Some men got so bent out of shape over movie theaters hosting women-only screenings of the superhero flick Wonder Woman that they whined on social media that it was reverse discrimination. (This one is suing. Seriously.) Nobody tell them that on Thursday, Google released a Wonder Woman-themed update and an interactive project specifically designed to teach girls how to code.
“Wonder Woman continues to be a symbol of female empowerment, breaking through stereotypes pervasive in comic books, gaming, and pop culture,” Google wrote in an announcement on its blog. The company’s Wonder Woman update to the game “DC Legends” is available on Google Play and will tie in content from the movie and allow players to “select Wonder Woman and channel her strength while they play.”
[quote position="left" is_quote="true"]Only 22 percent of gaming developers are women.[/quote]
The hope is that these girls will play the game and then be inspired to take on the interactive Wonder Woman-based coding project from Made With Code, Google’s initiative that works to boost the computer programming prowess of middle and high school age girls. Through the project, girls will be able to “code three unique scenes from the film, using introductory coding principles to help Wonder Woman navigate obstacles and reach her goal.”
Google seems to understand what the men complaining about women-only film screenings might not want to admit: Gender inequality is alive and well in Hollywood and the tech industry. The company wrote on its blog “that girls are less likely than boys to be encouraged to pursue computer science and only 22 percent of gaming developers are women.”
Oh, and Warner Brothers, the studio behind the film, has teamed up with Google to host a screening in Los Angeles just for girls. This might be proof that, when it comes to Wonder Woman, neither Warner Brothers nor Google are here for the reverse discrimination complaints.