Last year, my then-4-year-old daughter pleasantly surprised me by announcing she wanted to be Wonder Woman for Halloween [1]. It was curious because, one, I didn't even know she knew who Wonder Woman was, and two, I was pretty confident she would choose a princess. She already had a closet full of Disney princess [2] dresses, she wore them all pretty much every day, and she was four — prime age for Disney-princess influence [3].
Delighted that my daughter was choosing to express her inner girl power over wearing tulle and sequins, I went straight to the internet to find the coolest Wonder Woman costume around, and I couldn't believe how difficult it was. Cheap, plastic, and polyester options abounded at the big box stores, and Etsy had plenty of Wonder Woman tutus [4] (kind of defeating the purpose, I thought). Eventually I bought this overpriced concoction [5] (including the $38 boots, sold separately, of course), only to realize it didn't come with a headband or cuffs. How can you be Wonder Woman without the freaking headband and cuffs!? I went to Etsy and bought these [6], bringing the grand total for my daughter's costume to just over $100. Why was it was hard (and so expensive) to turn my daughter into a superhero? Was it a conspiracy?
Yes, according to the media studies scholar Christopher Bell's awesome Ted Talk [7], which I happened upon recently.
According to Bell, who's also the father to a superhero-loving daughter [8], the lack of superhero merchandise, costumes, and toys marketed to girls is deliberate, harmful, and unfair to our kids, both girls and boys [9]. Listen to his argument (you'll never look at Disney the same way again!), get inspired to fight the system that tells your kid she should only want to be a princess for Halloween, then go buy your daughter one of these awesome costumes.
Bring on the girl power!
Pirate Captain
Ahoy, matey! Chasing Fireflies's pirate captain costume [13] ($114) is pricey, but it's also pretty spectacular. That very necessary sword ($20, made of lightweight wood with rounded edges) is sold separately.
Star Wars' Rey
Get ready to fight the Dark Side as Star Wars' favorite Force seeker, Rey [14] ($30). Lightsaber not included.
Amazing Girl
Pottery Barn Kids' Super Hero Amazing Girl costume [15] ($89) comes with jersey shirt, tulle skirt, mask, wrist cuffs, and cape.
Archer Girl
Chasing Fireflies's archer costume [16] ($82) will turn your girl into a kick-ass hunter. The costume comes with a belted tunic, hooded capelet, and matching armbands and leggings. Bring your own bow and arrow.
Ghostbusters Jumpsuit
I ain't afraid of no ghost! Get ready to ghostbust in this cool jumpsuit [17] ($30), which comes with a printed backpack and inflatable proton.
Katana
Master swordsman Katana [18] ($40) has super martial arts powers.
X-Men Supersuit
The owner of Etsy shop FlyLikeaGirl was inspired by the lack of superhero costumes for girls. This X-Men costume [19] ($85) transforms your little lady into Storm, Phoenix, Rogue, Psylocke and more.
Wonder Woman
This tutu-free Wonder Woman [20] ($30) is pure girl power.