“Motocrossed” is an original Disney Channel movie that displays the differences in attitudes toward gender. The movie is created around the Carson family which consists of mom, dad, twins (Andrew and Andrea) and their little brother Jason.
The Carson family is known for their motocross racing team. The oldest son, Andrew, is the star racer. Andrea also enjoys racing but her father insists that the motocross is not for girls.
Andrea and Andrew decide to race for who has to do the family chores. During their race Andrew is hurt. Their father is very angry. If the team does not race they will lose their sponsor. The dad heads out to Europe to bring home a replacement rider.
Andrea is determined to make things right. She cuts her hair and enters the race under “Andy” pretending to be her brother. With her father still out of town and a bad scrape on Andrea’s arm, her mom becomes suspicious. Jason gives the secret away.
Her mother decides to go along with the secret, but they cannot let dad find out.
Andrea has a lot to learn when it comes to hard competition. She seeks help from a competitor, Dean. Andrea then gets wrapped up in a love dilemma after she falls for Dean but has agreed to help him get a date with another girl (he thinks she is a boy). All of this time she is still having to focus on winning the race.
Their father brings home the new rider who is very arrogant and refuses to listen to anyone. Andrea dad finds out her secret and angrily says she can no longer race although she had placed third in her last race.
The new racer’s behavior and attitude becomes a problem with the Carson family and dad decides to give Andrea the chance that she deserves.
This is a wonderful movie for adults and children. It depicts how parents can tend to think differently about their children of different genders. It also shows that if your heart is in something then gender does not matter.
Gender Equity Read Aloud Stories