A new PSA-style video has been released in the US to challenge the idea of gender stereotypes when it comes to children choosing Halloween costumes.
Written by Alexander Day and Brian Carufe and produced by Landwirth Legacy Productions, the short film is titled My Heroes, and shows a family getting ready to go trick-or-treating on Halloween.
Two parents encourage their son and daughter to express themselves. The father looks concerned as the mother hands their daughter and son store-bought Wonder Woman and Batman costumes, and the mother quietly reassures him, “Their costumes are going to look awesome".
Both kids appear to be have the best time, running from house to house and knocking on doors as a part of the classic Halloween festivities. When one neighbour opens the door the parents stand on the sidewalk looking worried, but immediately seem relieved as the neighbour treats their children with kindness and positivity.
When they get home, the parents tuck the children into bed, and you realise that it was the little boy dressed as Wonder Woman, and the little girl was Batman.
The dad, after being worried all evening about the judgement his kids could have received for expressing themselves, whispers "my heroes" before turning off their bedroom light.
The video ends with text that reads, "Whoever you want to be".
The creators of the film, Day and Carufe, said in the description for the video that it "means to challenge gender stereotypes when it comes to children's Halloween costumes".
Social media users, particularly from the LGBTQI+ community, found the video both heartwarming, and extremely emotional:
