Girl, 11, demands DC Comics features more female superheroes – so they draw her as one

Rowan's parents say she has always been interested in gender equality issues

Lamiat Sabin
Monday 23 February 2015 14:14 GMT
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Rowan Hansen requested that DC Comics create more female superheroes
Rowan Hansen requested that DC Comics create more female superheroes

DC Comics responded to a girl’s request for more female superheroes by drawing her as one – but she said their replies haven’t appeased her need to campaign for gender equality.

Rowan Hansen had wrote a letter to the creators of Superman and Batman to express her upset by saying: “I love your comics but I would love them a lot more if there were more girls.”

“Please do something about this, girls read comics too and they care,” the 11-year-old from Champaign, Illinois, added according to NBC’s Today show.

A DC Comics artist drew Rowan as a superhero complete with her blonde bob hairstyle and spectacles with a burgundy and yellow outfit to help her fly over a dandelion field.

Previously, they sent out tweets saying that they’re “working hard to create more superhero fun for girls” but she had said that, even though she appreciated the responses, her quest to see more girl characters was not over.

“It was really, really cool, because they’re so big and important people,” she said of the tweets.

“But I thought ‘I don’t want people to think, “Oh, yeah, OK, they responded to her. Now it’s over.” I want people to keep trying to make this happen, because it’s really important to me.”

Her parents Jim Hansen and Renee Trilling said that Rowan has been aware of gender inequality for years.

Wonder Woman in the TV series was played by Lynda Carter

Mr Hansen told Today: “[She’d ask], ‘Why does Wonder Woman always have to be caught by Superman? Why doesn’t Wonder Woman ever catch Superman?’

“I was like, ‘These are good questions.’”

Rowan was inspired to write the letter after she received 12 Justice League figures for her birthday – of which 10 were male and only two were female.

The DC Comics drawing now takes pride of place over the mantelpiece in the family home.

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