Handmaidens, Anyone?

This week’s character of the week at StarWars.com is Sabé – friend, royal protector, and decoy for Queen Amidala of Naboo. Headlining the banner is Shmi, mother of Anakin Skywalker and one of many strong female characters introduced in The Phantom Menace. The featured video is Padmé’s daring political gamble to put her fate in the hands of the Gungans, which is a favorite scene of mine. In keeping with the theme, the bottom panels highlight Padmé, Naboo, and the handmaidens.

In the newest issue of Star Wars Insider, creators, actors, and fans like myself share our favorite things in the Prequel Trilogy. Guess what mine was? If you listened to Fangirls Going Rogue’s first episode, where Teresa and I pondered an Essential Guide to Handmaidens, you might have guessed it has something to do with women from Naboo who carry ascension guns.

It’s nice to see the heroic ladies featured. The franchise’s main page has been doing a great job of showcasing diversity over the past couple of months.

Who knows, maybe my speculation isn’t that far off?

Don’t forget to check out StarWars.com for all things Star Wars and pick up the Star Wars Insider – or better yet subscribe – for more great content.


Tricia has completed her first novel, Wynde – a military science fiction with a fantastical twist that features heroines Vespa and Gemini. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.

For updates on all things FANgirl follow @FANgirlcantina on Twitter or like FANgirl Zone on Facebook. At times she tries the Tumblr.

Fangirl

Fangirl

Tricia Barr took her understanding of brand management and marketing, mixed it with a love of genre storytelling, and added a dash of social media flare to create FANgirl Blog, where she discusses Star Wars, fandom, and the intersection of women within Star Wars fandom. She is co-author of Ultimate Star Wars and Star Wars Visual Encyclopedia from DK Publishing, a featured writer for Star Wars Insider magazine with numerous articles on the Hero's Journey. Her FANgirl opinions can be heard on the podcasts Hyperspace Theories and Fangirls Going Rogue. Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.