Ever since "The X-Files" first premiered in 1993, Anderson has been fighting to be treated as an equal to her male co-star on the series, David Duchovny.
"While Scully asserted her authority at every turn, Anderson found herself fighting just to stand on (literal) equal ground with her male co-star. The studio initially required Anderson to stand a few feet behind her male partner on camera, careful never to step side-by-side with him. And it took three years before Anderson finally closed the wage gap between her pay and Duchovny’s, having become fed up with accepting less than 'equal pay for equal work.'"
Anderson's portrayal of Scully over 20 years ago was an inspiration for a generation of women who grew up seeing themselves represented in a science-fiction show.
Kate McKinnon, star of "Saturday Night Live" and the recent "Ghostbusters" reboot, is one of those women — and even once dressed up as Scully for Halloween.
While that's amazing all on its own, it's not the most exciting news here.
Gillian Anderson just tweeted a photo of a young McKinnon dressed in full Scully regalia:
She captioned the photo:
"Kate McKinnon, we have something in common & it's not slimy green things. #Ghostbusters #thefutureisfemale"
This tweet is so many awesome things at once. Not only did Anderson honor McKinnon, the incredibly talented and deserving breakout star of "Ghostbusters," but she added the hashtag #thefutureisfemale, a slogan that originated back in 1972 to commemorate the first women's bookstore in New York City. Over the years, it's become a phrase for women's empowerment in the face of oppression.
Anderson's tweet makes an important statement about "Ghostbusters," a movie that's taken a lot of flack for putting hilarious women in the foreground. And fans have echoed her sentiment across Twitter.
Writer Jill Pantozzi shared a photo of herself also dressed as Scully:
In an article about why prominent female characters are important in movies like "Ghostbusters" and TV shows like "The X-Files," Pantozzi explained, "No matter how you feel about Ghostbusters, you can't deny these women and their characters will make a lasting and powerful impact to so many people."
Thanks to Anderson, McKinnon, and all women battling the still frightfully misogynistic world that is the entertainment business, things are slowly but surely changing for the better.
Hopefully, as a result, there will be a lot more girls dressed up like Scully and the Ghostbusters gang this Halloween.