Working with a dynamic instance

[Rancor]

I am trying to move a movie clip across the stage. This clip has the instance name "runningGirl". I want to affect this movie clip dynamically. That way, when I add "runningBoy" into the mix, I can use the same function, but pass along the different intance name.

Right now, this is how I'm doing it.

I am calling a function in an if statement:

if(*parameters*){
	ThrowIowan(runningGirl);
}

Then, the actual global function looks like this:

_global.ThrowIowan = function(iowan){
	trace("Big D & the Kid's Table");
	dx = 86-_root.iowan._x;
	dy = _root.iowan._y-222;
	_root.iowan._x += dx;
	_root.iowan._y -= dy;
}

It's not working though, because I think it's not reading the instance name right (_root.iowan._x ). I don't think the variable is being passed correctly. How can I make this work?

Note: The function is being called successfully, because the trace shows up.