5 Female Superheroes fighting for Parity! - Int Womens Day
I wrote this post for 2016 International Womens Day but it is just as relevant, if not more so, this year. I hope you enjoy reading about it again...
Last year we attended 10 pop culture conventions both in Australia and overseas. Every time I'm at a convention I am struck by how few female superheroes are out there and how few provide good role models for young girls.
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According to research by Fivethirtyeight, a website that specialises in statistical analysis, only 30.9 percent of the DC universe and 30.6 percent of the Marvel universe is made up by female characters.
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The theme of 2016 International Women's Day is 'Pledge for Parity' which means making a commitment towards creating equality between the sexes, especially regarding status or pay.
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With this in mind I decided to create my own female Superheroes inspired by women who work in heavily male orientated jobs. Each super hero has her own name, AKA's and special powers. I will be posting one Superhero per day on social media all throughout the week surrounding International Womens Day.
Name: Captain Caelum
Aka: The Chisel, Skyhigh
Special Powers: Like Wonder Woman she zooms through the sky in a plane, however her one is not invisible. Powers include flight, strength and durability.
Fact: According to The International Society of Women Airline Pilots 97% of all commercial pilots are male (4000 female commercial pilots versus 130,000 male worldwide) and only 450 worldwide are Captains.
Quote: Adventure is worthwhile in itself. - Amelia Earheart
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Name: Doctor Salus
AKA: The Caregiver, The Sensational Surgeon
Special Powers: Compassion, wit and the magnificent ability to diagnose and heal.
Facts: Whilst the overall number of female doctors is growing in Australia there is still large discrepancies in certain areas. In the 2011 census, 43% of GPs and 34% of specialists were women. However only 6% of orthopaedic surgeons, and around 10% of vascular and cardiothoracic surgeons are women.
Quote: 'If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.' Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf (24th President of Liberia)(**not a quote by a surgeon but wonderful anyway)
Name: Professor Politico
AKA: The Persistent Politician, The Hammer
Special Powers: Sharp tongued, hard as nails and made of steel
Facts: Despite 50% off the worlds population being female only 22.6% of the worlds MPs are women according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. In Australia women are above the world average but still significantly under-represented government accounting for approximately one third of parliamentarians and one fifth of ministers.
Quote: "I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man, I will not." Julia Gillard First Female Prime Minister Of Australia
Name: Lady Astron
AKA: Star Chaser, The Marvellous Physicist
Special Powers: Ability to fly through the sky and space,
Fact: 58 women including astronauts, cosmonauts and payload specialists have flown into space out of approximately 536 total people(this varies according to source). While the number female astronauts is very low NASA is working to change that and half of their new astronauts class is women and four women are training to go to Mars.
Quote: "I achieved my childhood dream of the sky." Valentina Tereshkova, The first woman in space
Name: The Steel Blade
AKA: Chef Blade, The Mix Master
Special Powers: Chops food like lightning, creates spectacular and delicious dishes, management superstar.
Fact: Despite the majority of food preparation being done by women and the highest rate of female chef apprentices than ever before there is a remarkably low rate of women working in commercial kitchens and fewer still as head chefs. In 2014 there were approximatly 2,500 restaurants awarded Michelin stars and of those, only 10 had female chefs.
Quote: "Little by little, I realized that being a woman could be a strength." Anne-Sophie Pic, French chef best known for attaining three Michelin stars for her restaurant, Maison Pic
My superheroes are not meant to depict any one woman but represent a mixture of all women. If you enjoyed this post please feel free to share it with your friends on International Women's Day(March 8th).
The list of 5 is by no means complete and I would like to do more in the future. If you have some suggestions for more superheroes please leave them in the comments section.
XO Tasha(AKA Jubly-Umph)
Ps. I have created a Nasty Woman artwork for 2017 Int Womens Day. It is all about saying what you want and doing what you want and being proud of who you are. See my new artwork and read my post HERE
Comments
Renee said:
I love these! Will we be able to buy prints of them any time soon?