By: Dominic Jones
One of the most controversial aspects of Star Wars may be on its way out. Our friend Jason Ward over at MakingStarWars.net is reporting that there are rumblings that Disney is planning on retiring the infamous Slave Leia outfit from future merchandising. This was compounded recently by a post by artist J Scott Campbell who stated that Marvel had already forbidden use of the Gold Bikini costume in their comics and covers. Campbell's comments seem to be a response to Carrie Fisher's interview with Daisy Ridley for Interview magazine and where she told the The Force Awakens star to "fight for your outfit" and "don't be a slave like I was."
The Slave Leia outfit has been the subject of a couple of "controversies" lately. The first was a father who complained about the 6 inch Black Series Leia being on sale at his local Toy Store. The second occurred when comedian Amy Schumer appeared on the cover of GQ wearing the bikini (the cover was not licensed by Lucasfilm).
While I would hate to think that Disney is responding to the controversy (especially the one about the toy, which was more a product of lazy reporting by a local news team and the father looking for his 15 minutes of fame), I can't say I'm too upset about the idea of the amount of slave Leia merchandise being decreased a bit (or a lot). I don't think a complete ban of the outfit is a good idea, it is an important part of Star Wars and should be represented in the merchandise. However, I do believe that our culture has lost largely the true meaning of the Slave Leia scenes in Return of the Jedi, which has led to an over representation of Slave Leia in merchandise.
I think it would be good move on Disney's part to scale back on the amount of Slave Leia merchandise to better represent the character and the amount of time she actually spends in the costume. With new Leia being in The Force Awakens and new Leia stories coming out in publishing all the time, the amount of time we see her in the bikini is decreasing and the merchandising should reflect that. Again, I'm not advocating for a complete ban just a scaling back on the amount of Slave Leia merchandise to better reflect the character and the amount of time she actually spends in that outfit.
All that being said, I don't expect the Slave Leia to be fully retired anytime soon. We may see a natural decrease in the amount of Slave Leia merchandise, but this could be due to the fact that there are new Leia stories that don't feature her in the gold bikini. Also, there's no real evidence yet to suggest that any of this is actually happening! May I remind you that Slave Leia was featured on this recent cover of Newsweek (see below), so it doesn't appear to be going anywhere for now.
We know this story is controversial to some, but please keep your comments respectful (regardless of where you stand on the issue). Disrespectful comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted.
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It's good if Disney to downplay it since I think it has be overly fetishized, but I do like how in the actual movie she actually kills her captor with the outfit that was supposed to demean her. It's to iconic to retire, but I don't expect it to be flying off Disney shelves, particularly with so much focus on young girls as new SW fans
ReplyDeleteI think the American public is acting way way way too conservative about a goddamn bikini. Give me a break! People really find that offensive? I'm sorry but that's just sad.
ReplyDeleteAGREED well correction, sad how America is so low on the pole of the freest country
DeleteThis is just sad... retconning for the sake of PCness all around. And a strong role model like Leia, at that ("What, you think I'm your slave? NEWP, I'm actually choking you with this chain!")
ReplyDeleteYeah, boy-o-boy... bikinis are just NEVER seen in the toy aisle at TRU. Oh, Barbie? That's just totally different.
ReplyDeleteDon't tell Disney there's literally a pair of "women's implements" that are actually VISIBLE onscreen in Jabba's Palace (albeit painted green.)
If I had a little Girl I wouldn't let her wear that outfit. That's how I view it anyway.
ReplyDeleteStrong sexy female characters suck?
ReplyDelete¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"The biggest problem in this country is political correctness." Donald Trump. Seriously, we've become a country of pathetic hypersensitive thought police wimps who feel entitled to specific accommodations when we are offended....screw the politically correct culture!
ReplyDelete@Jerk Ass, I totally agree! The American public is definitely stupid to make a big deal about something iconic in the Star Wars franchise. It's very typical and I feel this is somewhat based on a theist standpoint of what is proper and what's not.
ReplyDeleteRetiring it is the wrong idea, but making it the central image of Princess Leia is a lazy choice done to pander to a bunch of salivating 'fanboys' that don't understand who she is wrong and those shrieking 'that this is pc blah blah 'Murica" are little better than the Hutt she strangles to death with her own chain of sexual and personal enslavement. Put yourself in Solo's/Luke's shoes. Are you gonna be happy seeing your sister or GF treated like a piece of meat and as someone else's dehumanized sex toy?
ReplyDeleteMy preferred images of Leia. Defiance to Vader and Tarkin. Wielding a blaster and blazing away at stormtroopers with sharpshooter accuracy..nothing says warrior woman to me more than Leia crouching under the Millennium Falcon in Cloud city blazing away trying to rescue Han and flee.
ReplyDeleteChill peeps, no one is going to remove or cover her in the RotJ film. It's just tacky for a 'family' company like Disney to be selling products of a woman portrayed in a fetishized, demeaning outfit that has the word 'slave' attached to it. Not to mention Carrie has regretted ever wearing it.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't tell me the outfit wasn't created for it's sex appeal for all the young boys watching the film. You can convey that she's in a slave outfit AND have her COMPLETELY covered in that scene. Those costume designers and producers knew what they were doing