A:     You watch a lot of anime and manga and cartoons right?
S:     Not a lot, but some.
A:     I was thinking, and this is extremely random of me I know, but where are the female heroines?
S:     What do you mean? Bhurka Avenger for one.
A:     Yes, but she's not mainstream. Think about it. We grew up with very manly muscular cartoon heroes.
S:     Yeah, like the Thundercats, He-man, Transformers…
A:     Yes so, can you think of any cartoon or children’s show, with a strong female lead, that has a female and a male audience?
S:     Well, sir. You have me stumped. Japanese anime is the only genre with strong female leads, but that is hardly mainstream the way we think of cartoons.
A:     It’s the US ideal. We have consumed their popular culture all our lives. Sometime, I think, that if the axis powers won the wars, the would be in a tight spot on the human rights front, but would women and men not be more equal than they are today?
S:     Oh dear Ameen, that is a really twisted way to imagine feminist equality.
A:     It’s a hypothetical situation… for arguments sake.
S:     Well here’s a hypothetical… Would you be okay with your son playing with dolls?
A:     In theory I should be, but really, if he was dressing up a Barbie doll, I would have to fight the urge to tell him to man up.
S:     That's the problem. It is one thing not to have strong “manly” female leads, but it is also problematic that we expect a female lead to be strong, athletic... someone who fulfills both the male and female role, so to say. The male lead has never had to do that.
A:     But isn't the point to break stereotypes? That a girl can be smart and beautiful at the same time?
S:     Well then why can't a male lead be strong and feminine at the same time?