The Super Hero Effect 

     If you haven't noticed, lately there is a huge infatuation with the characters of superheros.  They are everywhere.  In the movies.  In the media.  Both genders associate them.  Guys can appreciate the heroic values accomplished by the characters in the movies and books.  Yet girls have gone crazy over the notion of a hero.  Why is this?

     The answer is pretty simple if you think about it. Feminism has destroyed masculinity.  It has taken down the art of manhood piece by piece until what we are left with is men who are afraid to open doors for women lest they be berated by feminists.  It has left us with guys who are so hesitant to do anything along the lines of gentleman behavior that they resort to crude humor to get attention   Or, in efforts to be attractive and relate-able to a gender that pushes them away, guys start to be more and more feminine in words and action.

  It is then no wonder that we, the women left with the aftermath of the feminist regime (that unfortunately still has quite a hold on the culture) look to super heroes to fill a void that females themselves have created.  For the generation of Catholics raised on the words of (soon to be Saint!) Blessed Pope John Paul II, we find ourselves looking for something radically different than what the current world has to offer.  The young Catholic women are looking for a spouse to lead them to Heaven, raise Catholic children, and build a 

relationship that is built with eternity in mind.  This is strange.  This is not characteristics found in the average guy in your college classroom.  So, the girls turn to an infatuation with super heroes. 

    Portrayed on the big screen is a guy who is everything we want and nothing we normally see.  A guy who is ready to fight for what is important and love the woman of their dreams, to the point of death (shout out to Captain America!) Yet, we know that our dreams and desire cannot really be fulfilled in these fictional characters   Then what do we do about this dilemma?  There are two parts to this solution.

     The first is to encourage your little brothers.  Well, your big brothers too.  When their actions are commendable, and even when you can see that they are making an effort to act like a genuine guy, thank them.  Let them know that you see it and appreciate it.  All of us know that when we do something we deem worthy of recognition only to have no one say anything about it, the action becomes less desirable to do.  When a guy offers his seat to you, thank him. Same for when he holds the door.  I was surprised at school this week have a guy looked at me with a shocked expression when I thanked him for holding the door.  I don't believe that it is a common practice (both the holding and the thanking.)  Make an effort when they make an effort.  

     The second solution is to become the kind of girl that an authentic guy is going to want to hang out with.  Become "wife material" versus "girlfriend material."  Don't be the kind of girl that a guy wants to take home to do you-know-what with.  Be the kind of girl that he wants to take home....to introduce to his parents and be proud of.

     Will it be an overnight culture change.  NO.  That is a guaranteed no.  Yet is it possible?  Perhaps it will start small at first.  An appreciation of the gender-based characteristics of masculinity and femininity?  Let's just say Matthew 19:26 and we'll leave it at that.

God bless and have  great rest of your holiday weekend!

Chloe M.