It seems crazy that in 2018, when Star Wars is so enthusiastically pitched at everyone, regardless of gender or race, that a kid of 7 can feel intimidated about wearing a Star Wars t-shirt to the point of tears, but that’s what happened to the daughter of N.J Simmonds. Scared of being teased by her classmates for wearing something that is considered ‘boys stuff’, N.J decided to try something that would show her daughter that Star Wars is just as much for girls as it is for boys.
Putting out a tweet, N.J can’t have anticipated the response, with over 113,000 likes in just 5 days and a galaxy of Star Wars luminaries including Mark Hamill and Ashley Eckstein sending encouraging replies.
USA Today took at look at the story.
“I expected maybe five or 10 replies. What I didn’t expect was a massive outpouring of love, support and a hell of a lot of attention,” Simmonds told the Romper.
The initial tweet got over 40,000 retweets and nearly 95,000 likes from women and men from all walks of life, including “NASA scientists, screenwriters, fandom queens and Luke Skywalker himself,” she said.
Mark Hamill, who brought the character to life in the Star Wars film series, told the little girl, who lives overseas, that the force is always with her.
Just tell her to feel free to use this gesture if her classmates give her any grief. “Boy stuff”? PLEASE! The Force is, & always will be strong with females here on Earth & in galaxies far, far away.
♥️- mh pic.twitter.com/lAI4AGr0sc— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) March 8, 2018
And to the boys and girls in her classroom who think Star Wars is just for boys, you are really missing out. Seven years old is the best time to get into Star Wars!
