Handmaidens

In the last two weeks, the topic of which Star Wars characters are recognizable to casual fans of the franchise has come up twice. Both times, it sparked fan reaction because the consequences of “recognizability” result in the representation of more male characters than female ones. That’s not to say it isn’t a longstanding truth of Star Wars that male characters have been represented in the galaxy far, far away. Having blogged about the topic for a few years now, though, it’s clearly a truth to me that because “recognizability” has been viewed through a distinctively male lens, this has created a cycle where it’s difficult for female characters to gain traction.