9 Awesome Feminists As Miitomo Characters

I've spent a good portion of this week playing around with an amazing new app call Miitomo. It allows you to build your very own avatar, or a digital version of yourself that can connect with other avatars of your friends. You can share answers to questions, play games, and shop for outfits. The results can be extremely life-like, if you put a lot of care into creating your Mii.

Since I had already created my very own Mii, I was wondering who else I could possibly build. Who else deserved the countless minutes of scrolling through eye shape options and hair styles? As I searched my brain, I realized that all the names coming to mind were of prominent feminist icons — Hillary Clinton, Beyoncé, and Gloria Steinem. I could create them all, and then some.

Keep in mind that nothing is an exact carbon copy of the original — rather, it's just me trying to get the general idea of them based on the features Miitomo offers. After all, each face is so different from one another that it's very hard to get all them just right. Also important to note — I don't have enough "coins" to buy everyone an outfit, so they will have to all be wearing the same thing. Just goes to show, if you can think of a person, you can create them.

1. Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony was one of the OG suffragists in America. She was a teacher first, and after 15 years got involved in the temperance movement. She authored books on suffrage, spoke around the country, and famously was arrested in her parlor for voting in a presidential election in New York. At one point she even radically cut her hair and started to dress differently to garner attention about women's fashion she found restrictive, but ultimately stopped because she felt it was taking away from her message.

2. bell hooks

When I think of bell hooks, I think of a woman who is not afraid to talk back! Born Gloria Jean Watkins, in a segregated town of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, she changed her name to honor her grandmother. Her writing shed light on both racism and sexism in the country, coming from the perspective of a working woman.

3. Lena Dunham

We all know her as the creator of Girls on HBO and a woman who has championed the discussion of class, feminism, and body image. Her portrayal of women in NYC is not every woman's experience, but it is an honest portrayal of broken, imperfect people. She has also been inspiring women by owning her job title and portraying the unflinching and sometimes brutal honesty of the importance of women having autonomy over their own bodies.

4. Malala Yousafzai

First, apologies for not including Malala's hijab in the rendering. Unfortunately, like I previously mentioned, I did not have enough coins to dress her like her real life counterpart. But, it does not take a way from her impressive legacy at just 18. Malala is a champion of women's education around the world and was even attacked by Taliban members who tried to kill her for her outspoken views. She survived the attack, and is now internationally known for her efforts. Below is one of my favorite interviews with her.

5. Hillary Clinton

What could be more badass than following up on a successful political career as a Secretary of State and New York senator with a run to be America's first female president? (Spoiler alert: Nothing.) Hillary Clinton is a force to be reckoned with, whose life is amplified by the media. In 1995, she gave a groundbreaking speech, declaring that “human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights once and for all”.

6. Amandla Stenberg

A feminist for the younger generation of women, Amandla Stenberg is not afraid to speak out on gender and sexuality. We first met her through her role in The Hunger Games, but it was her frank and open conversation about race and sexism on YouTube that made her a household name for feminists everywhere.

7. Gloria Steinem

One of the most recognizable faces of feminism, Gloria Steinem was at the forefront of the women's liberation moment during the late half of the 20th century. She is a sharp political activist, and her writing on feminism is prolific and responsible for a huge shift in modern day feminism. Many of today's leading feminists cite her as inspiration.

8. Beyoncé

The. Baddest. Bestest. Woman. On. Earth. Beyoncé is someone who defines musical genres for herself, someone who instills fear in record labels, and a woman who is not afraid of her sexuality and power. She commands the stage and talks about topics we all have difficulty being honest about, and "Lemonade" is just more proof of that.

9. Sheryl Sandberg

With the publishing of Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg cemented her position as a feminist icon. Her ideas of empowering women in the workplace elevate women to the same level as men within the workforce. With women currently making 78 cents on the dollar (and women of color making even less) compared to men, Strayed is championing women in the workplace at a time when we need it most.

Images: Dasha Fayvinova/Miitomo