Superhero manga My Hero Academia tackles sexism in the best way with America's number one hero, Star, and Stripe. The striking hero is a valorant leader amongst her men in arms who support her every move. Still, even with a powerful Quirk like New Deal, Star's faces with adversity as a woman in the military would grow her to be the boisterous hero she is today.  

Star and Stripe, aka Cathleen "Cassie" Bale, is a member of the US military forces and student to All Might. Her hero costume is a classic American Flag design, similar to American comic book heroes like Captain America and Captain Marvel. Her role model, All Might, who once saved her as a little girl from burglars in the 2018 film My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, would inspire Cassie to dedicate her life to mastering her Quirk and surpassing her mentor. Cassie would also adopt All Might's hair tufts- to her hairstyle of eight tufts- as dedication towards her goal for peace.

Related: My Hero Academia Redeems America's Top Hero - At The Worst Moment

Star and Stripe's Quirk: New Deal is a powerful quirk that allows her to assign new rules to targets after touching and calling out their name. Star can only set new rules to two targets, with one target always on her.  However, with the support from her military team, Star's strategic mastery of New Deal's strengths is what made her a worthy adversary against Shigaraki/ All For One. But before becoming America's number one hero, Cassie struggled with growing her power and dealing with the constant bombardment of misogynistic comments - linking her gender as the root of her inability to level up. 

 

In any male-dominated industry, women face daunting gender stereotypes and are constantly reminded of their weaknesses linked to their sex. This is especially true in the US military, with the small percentage of enlisted women experiencing high rates of sexual harassment amongst male peers and officers. However, Star's comrades quickly tackle the false sexist remarks by telling Star her Quirk's limitations have nothing to do with her being a "girl" but everything to do with the Quirk's factor. A "Quirk Factor" involves the collective traits of a person's Quirk from the power itself to the genetic makeup. Star's team understands this and encourages Star to utilize them whenever her Quirk falls short.

My Hero Academia tackles sexism in the best way by dispelling gender stereotypes and holding a mirror to the treatment of women in the US military. With the support of her team, My Hero Academia's Star and Stripe were able to focus on the inner workings of her Quirk New Deal and surpass All Might as America's number one hero.

More: My Hero Academia Fans Missed Something Vital About Star and Stripe