Daughters of the father: Superwoman, Ellen Ripley and Black Widow

Daughters of the Father is a term I learned in The Heroine's Journey by Maureen Murdock. A quote in the book from Lynda Schmit explains: “Fathers daughters organise their lives around the masculine principle, either remaining connected to an outer man or being driven from within by a masculine mode.”

In a comic released in 1943, “Lois Lane dreams that she has gained superpowers from a blood transfusion from Superman and launches a career as Superwoman.” This storyline was no doubt inspired by the influx of women taking over the roles of men during World War 2. 

Action Comics #60 (May 1943); by Jerry Siegel and George Roussos.

After the war ended in 1945, women wanted to enter and remain in the workforce. They slotted into established systems where they were permitted. They climbed the ranks as ambitious, unemotional, logical people. We got good at pretending to be men. 

The work at home continued to be done, as well as work in a career setting. Daughters of the Father indeed can have it all, in fact, they should be able to do everything. The Superwoman archetype infiltrated the minds of every woman born in the last 80 years. They should build a successful career, run a home, keep their partner satisfied, parent well behaved children AND be skinny all at once!!! Isn’t it amazing! What’s that? Oh, the cost? Just their own desires, dreams, wellbeing etc. But hey, the sacrifice is worth it for everyone else.

When we are are possessed by the wounded masculine, we become competitive and obsess over how we look or how little we are achieving (no matter what gender we are.) We lash out at people. We find ourselves unable to relax into the vulnerability required to have sex. We haven’t cried in months. We tell people we are fine but are unable to stop ourselves from pouring the third glass of wine (on a Wednesday in front of the TV.)

Barbie (2023) written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach

We have become hardened people with emotional resolve that is thick and dry like mud. “I don’t need help.” “I can do it all myself.” The cracked surface yearns for moisture (a quiet longing to love and be loved gently.)

Our culture is evolving. Barbie (2023) is a great contemporary example of how we can view our humanness. However the film did experience a significant amount of backlash from the wounded masculine pockets of our society. Unfortunately, a few years of “self love” movements and some new ideas is no match for decades of programming into our subconscious. 

Ellen Ripley from Alien (1979) was originally written as a man. When they made the decision to change Ripley’s character to a woman, “not a single line of the script was altered.” Ridley Scott thought it was a “fresh direction” because “she was the last one you’d expect to survive.” 

Although I love Ellen Ripley, the Alien movies and Sigourney Weaver, I think this iconic casting choice completely changed the fabric of our society. Ellen Ripley became a beacon of women can do anything men can do and we never looked back. Now, we’ve seen (in my opinion) a complete oversaturation in female heroes who are copied and pasted from their male counterparts… except they are like…really hot.

A powerful woman means committing violence (and lots of it.) She speaks in well executed witticisms and only ever sheds one sexy tear. She’s fierce, she’s strong, she never falters and she’s probably played by Michelle Rodriguez.

Avengers (2012) script written by Joss Whedon.

In all myths and stories, we should be able to see parts of ourselves in every character. That’s why they are so important to us and our understanding of the human experience. When we colour in the female characters with only masculine attributes, our perception of ourselves becomes warped. We erase the feminine (feeling, flowing, surrendering) and lose the balance of who we are.

We live with extreme conflict between countries with rising tensions and violence between groups with different political views. Nowadays, expressing an opinion comes with a significant amount of risk. Do I think it’s a coincidence that we are also, at the same time, obsessed with superhero movies? No. We all want to be the hero who defeats the evil guy. The problem is everyone thinks they are the hero. At the time of writing, there are no aliens that bleed acid or plan to wipe out half of the universe (that we know of.) So how do you know if you really are the hero?

We are stuck in a culture that expects us all to fight, to know, to speak, to conquer. This overzealous energy is what gets us in trouble. When we buy into masculine culture, we suck out the juicy wet feminine energy that wells within us. It’s like spitting out water when you’re dying of dehydration.

Where in your life can you let go? Can you accept they have a different opinion to you and move on? Can you let yourself not finish your to-do list? Can you take a break from the climb and just enjoy the view?

Stay hydrated.  

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