She was worried she would be teased for liking “boy’s stuff”.
A young girl who was scared to wear a Star Wars shirt to school in case kids made fun of her for liking “boy’s stuff” – and Mark Hamill had the most heartwarming response.
Mum N.J. Simmonds posted on social media that she felt “sad and angry” after her seven-year-old daughter told her she was worried she would be teased over her Star Wars shirt.
She wrote:
“My 7 year old daughter’s crying in bed right now because she wants to wear her Star Wars t-shirt to school but is scared her classmates will laugh because she likes ‘boy stuff’.
“I’m so sad/angry for her. Please RT and comment so I can show her how awesome girl #StarWars fans are.”
Soon enough, thousands of people began to send well wishes and words of encouragement to the young girl.
Among the well wishers was Mark Hamill, who starred as Luke Skywalker in the sci-fi franchise.
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 (@MarkHamill) March 8, 2018
He said:
“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.”
Other parents began to share photos of their own daughters dressed up in Star Wars outfits, offering words of support.
Howdy. I'm NASA Rey. I cosplay as Rey while driving Mars rovers and flying NASA's TIE fighter. pic.twitter.com/Rw0yAceIfx
— Keri Bean (she/her) (@PlanetaryKeri) March 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/RotisserieVixen/status/971952171402125313
— Pebble 🖤 (@Scarlett_Pebble) March 8, 2018
Please show her my (now) 8YO. The Force will be with your girl. Always. pic.twitter.com/l3E0I0uxDM
— Blacks Headroom (he/him) (@hannibaltabu) March 7, 2018
Star Wars is for everyone who wants to fight on the side of good, defeat the bad guys and make the world better.
Tell her to keep her chin up and channel her inner Rey and leia. pic.twitter.com/EupY4e3Qvy— Chloë (@MorozkosWitch) March 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/thelittleradish/status/971186004022370304
LilAware loves Star Wars pic.twitter.com/dne1uxXBrf
— Seth Trueger (@MDaware) March 7, 2018
Star Wars girl AND mom! In high school (mid 90s) I nervously wore a Boys ringer t-shirt with C-3P0 & R2-D2 to High School. It turns out that I ended up relating to a lot of other kids who liked Star Wars who didn’t realize I liked Star Wars. Sometimes it’s a conversation starter!
— Wendy Lady 🐀 @[email protected] on Mastodon 🌈 ☕️🦄 (@NerdRage42) March 7, 2018
Just told my 5yo girl this and she said: "No, that's not right because Star Wars is good and girls and boys can wear anything they want to." She then followed with "Can I be Rey tomorrow and not wear my uniform?" "No."
— Jen is on 🌟🌟SUBMISSION 🌟🌟 (@jensmith950) March 6, 2018
Simmonds later added that they were overwhelmed with all of the positive responses they had gotten – and that her daughter “went to school smiling” the next day.
And, in her Star Wars shirt.
Thanks everyone. She's now talking about wearing it with pride alongside her unicorn trousers because she can see there are plenty of other Star Wars girls out there 💗
— Natali Simmonds / N J Simmonds (@NJSimmondsbooks) March 6, 2018
She went to school smiling because of all your kind words. Her friends loved her t-shirt (of course they did). She's now home having realised that the fear of ridicule needn't be stronger than the joy of what you love. Thanks everyone!
— Natali Simmonds / N J Simmonds (@NJSimmondsbooks) March 7, 2018
