Last night, Dave and I went to see Wonder Woman (which is awesome!). For the past several weeks, Nathan has been eager to see it but yesterday, when I talked to him about it, he had changed his mind.
I suggested that we could go see the movie this weekend and was surprised when he immediately got upset. He said that he didn't want to see it and if I tried to make him, the police would arrest me for child abuse.
Oohh-kaaay.
Since then, I've been trying to figure out where this vehement reaction came from. Is it because his dad and I were discussing sexism in the movie industry and comparing the public reaction to Ghostbusters to that of Wonder Woman? (For the record, my husband assumes that there is no sexism in the movie industry and that Ghostbusters was just a bad movie. I maintain that the new Ghostbusters wasn't horrible, it just wasn't aimed at fans of the original. And yes, there is sexism in the movie industry.)
Was the refusal just the result of a boy who's tired? He's had a lot going on in the last few days, a full day field trip, a big school project, an outdoor Cub event.
Was it worry about trying something new? This is one of the areas where Nathan's autism shows itself. New events and experiences, no matter how exciting or anticipated, are worrying to him. I've tried to remind him of how often he ends up enjoying himself while still trying to respect his feelings.
Or is this a more subtle effect of social pressure, that boys don't see "girl" superhero movies? This is the only option where I really should push Nathan into going to see Wonder Woman. Because that's not a stereotype that I want to reinforce. I want it shattered and buried.
For now, I'm going to leave it. I'll ask again this weekend and if he's still resistant, I'll let it be. It's not like Wonder Woman won't be coming home once it's available for home viewing.
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