Apparently Hollywood thinks that if you put anything female in a movie that isn’t all tits and ass- boys and men in the Kid’s demographic will run away screaming. It’s part of the reason the rebranded the fairy tale Rapunzel as Tangled and promos focus on the manly prince.

I told the Kid he was a mythical unicorn in Hollywood land because he likes stories that have kick ass protagonists, both male and female. He looked at me like I’d been doing drugs. So I conducted a little test. Here’s a list of the Kid’s favorite characters in some popular entertainment.

Harry Potter- hands down, Luna Lovegood. Not even a second of thought on that one.
Buffy- Zander followed closely by Evil Willow
Firefly- River Tam
Bones- Bones
Leverage- Parker and Haridson
Favorite series of books- Tamora Pierce, Protector of the Small

So my hetero teen boy, in a completely unscientific study, tends to prefer female protagonists. There are 2 dudes on that list (Zander and Hardison) and they come with female co-characters that he loves.

I’m not sure if my unicorn child actually exists now, since the purveyors of pop culture think he is imaginary. Though his dirty, crusty socks all over the floor tell me otherwise.