The past week has been interesting to say the least for Star Wars fans. We got at least one thing new every single day. Even today as I write this (Friday the 21st) we got more news. The thing about news and fandom is that we have been going through a drought with Star Wars news and when it finally started to come in there were a few things that were overlooked. Such as representation. I can’t blame everyone for overlooking this issue that unfortunately still occurs but, I could not sit idly by and let everyone pass over it.
As soon as I noticed that the only Star Wars Rebels action figures that were shown at Toy Fair were male I knew I had to raise my voice. Many have said to me that I should just be patient and that of course Hasbro would make them. I have had others say to me they are saving the best for last. I hate to say it but telling me something like that only perpetuates my anger and belief that there really is a gender divide out there. I shall explain why these 2 phrases really get under my fangirl skin.
“Be patient they will make them eventually”: There are 2 words here “patient” and “eventually” that are insulting. Why should I as a female fan be any different than a male fan? Why should I have to be patient when you do not have to be to have a toy that represents a character you can get behind? Why should I have to wait for that eventually, when you do not? Nothing about this phrase makes sense to me. Many female fans love male characters but we also love female characters. When we know that a show made by Dave Filoni and Greg Weisman is going to have a girl power aspect to it we also expect that aspect to be represented in the toys.
“Saving the best for last”: This phrase only helps perpetuate the gender divide and this is a cop out. This phrase is giving a pass to the companies that create the toys, create the marketing plans or even decide on the roll out of videos. It is saying to them hey it is ok if you do it this way you can always make it seem like you were not ignoring half of your fan base by making these girls seem super important since they were introduced last.
We are now at a point with our news that all the main cast of Star Wars Rebels has been released in video form, we also have news that Hasbro is planning on showcasing the female action figures at SDCC. Was this their plan all along? Who knows but I would like to think they felt the fangirl heat this week and are making a concerted effort to show that they are not ignoring us. I must make it very clear I am thrilled with all the news we have gotten. I love all the character spotlight videos, I love the trailers, I love that Hasbro acknowledged the issue of not addressing the female action figures this is all wonderful news however, wouldn’t it have been better had these issues been addressed by the companies before they did the releases the way they did? I certainly think so. Geek Girls make up a large part of the viewing audience for all things geeky. We have embraced Geek fashion, fan fiction, fan films, costuming, gaming and everything out there we can get our hands on even COLLECTING! So yes I take offense when the main things that are focused on when it comes to geek culture are the male stars as if they are the only gender that exists.
There are 2 things that occurred that really lit me up the first is the way the toy industry is handling things like Star Wars. Star Wars is NOT just for boys contrary to what they try to market. Little girls and women love Star Wars toys and including one female action figure in a case is unacceptable. It is also unacceptable that the only female action figures we can find happen to be from scenes where the female star is wearing little to no clothes or that they toy is made to a considerably lower quality than its male counterparts. I am also opposed to overly done pink/glitter packaging for girls. There are many boys that like things such as My Little Pony for instance. Why is it ok for Hasbro to only market to the girls using pink packaging? Oh wait that’s right it is NOT ok. I am sick of this divide that tries to tell kids where they should be shopping. All toys should be available to both genders. Another brand that confuses me is my beloved LEGO. why are the Disney Princess LEGOs or LEGO Friends only found in “girl” aisles why are they not with the other LEGOs? This kind of bias disgusts me. Toy companies really need to recognize that they set a standard for kids at a really young age and they have the power to change this divide that happens. I can only hope that one day they will choose to be a positive influence on children.
As far as Star Wars and toys are concerned they really should have had at least 1 female in the group announced at Toy Fair 2014. Having one female in the first wave of figures to be released would have been the right thing to do to show that all the characters carry the same weight and that gender does not matter. Instead any child that sees the show that wants a female figure will just have to wait and that is not right.
The second thing that needs to be addressed is the roll out of Star Wars Rebels character spotlights. Why is it that we as female fans had to wait until the end to see our new heroes? To my eyes and to many fangirls it was not an oversight that it was done that way it was done on purpose and not in a good way. Why is it that we could not have gotten a male then a female then a male, a droid, a female and then another male and so on? This character roll out made this Fangirl feel like I did not matter and that my passion for the show is less important than a m Fanboy’s passion. I am also not too jazzed that Star Wars Rebels is being show on a channel that Disney themselves is marketing as a “Boy channel”. This insults me as a female fan. They have a chance to use Star Wars to reach beyond this gender divide yet they do not take that chance they just decide to keep perpetuating this vicious cycle that tries to say what boys should like and what girls should like. I truly believe Star Wars can be a franchise that can help bridge this gap and I believe the creators, talents, and voices of this show will be fabulous ambassadors for that, now if only the company releasing it and the toy companies could all be putting out the same message.
I am not a Disney Princess nor will I ever be. I am a Disney Warrior and that means that I can be whatever I want to be and you can not put me in a box covered in pink and glitter. Women are stronger and more independent these days and we deserve to be respected as such.
I would like to thank Jason Ward from Making Star Wars, Lisa Granshaw from the Daily, Dot, Fangirl Blog’s Tricia Barr, Dunc from Club Jade and Castles Capes and Clones for supporting me when I started raising my voice and posting articles about representation on the web. The more we raise our voice and stand up for what we believe in the more likely we are to see change.
Star Wars Rebels is something very near and dear to me because it is a part of the story I really want to hear about and it is something I am coming into as a fan from the ground up. I came into The Clone Wars after it first aired so I missed all the excitement leading into it. I guess you can say that I cherish the show and I want it to send amazing messages to kids from both genders and this is why I will fight to bridge this gender divide.
May The Force Be With You
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