Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor. Photo: Colin Hutton © BBC.
Recently, the BBC named British actress Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor in the eponymous Doctor Who. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Twittersphere and other social media have gone wild! Words of both support and cynicism started circulating immediately, but the comment that has stuck with me was a tweet that simply said ‚Äòthe future is female‚Äô…
This announcement is a huge step in right direction for females everywhere who are told they can‚Äôt do the job of a man, but we should still consider the fact that in a perfect world, this wouldn‚Äôt be a big deal. A talented actress got a leading role in a popular TV drama ‚Äì that is where the excitement should start and finish, in my opinion. However, it’s still comforting that girls can add yet another awesome female role model. This year has already seen Wonder Woman, and with 2016’s female Ghostbusters, and Rey and Jyn Erso from the Star Wars universe, girls aren’t having to dress up as boys if they want to rock the superhero or Star Wars look.
Congratulations to Jodie Whittaker, a great actress who will surely play The Doctor in her own individual way, regardless of her gender (or the gender of a time-travelling alien). I am proud that in this day and age women have more chances to achieve the same goals as men, but I still look toward the future, where we have all truly achieved equality.
-Rebecca King
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.