Back In The 90s: The Girl Who Preferred Action

“Gotta grow up.” That was something I heard sometimes as a child, but back then I didn’t want to as so many did. Others wanted to “grow up fast to become an adult” because they wanted to get out there and do their own thing instead of being grounded or put in the corner in time-out, dunce cap probably included just for fun.

Yeah, I remember those days. But I always loved being a kid regardless of groundation or parental issues because I was pretty much a tomboy back then. Being a little girl back in the 80s and 90s, a lot of adults believed all of us enjoyed colors like pink or purple, wanted to play with dolls or begged their parents to buy the Barbie Dreamhouse with Ken included. Some thought we were unwilling to get ourselves dirty playing outside in the mud cause it’d ruin that new outfit or had a fascination with Strawberry Shortcake or Rainbow Brite.

No. Nope. Nada. Never. Any adult who categorized me in ANY of these was absolutely crazy. I was the complete opposite, yet I did have my girly moments – dressing suitably, crushing on boys, etc – but I always loved being outdoors, climbing trees, roller-skating/blading, video games and more. But my inner tomboy came out exclusively when the subject of television was brought up.

I was always into those powerhouse, action-packed or more “adult-like” shows in the 90s mostly. Sure I watched the usual shows like “The Powerpuff Girls,” “Dinosaurs” or “The Magic School Bus,” even loved watching animated films like Beauty & The Beast or The Little Mermaid. However, I focused more on my love of shows like “Power Rangers,” Weird Science and “Beetleborgs.” Yeah, this chick grew up watching all those “boy-related” or “teen-centric” shows that most parents might say a big “no-no” to.

That was one of the reasons I enjoyed my childhood so much. My parents were never into the stereotype of “girls should play and watch girl things” scenario. Being the youngest of four sisters, my dad and mom supported my decisions in whatever I wanted to watch. In fact, it was my mother who first introduced the world of giant robots (“Transformers”) and mutated ninja turtles (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”) to me. As my own sisters watched them in the 80s, I was pulled me in as I grew older during the 90s.

My parents, mostly my mother, had set out guidelines, like most parents, about what I could and couldn’t watch. Which, by the way, was pretty much anything not older than what an adult could see. And trust me, shows or movies rated adult were definitely for adults back then and never argued about it.

So, I had a variety of choices back then which was ideal to me. Way back when, just looking at me, nobody would ever suspect that I watched series or cartoons like “SWATKats,” “Biker Mice From Mars,” “Street Sharks,” “Power Rangers” or “Gargoyles.” In fact, just seeing their questionable and bewildered faces was enough to make me laugh. To somebody who didn’t know me, the usual question would be asked, “What’s your favorite thing to watch on TV? I bet it’s (“Magic School Bus,” “Powerpuff Girls,” etc) or something like that.” Er, no. Not even close. I would smile and answer honestly which set off the looks of surprise and confusion toward either one or both my parents in which a shrug was their only answer.

For example, when I was around 11 years old, one of the greatest TV shows ever created, “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” first aired. I remember I had gone with my parents to their friend’s house so they could play the Pinochle card game like they did every week. I was bored with playing the same old video games they had over and over again. I needed something new and different to feast my eyes on. That’s when I turned to the WB (now called the CW) and laid eyes on this amazing show. At first, my mother’s friend displayed a displeased expression when she saw what I was watching. She called my mother in and stated I was watching something that was “unfit for a young girl” like myself (which I inwardly laughed cause I always called myself a tomboy). Mom easily snorted and waved this one off telling her, “It’s all right.”

These days, thinking back, I wondered why my mother never switched the channel to something more appropriate or why she stood up for my television beliefs. Though she may have been non-restrictive on certain series, I figured a show where someone was fighting most of the time and stopping the evil things that went bump in the night would lead to more limitations on what I could watch. Fortunately, it didn’t. When I asked her about it recently, she simply stated, “Because it kept you from getting into trouble.” Guess I can’t complain with that form of logic, can I? Especially when Buffy turned out to be a great model for young girls everywhere.

Anyway, I eventually grew from being a kid to a teenager. As soon as the teen years hit while heading into the new millennium, I started controlling what I wished to watch myself. I pushed past the original cartoons and series (which I still adored) and got pulled into older, grown-up shows like “Walker, Texas Ranger” (every episode had some serious butt-kicking which was amazing) and the wonderful world of awesome anime. I got into shows like “Inu-Yasha” and “Dragon Ball Z” along with playing their TCGs (trading card game). To this day, I get nostalgic for what I’ve enjoyed back then. And I celebrate my passions by collecting figures (“Transformers,” “TMNT,” anime, etc) and have hundreds of TCG cards dedicated to Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic: The Gathering, Dragon Ball Z, Duel Masters and more.

Regardless of what anybody felt about my choices as a child or teenage girl during the 80s and 90s, my demeanor nor passions never wavered. The words “growing up” didn’t mean much as it doesn’t apply to me. Today, my heart remains that of a child and my mind shows me an endless loop of memories dedicated to my childhood. And when I get an opportunity to glimpse an old-school series, you can bet my keister is planted in a chair and eyes glued to the TV or computer screen.

So, want my advice? Watch what you want (within age limitations of course), cause chances are “Transformers” and “Power Rangers” might be better suited to you than “My Little Pony” and “iCarly.” At least they were for me.

What about you? What do you watch that gets you that “Are you serious?” look from somebody?