In the testosterone-fueled world of Star Wars, Princess Leia was the lone bastion for female bad-assery, fighting evil while rocking a bold new hairstyle (our hero!). So it was with some outrage that consumers recently discovered Disney wasn't carrying any Leia action figures, limiting its toy club membership to men only (Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Darth Vader).
As with everything today, it all started with a tweet, when a concerned mom asked why her daughter couldn't find Leia in her local Disney shop. Disney enthusiastically tweeted back, "Currently, there are no plans for Leia products at Disney Store, Natalie. Have a wonderful day!"—thereby launching what was, for Disney, a not-so wonderful day when the Twittersphere exploded with rage.
Lo and behold, Disney quickly did an about-face, saying it will be launching Leia-themed merchandise in the coming months.
Why does this matter? Two things. One is that this isn't the first time Star Wars has brewed sexist controversy over the past few months. When a cast picture for the hotly anticipated JJ Abrams reboot of the film was released, it was glaringly lacking in women (or anyone of color), prompting producers to announce they will indeed be adding more female cast members.
Second, it's no secret that there are almost no female action figures to speak of. Marvel, current king of superhero films, has yet to debut a single headlining female action star, and we're still waiting on Wonder Woman to find her place alongside the recent reboots of Batman, Superman and Spider-Man. No female heroes in films means no female hero action figures—and for little girls who want to fight evil, Princess Leia-style, that's a damn shame.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
