Rowan Hansen female superheroes, Rowan Hansen of Champaign, Illinois, has adored reading about superheroes from a young age. But as she started to grow older, the 11-year-old noticed something was missing from the pages of her comic books: women.
Like a caped crusader, Rowan decided to take action, writing an eloquently worded letter to DC Comics questioning the lack of female superheroes and why current female characters, like Wonder Woman, don't have more roles in movies and TV, reports Today.
"I love your comics, but I would love them a lot more if there were more girls," the fifth-grader wrote in her plea to DC. "I asked a lot of people I know whether they watched movies or read books or comics where girls were the main characters, they all said yes. Please do something about this. Girls read comics and they care."
Rowan's parents, both English professors at the University of Illinois, told Today that their child's take on gender inequalities in the superhero world made them stop and think as well.
[She'd ask], 'Why does Wonder Woman always have to be caught by Superman? Why doesn't Wonder Woman ever catch Superman?' " Rowan's dad, Jim Hansen said. "I was like, 'These are good questions.' "
To help his daughter's letter get more attention, Jim posted the note online. Once Rowan's appeal hit the Web, it started to go viral, quickly catching the attention of the DC Comics staff, who immediately responded.
Now that she has DC's ear, Rowan is planning on continuing to push her fight for more girl power in comics.
"I was just, like, 'Oh, my God, I can't believe this,' " she told Today about DC's Twitter response. "It was really, really cool, 'cause they're so big and important people. But I thought, I don't want people to think, 'Oh, yeah, okay, they responded to her. Now it's over.' I want people to keep trying to make this happen, 'cause it's really important to me."
DC Comics respects Rowan's commitment to getting more ladies in the lineup, and sent the 11-year-old a gift to let her know they are on the case. The creative minds at the comic company created a sketch of Rowan as her own superhero, to honor the girl's fierce commitment to change and equality.
Like a caped crusader, Rowan decided to take action, writing an eloquently worded letter to DC Comics questioning the lack of female superheroes and why current female characters, like Wonder Woman, don't have more roles in movies and TV, reports Today.
"I love your comics, but I would love them a lot more if there were more girls," the fifth-grader wrote in her plea to DC. "I asked a lot of people I know whether they watched movies or read books or comics where girls were the main characters, they all said yes. Please do something about this. Girls read comics and they care."
Rowan's parents, both English professors at the University of Illinois, told Today that their child's take on gender inequalities in the superhero world made them stop and think as well.
[She'd ask], 'Why does Wonder Woman always have to be caught by Superman? Why doesn't Wonder Woman ever catch Superman?' " Rowan's dad, Jim Hansen said. "I was like, 'These are good questions.' "
To help his daughter's letter get more attention, Jim posted the note online. Once Rowan's appeal hit the Web, it started to go viral, quickly catching the attention of the DC Comics staff, who immediately responded.
Now that she has DC's ear, Rowan is planning on continuing to push her fight for more girl power in comics.
"I was just, like, 'Oh, my God, I can't believe this,' " she told Today about DC's Twitter response. "It was really, really cool, 'cause they're so big and important people. But I thought, I don't want people to think, 'Oh, yeah, okay, they responded to her. Now it's over.' I want people to keep trying to make this happen, 'cause it's really important to me."
DC Comics respects Rowan's commitment to getting more ladies in the lineup, and sent the 11-year-old a gift to let her know they are on the case. The creative minds at the comic company created a sketch of Rowan as her own superhero, to honor the girl's fierce commitment to change and equality.
