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Way back in 2015, when The Force Awakens came out, the misogynistic Internet trolls were also awoken to complain about female lead Rey and cry “Mary Sue.” Things really went to sh-t after The Last Jedi was released in 2017. The sexism and racism got so bad that Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico) left social media due to all of the harassment she received. Since then, women, minorities, and allies within the Star Wars community have been playing defense. Whenever a new character is introduced that isn’t a white male, droid, or Yoda species, there’s always a vocal minority of keyboard warriors that find a reason not to like them. For example, from the very first episode of Obi Wan Kenobi, they had problems with Reva, a female Black inquisitor, saying she was “miscast” and “boring.” Though strangely enough, they all loved Gina Carano’s generic character in The Mandalorian, go figure.
Well, last week, the topic of females within supposedly male-dominated fandoms came up yet again. Star Wars YouTuber Niatoos Dadbeh brought psychologist Sadia Khan on as a guest, and they started talking about Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who will become the first female Star Wars director. Obaid-Chinoy recently made some whiny fanboys mad when she said, “It’s about time that we had a woman come forward to shape a story in a galaxy far, far away.” Why? Because waaahh why does she have to mention women? Why can’t she just be focused on telling a good story, waahhhh. Anyway, Khan, *who has never even seen any of the franchise,* claimed that women don’t care about Star Wars because “It’s a man’s little thing. Let them have it. But they want to be like, ‘Oh, there’s such a deprivation. We’ve got to be in it,’ so they can be a mini-hero.” Like…what? As a result, women have taken to TikTok to express just how much they love the franchise despite being underrepresented in science fiction in general.
“I personally have lost count of the amount of times I’ve been mansplained, gatekept or belittled as a woman in this fandom,” said Sidney Newcomb, 27. “And every single ‘Star Wars’ woman that I know has experienced the same thing to some degree. And at this point, we’re fed up with it.”
Drea Letamendi, a media psychologist and lifelong “Star Wars” fan, said women have historically been underrepresented in science-fiction, despite being a significant portion of science-fiction consumers.
“‘Star Wars’ is a fixture of our popular culture, and an impressive, very successful franchise,” Letamendi said. “So it almost seems nonsensical for anyone to say that any particular group wouldn’t authentically care about this narrative or the storytelling.”
Although it is more socially acceptable for women to be fans of science-fiction, fantasy and other genres once considered “nerdy,” women in these fandoms still find the validity of their affinity for things like “Star Wars” questioned.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been put on the spot with pop quizzes from men mostly, like trying to prove my knowledge on random, obscure facts in the fandom,” said Tracie Megumi, a cosplayer and lifelong “Star Wars” fan. “And I couldn’t help but think, what if I had heard [Khan’s quote] when I was younger?”
The recent conversation around sexism comes as “Star Wars” continues to highlight many of its female characters — Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano, for example, has a Disney spinoff. Female fans who spoke with NBC News said the solidarity and community they have built has helped them persist even in the wake of comments like Khan’s.
“Even with that misogyny and negativity, there are so many ‘Star Wars’ sisters who are there to lift you up and to defend you and just to celebrate you,” said Hannah Dove, 23, a cosplayer who predominantly dresses as Ahsoka. Seeing so many women push back against misconceptions about women within the fandom has also served as inspiration to continue being public about their love of “Star Wars.”
“I get so worried about people coming for me and saying mean things and whatever, but knowing that I have other females that feel the same way and that are on the same side makes it easier,” said Taya Miller, 24. “So I guess I’m just really grateful for the other women in the community.”
I have gone to San Diego Comic-Con every non-pandemic year since 2007. I have also been involved in different nerdy fan communities over the years. Women have always been here, even if we were unrepresented or felt unwelcome in certain male-dominated spaces. We’re here and we know things. SDCC has been pretty evenly split demographically for a while, despite the fact that panels tend to be male-heavy. Just because we don’t feel the need to go on Reddit and complain about every little thing, it doesn’t mean we’re not active fans with opinions of our own. No one had any issues with Ahsoka the cartoon character until women got super excited to see female representation headline a live-action series.
The whiny fanboys need to chill the F out. This is our space, too. Deal with it. In life, not everything is going to be for you or apply specifically to you, but that doesn’t mean it’s not made for you to enjoy as well. While you’re throwing your little tantrum, you may end up missing out on something really neat and worth paying attention to. There’s no need to go crying “woke” when there’s diverse lead characters in film, TV, and books. It just means it’s inclusive, and if sharing Star Wars with a – gasp! – girl makes you mad, then you really need to reevaluate your priorities.
@_hannahdove_ “Women don’t even watch Star Wars!” *LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER NOISE* (But seriously this sound is so sad and stupid because Star Wars is for everyone) #ahsokatano #starwars #ahsokacosplay #fyp #starwarsgirl #womenofstarwars #starwarsfangirl #starwarscosplay #ahsoka #galaxysedge #starwarstheclonewars #tcw #clonewars #jedi #fangirl ♬ TY FOR 170k LIKES – eowyn ☆
@rebel_rae_cosplay ✨Yes We Do✨ #starwars #womeninstarwars #starwarswomen #starwarscosplay ♬ TY FOR 170k LIKES – eowyn ☆
We #WomenInStarWars have always been here! And, we always will be. #StarWars is for everyone. I’ve loved Star Wars for 4 decades and a cosplayer for the past 10 years. I’ve been interviewed about my fandom on TV news, radio & print. This Rebel Princess is a #StarWarsFanForLife! pic.twitter.com/062QlmikYu
— ????️ Rebel Princess ????️ Jedi Kristen (@SWRebelPrincess) January 21, 2024
