How are conservative Star Wars fans so goddamn fragile that they can’t even tolerate the SW universe now being only mostly male rather than 98% male? And they call left-wingers the oversensitive snowflakes, holy fucking shit. Apparently women being presented as main characters rather than on the sidelines is “PC CENSORSHIP ANTI-FREEZE PEACH CULTURE RUN AMOK”. And don’t even get me started again on the “Rey is Mary Sue” criticism – she’s no more a Mary Sue than Anakin “Jesus” Skywalker and Luke “author-insert farmboy destroys super weapon with one-in-a-million shot with the Force with no training” Skywalker, much less of one in fact.
Dudebro SW fans are weak. And I say this as a hardcore SW fan myself.
I’m telling you, everything has flipped. “SJWs” used to be roundly criticized for being supposedly mean and oversensitive to people who like [insert mainstream thing lots of people like]. Now, it is all prominently right-wingers who hate everything and boycott everything and are mean to people who literally just like things as mainstream as football or Star Wars. Hopefully people realize it was actually always fucking this way.
I think what they don’t like is that it seems the only people that can do anything in the new star wars are Women. I think that’s their criticism.
Let’s take a look at every named male character in the new films then:
Luke Skywalker: Looked upon as a demigod who reinspires the Resistance. Is a badass who astral projects himself across the galaxy.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Finn: First Order defector and Resistance hero. Skilled fighter with compelling character arc.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Poe: Commamder in the Resistance and “one hell of a pilot”. Is probably going to head the Resistance in Episode IX after Leia.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Han Solo: Seasoned smuggler who acts as a mentor figure to Rey and Finn. Helps destroy Starkiller Base.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Chewbacca: Furry copilot and friend to Han Solo who eventually teams up with Rey aboard the Millenium Falcon. Severely injures Kylo Ren, greatly aiding Rey in her dual with the latter.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Kylo Ren: Second-in-command (and eventually Supreme Leader) of the First Order, a huge imposing threat in the galaxy.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Hux: Military general of the First Order, The aforementioned huge and imposing threat in the galaxy.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Snoke: Supreme Leader of the First Order, the aforementioned huge and imposing threat in the galaxy.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
DJ: Radical centrist codebreaker who sides with whoever is winning. Betrays Finn and Rose.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Yoda: Wise Force ghost who comes back one last time to guide a disillusioned Luke.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
C-3PO and R2D2: Droid companions. The former aids Leia with translation/diplomatic matters and the latter holds the missing piece of the map to Luke.
Do something: Yes
Gender: Both are coded male
Lor San Tekka: Mysterious dude who gives Poe the map to Luke.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Unkar Plutt: Spaceship junkyard owner who tyrannically controls the food supply in the Jakku desert.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Rogue One crew: Relay Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance, crucially securing their success against the Empire.
Does something: Yes
Gender: All are men aside from Jyn Erso; five out of the six
Galen Erso: Jyn Erso’s father and designer of the Death Star. Leaves a weakness in the design so that the Rebel Alliance can destroy it.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Saw Gerrera: Crucial figure in the Rebellion known for his intense/effective tactics against the Empire. Guardian to Jyn Erso.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Darth Vader: Terrifying Sith attack dog for the Empire and looming presence in Kylo Ren’s life. Carries as much demigod status as Luke. Kills lots of Rebels.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Director Krennic: Oversaw the construction and initial use of the Death Star. Had a big presence in the Empire as director of advanced weapons research.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
Governor Tarkin: Served the Empire as Grand Moff and Governor of the Outer Rim. Took over as director of the Death Star after it was fully operational.
Does something: Yes
Gender: Man
I might’ve missed one or two characters, but you get the point. I’m even being generous and not including the sheer number of background characters or those who still receive screen presence without any given name in the actual movie (the “traitor!” storm trooper, the competing smugglers in the rathtar scene, the pilots and ground infrantry at the battle on Scariff, etc.). (And I say “that’s being generous” because, let’s be honest, if those characters were female the anti-SJW types would absolutely count them in their “feminazi-takeover” conspiracy theories.) That’s still twenty-four male characters “doing anything” (important shit in the plots of their respective movies).
Using that same formula, you end up with only nine female characters: Rey, Leia, Holdo, Jyn Erso, Maz Kanata, Phasma, Mon Mothma, Rose, and Rose’s sister Paige. 24 to 9 – roughly one woman for every three men. Those nine women absolutely “do something” too, but don’t give me that objectively wrong bullshit about how they’re the only ones given important/interesting things to do. Honestly, it’s still pretty dang male-dominated, if those numbers mean anything to you. But they probably don’t, let’s be real here.
Star Wars is getting better at representation with baby steps, with overall representation still mostly with white dudes, and you anti types want to act like we’ve completely revolutionized 180 and went full matriarchy because there’s a couple of female lead characters in a fictional universe that has been historically 90~95% dudes. It’s laughable. I love Star Wars, but it still has a ways to go, and it’s absolutely ridiculous that this “only female characters are given important things to do” argument could hold any water whatsoever in discussion today.
you really need to look at wording I said NEW star wars
Force Awakens, Last Jedi, and Rogue One look an awful lot like NEW Star Wars to me.
But fine, sure, I think I know where you’re going with that statement. I’ll leave out all the original trilogy characters that leave an impact in the new trilogy and stick to JUST the new characters. Let’s see how that goes:
Males: Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, Hux, Snoke, DJ, Lor San Tekka, Unkar Plutt, 5/6 of the Rogue One crew, Galen Erso, Saw Gerrera, Krennic
Total: 16
Females: Rey, Holdo, Jyn Erso, Maz Kanata, Phasma, Rose, Paige
Total: 7
Tbh your point isn’t really any better off. About 70% of the new characters are dudes, compared to the original ratio of about 73% of all major characters being dudes.
Was Tarkin and Krennic in the new star wars? I must have missed those guys
Rogue One is, in fact, a new Star Wars film, produced by the same PC snowflake cultural Marxist matriarchy that’s producing the new trilogy. I’m not sure how you can argue Rogue One out of this conversation, but I guess you’re trying to imply that it’s just the new trilogy that’s a matriarchy where only women can do important things?? Fine, let’s just do the new trilogy this time, leaving out (the new Star Wars film) Rogue One:
Males: Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, Hux, Snoke, DJ, Lor San Tekka, Unkar Plutt
Total: 8
Females: Rey, Holdo, Maz Kanata, Phasma, Rose, Paige
Total: 6
You’re now at about 57% of the new, non-Rogue One characters being male. Congrats – you’ve pulled a Space Jam Michael Jordan-level reach and your argument is still completely unsupported by the actual numbers.
Your argument is that women receiving the most basic representation that men have taken for granted (white primary characters, people of color confined to secondary and tertiary roles) is somehow “women doing everything”, and it’s just wrong – demonstrably wrong. You’ve backed yourself into a corner because I know you absolutely want to count Jyn Erso as evidence of the new matriarchy, but in order to do that you’d also have to count Rogue One and the plethora of male characters with it.
The “Star Wars is becoming overrun with women” argument boils down to:
I appreciate this whole post but honestly I’m reblogging because that last gif is my favorite thing I’ve seen today.
Oh and if we’re gonna be consistent on this post and talk about the gender representation in Solo, it breaks down thus:
Men: Han, Chewie, Lando, Beckett, Dryden, Rio
Women: Qi’ra, Val, L3-37, Enfys Nest, Lady Proxima
With rough calculations, that’s 55% male and 45% female. Better than lots of other movies in terms of relative equality. But the “only women do things in the new SW movies” argument still doesn’t pan out. My 55/45 split is being generous too, since Proxima appears only briefly and the remaining female characters are all secondary or tertiary.
So if we add this to my second tally that actually includes Rogue One (because of course I should fuckin include the new Star Wars movie Rogue One in any analysis of new Star Wars movies), including only new characters introduced in the new movies, you get 19 men and 12 women.
So. Yeah. 39% women who “do things” vs 61% men who “do things”. “Anti-SJW” Star Wars fans are so petty, lord almighty.
The state Star Wars fandom is in honestly just makes me cry. My coworkers all say these things and I have to go along with it so they don’t view me as a feminazi but gosh.. EVEN TO THE POINT THAT THEY TOLD ME TO NOT be Reyat this costume party and I’m like Jesus! Even jokingly it’s like why am I even allowed to appreciate Star Wars!
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