If you read my last blog post about superheroes and feminism and felt a little discouraged, let me give you back some hope.
Seven year old Natalie Griffith, a little girl from Florida, was feeling negatively about her natural hair. She was also disliking reading, so her mother decided to create a book to combat both problems called The Adventures of Moxie Girl!
Natalie Griffith, AKA Moxie Girl!
Natalie’s feelings of self consciousness because of her hair is not an uncommon thing. My best friend, Rae, told me a story of not being able to play in the water as a child because her hair had been chemically treated. A child not being able to act like one because of their hair, because of societal pressures? Breaks my heart. I remember going to the YWCA for swim lessons and facing daily bullying from my classmates about my hair. It’s just not right.
The comic is about Moxie Girl, who hates her hair until one day she finds a shampoo that gives her magical, multicolored afro puffs that help her fight crime. Moxie Girl then saves the Jacksonville public library from,evil monsters that are eating the libraries books. You go, girl!
Natalie designed and wrote the comic and her mother helped out with the drawings. They entered their creation into the Jacksonville One Spark crowd funding festival and won $16,424! Woah!
Now Natalie not only realizes that her natural hair in all it’s glory is perfect just the way it is, but that to continue making cool stories she is going to have to keep on reading. The official comic book is set for a June release. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Natalie, Angie, and Moxie Girl!
