HOW THE PERCEPTION OF WOMEN IN STAR WARS CHANGES

In 1977, Star Wars hit the screens as an overwhelming success; yet despite its popularity, it has struggled with diversity and inclusivity from the time of its creation until today. I examined the development of women present throughout the Star Wars Skywalker Saga by looking at the nine episodes of Star Wars, Star Wars books, and The Clone Wars animated movie and series. The portrayal of females within the franchise has changed as time passes – in particular with an accelerated transformation when Disney purchased Star Wars in 2012. For example, in Return of the Jedi, Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia is forced to be Jabba the Hutts’ slave and is dubbed “Slave Leia,” but a book published in 2016 titled Bloodline renames her to Huttslayer, aligning with the women’s rights movements and giving Leia back her power. By looking at the creation of the Star Wars universe, the impact of the franchise on fans, as well as Disney’s purchase of the franchise in 2012, it is clear that what began as one movie marketed towards males slowly began to create more content and characters for an audience that included women. The Disney Star Wars sequels star the first jedi female lead; however, the simple act of inclusion does not erase the fact that Rey’s story is nearly identical to her male predecessor’s, Luke Skywalker. With that said, there is a positive progression of how women in Star Wars are treated on and off the screen, but – as with anything – there is always room for improvement.