Fantasy Power Woman for Young Girls

Amy Jo Johnson as Kimberly Hart (Pink Ranger)

Growing up in the 90's, there were plenty of television shows for kids, specifically girls, who portrayed positive female role models. We had all the girls in The Babysitters Club, Blossom, Clarissa Explains it All, one of my favorites, Topanga from Boy Meets World, and many more. But of all these wonderful girls, I wanted to be like Kimberly Hart, better known as the Pink Power Ranger.

The numbers just worked out really well for me and my cousins when it came to assigning roles when we played Power Rangers. I was the only girl of five kids (at the time) so everyone got to be a certain Ranger and nobody was left out. OK, so the numbers didn't exactly work out well for my brother, the youngest of us all, who was stuck being the yellow ranger, a girl, but for me, it was perfect! Besides, I liked Kimberly for many reasons other than the fact that she was the designated girl of the group (after all, I had two to chose from, although I suppose it was bad enough for my brother having to be a girl, I don't think he could have handled being the pink girl).

Although she was probably supposed to be "girly," Kimberly was just as tough as the guys! Other than the fact that she wore pink all the time, she was pretty bad ass! She used her talent in gymnastics in her abilities to beat the villains. I mean, Jason (the Red Ranger) practiced his Karate everyday (fighting and defensive strategies) and Kimberly with her acrobatic skills could fight off Rita's minions just as well! She fought alongside the boys, drove around a giant mechanical pterodactyl, and balanced it all with school, a job, and a hobby. I think she was a great role model! I still think she is awesome.

Other than the fact that she could hold her own with the boys, I liked that she was still cute and feminine. I liked that her femininity was never portrayed as a detriment to her ability to contribute to the group. She was tough and smart and cute and nice all at the same time. And she was brunette! Personally, I felt like girls who were idolized by my friends were always Barbie doll blonds and since I have dark brown hair and eyes but I'm NOT Latina, I could never identify physically with girls in pop culture. Kimberly Hart was someone I could both identify with and someone I wanted to be more like. Girl Power!