Kelly Sue DeConnick, a writer for the new film Captain Marvel, declared in a new interview that there is “nothing inherently masculine” about being a superhero.

“None of us have trouble seeing ourselves reflected in white men because we’ve always been told that, that is the default,” the Captain Marvel writer told the Hollywood Reporter. “That’s the default human being and you can cross-identify. And because of that, we are always centering their pain and their comfort. That’s basic humanity. That’s how we’ve been taught to do it.”

She continued:

When we see authentic culture reflecting back at us, we realize that heroism is not exclusively the domain of masculinity. There’s nothing inherently masculine about power, or sacrifice, or the power fantasy, or about the sci-fi aesthetic or about the ethical ideals of these superheroes. When you actually see, what you didn’t quite let yourself realize you were missing, it is a shockingly emotional experience.

DeConnick also told THR that a scene from the movie will be the subject of feminist academia.

Was there anything that sort of surprised you, or shocked you in either the filming process or a final scene that impressed you? There is a scene towards the end, I think there are going to be Women’s Studies and academic papers written about this scene. I have a lot of opinions about it. I think it is bold as hell and sorely needed. And then there’s something that’s missing from this film that I also think is crazy progressive. But I’m afraid identifying either one of those things would be a spoiler.

Indeed, the promotion of Captain Marvel has been rife with social justice themes.

Star Brie Larson said last month that acting in the film was her “form of activism” and recently proclaimed the movie to be about “intersectional feminism.”