is a testimony to our supernatural ability to choose to put ourselves in a disadvantaged position, if not in danger, for the sake of the other. Self-denial and self-sacrifice may make us defenceless and vulnerable.
But the right Superman must not be immune to those qualities.
Superwoman is wise as Athena.
Superwoman is meant to be the reincarnated goddess of wisdom.
But wisdom isn’t just about being smart, saying clever things and being successful. Wisdom is often gained through suffering and overcoming own fears and weakness. And it is designed for the good of all. It is meant to be shared. Wisdom requires on-going commitment to questioning and challenging one’s preconceived ideas and taken-for granted beliefs. Superwoman also has lots of scientific knowledge and can speak every language under the sun. Perhaps, the Superman could just start by learning the one universal language. The language of compassion.
Diana, the Amazon Princess, is all about balance and moderation.
Diana, one of the Super/Wonder women, is strong and powerful, and is always ready to face up to life’s challenges. But she is not into cheap thrills. She doesn’t jump at every opportunity to have a fight. She is more of a peacemaker. Diana uses her powers to resolve conflicts. The right Superman too will not be indulging in seeking his own early death. He will try to bring understanding, cooperation and restoration wherever he goes. He may possess significant powers but, mostly, they will remain unseen. What you will see are “insignificant” acts of courage and commitment that are more “super natural” than any flashy heroics deeds.
I don’t know how many men are tempted to become a Superman. The consumerist culture tells us that we are never good enough. We must be better at this and that. But how healthy and useful is this striving to be like the Superman from the front cover of a glossy magazine? We haven’t exactly mastered the art of being human to begin with. We don’t make full use of our potential. We don’t know how to prevent the harm to self and others caused by our weaknesses.
On the other hand, we do already possess a wide range of supernatural qualities. Some people have the admirable capacity to accept their own and other people’s weakness and to live harmoniously with all. Good men too will strive to strengthen their super powers like compassion, forgiveness, and empathy.
These super natural qualities can be cultivated by any man. Choose to be an inspiring role model for our generation today.
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Photo: Fair Use Wikimedia Commons Collage
Read more of Elena Verigo here on The Good Men Project!
Written from the perspective that men have no empathy, compassion, or forgiveness.
Seems that Superwoman’s x-ray vision cannot penetrate to the heart of the man, but just the facade…speaking of preconceived ideas and taken for granted beliefs.
GoodMenProject is a great place to learn about how men are. Mel Beck’s post (on parenting a child with a disability) is a great testimony to men’s supernatural empathy, compassion, commitment, love and humility. No doubt about that.
Good to hear from you, man! Hope all is well on the planet YOU 🙂
Well, about men from a strictly feminist perspective. There is a fine line between honestly learning about men and only hearing the voice of those that fall in line with yet another self-assumed perception of who they are by bolstering those that prescribe to said notion while debating, or dismissing those that do not. It’s a good start, no doubt. It’s breaking some molds, but there is so much more to this conversation that is left unspoken. One thing that I’ve found for certain, through life, marriage, even reading some of the submissions here, is that women in general have… Read more »
I suppose it’s difficult to get the balance right whatever we do. If we are super serious about all this – then we just stop and say, gender is a social construct. There is no such thing as masculine/feminine. End of story. But that limits our sphere of engagement to the academic world. And then we dive into post-modernism and say, reality can never be known “objectively”. It’s all a product of our imagination/interpretation. A slippery road.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/bfr3/blogs/applied_social_psychology/2011/10/the-social-construction-of-gender.html