Today’s “Author Talk” with Daniel Barnhart… author of Messy Anne Meets the Monstrosity
What do you want “Messy” to accomplish?
D: Ideally, perhaps fantastically, I want her to inspire girls to be their own person, and boys to admire and respect girls for who they are, as individuals and not as “girls” first.
Do you think it’s ironic that Messy Anne is developed by two men and it’s primarily about women?
D: Again, I don’t think it’s “about” women. I think it’s about fun primarily. And it’s also about seeing women as individuals from an early age. Just identifying that a girl can be a hero, can be an adventure star, and not thinking about her as a “girl hero” or “girl adventure star”.
But still, it’s from a man.
D: Yep. But that’s part of the stereotype perpetuation as well. You might rather say that as a man, who’s worked in marketing and entertainment and been married to a very strong woman and chose to adopt a girl from a third world country, that I am uniquely qualified to bash through all the stereotypes without baggage either for or against, and simply write a character that is an individual first, and not a girl or a boy character.
JOIN THE ADVENTURES OF MESSY ANNE MEETS THE MONSTROSITY!!!!!!!!!
