Growing up, I could barely stand watching television shows and movies, angered by every time a female actress was sexualized or portrayed as a one-dimensional being without independence or purpose. However, there was one show I loved, that I kept coming back to year after year, with characters I adored: The Amazing World of Gumball.
This show was unlike the numerous Disney movies with dead mothers and beautiful princesses. This show had Nicole Watterson, my girlhood heroine. Not only is she the epitome of female strength, determination, and hard work, but she is also a mother. Nicole is one of the only mothers in media I have seen play such an active role in the family and outside of it. The Amazing World of Gumball dedicates certain episodes to exploring her character, demonstrating all that she has sacrificed for her children while emphasizing her success in her career at the same time. She is the breadwinner of her family and also a present mother who loves her children, doing anything within her power to keep them safe and feeling loved. The many dimensions of Nicole Watterson made me view her (and myself) as a woman deserving of respect who knows no limits to what she can accomplish in life.
As I briefly mention above, Nicole as a character juxtaposes many mothers in popular Disney movies that I also grew up with. I was constantly force-fed the narrative of the dead mother whose daughter is raised without any female influence or empowerment. The Disney princesses rarely have girlhood heroines of their own. However, Nicole is the glue of her family; she reminds me of my mother and the type of person I want to be one day.
Nicole is more than her label of “the mother”: she is a fantastic employee at her job where she argues for the rights of the female employees; she is an unbelievable athlete and fighter; she never settles for anything less than her best. She is all of this and a mother, knowing no boundaries. She makes endless sacrifices for her children whom she loves so much, but her purpose lies beyond her motherhood role. Nicole portrays motherhood in a way I have never seen other movies or television shows do before. Although her character is exaggerated for the effect of the cartoon, she is most similar to the strong mothers I have known in real life.
Nicole Watterson is the empowered female I always longed to see on my television screen growing up. The reasons why she stands out among other female characters in children’s media are the same reasons why she stands out as my girlhood heroine.
-Sabrina S