Why Miss Piggy is the Best Female Role Model

Winter is back, and Disney Frozen merchandise is everywhere. It’s a successful franchise founded on the view that the females characters are good role models for young girls. It’s easy to see how many movies have flat female characters, and sometimes, even when you think you have a strong female lead in a movie or TV show, on further investigation it’s not true. I believe Frozen is a step in the right direction, but there is an unsung star that should really be known as the best female role model, Miss Piggy.

If you’re unfamiliar with this character, she is the pig who is in love with Kermit the Frog from the Muppets. All of the original Muppet characters have had the opportunity to become fleshed out over the years. Miss Piggy is no exception leaving countless reasons why she makes a truly great role model.

  • Miss Piggy is strong and independent – She is typically the one looking out for Kermit, not the other way around. She may not always win her fights, but she stands up for whatever she believes in and whomever she cares about.
  • Miss Piggy isn’t a man – What I mean by that is she still embraces many feminine aspects of herself including getting dressed up at every opportunity. She didn’t have to emulate a man to be strong, nor did she have to reject men to gain self confidence.
  • Miss Piggy is a pig – Even though she knows how to dress sexy and has plenty of confidence in her looks, she’s still a pig. Characters remind her of this and no effort is made to slim her figure or facial features.
  • Miss Piggy is successful – Despite her many career choices, Miss Piggy has always been successful. From model, to manager, to news reporter. Effort is made to highlight that she can handle many high-stress careers with ease.
  • Miss Piggy remains classy – She gets mad, but she does so with wit and sass as much as with martial arts. She is as complex as a real person. She has the right balance of everything to remain sophisticated and yet personable.
  • Not everything goes right – She often has to change her plans to accommodate the rest of the cast or continue through the storyline and her character is able to adapt and move forward without issue. That’s an important lesson for anyone to learn.

I’m sure there are even more reasons that I can’t think of at this moment, but I don’t see many other characters out there with this depth. All of the Muppet characters together make great role models, Jim Henson was a fantastic storyteller and his legacy lives on though family and admirers. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think it’s about that time of the year to watch Muppet’s Family Christmas.


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