Now, there are a lot of stereotypes that surround the costuming community. Costumers are overweight and socially awkward. Costumers do what they do to escape their own miserable reality. Costumers never get laid. That’s all much more than I have any intention of addressing here. What I’m here to talk about today is how my feminism affects my costuming habits.
I’m a small, brown-haired, relatively pretty young woman. In the general sense, this makes me a great Princess Leia. I’ve been wearing her Ceremonial gown from the end of A New Hope for years, and pretty soon I’ll have finished the Senatorial gown (aka the classic white dress with the cinnamon bun hair). And Leia is a totally kickass character, so I can get on board with this. There is one Leia costume, however, I will never make.
I’ll warn you, this might get a little ranty. Disclaimers first, though: I have nothing against anyone who chooses to make the costume and wear it. I can no sooner force anyone out of the metal bikini than anyone can force me into it.
Shortly before my college graduation in 2007, someone posted a short article on TheForce.Net reminding people to tune into a show discussion the question “Slave Leia Costumes: Art or Objectification?” Having very nearly completed my studies at the extremely feminist-friendly Oberlin College, by then I had plenty of thoughts on the matter as soon as the question was posed. There’s no discussion on the article itself, but there was discussion on the Angels of Iego costuming forums. Sadly, I can’t link you to the original debate because someone hacked the forums and everyone’s old posts were nuked. Suffice to say, opinions were split on the matter.
I fell strongly into the camp that said, “Well, of course it’s objectification.” I mean, this doesn’t mean you can’t wear it, but you do have to accept that, as a consequence of wearing the costume, you will be objectified. It’s possible that four years in the computer science department had jaded me, but I knew exactly what most guys were thinking when they saw the costume. I knew it because half the time they forgot I was in the room and failed to filter their comments.
And even more than that, it’s objectification in universe. Leia isn’t shown to wear that costume because she has a particular bondage kink. She doesn’t put it on willingly, nor does she show any indication that she likes wearing such things as a matter of course. The entire reason she is wearing that bikini is because she was Jabba the Hutt’s prisoner, and he was all too happy to find such a way to humiliate the Rebel Princess. The chain around her neck is used to force her closer to him, even when it’s clear she’d rather be anywhere else. It’s a deliberate attempt to strip her of her dignity.
I will grant that she did turn it around and use the chain to choke him to death, but that doesn’t make it an empowering costume. It makes Leia an empowered character who is better than that costume.
My opinion, of course, was met with much criticism. Most notably was with the owner of Leia’s Metal Bikini, a website that features photos of women wearing the Slave Leia costume. It’s run by a man who goes by the name Jamin. He insisted that it wasn’t objectification on any levels, and seemed to think it was insulting to the fine ladies on his site that I thought so (at least, this is the impression I have in my memory). Which I found particularly hilarious coming from him. Now, I can’t find the original graphic I complained about, but he hasn’t disappointed me. Back in 2007, it was time for Star Wars: Celebration IV, and there was to be a Slave Leia photo shoot. It was advertised using a photo with text over it. The photo was of three Slave Leias, cropped from their necks down to their knees.
Excuse my caps, but NOT SUBTLE AT ALL, PEOPLE.
Though I can’t find that particular graphic anymore, the header image from his website is just as bad:
In the interest of fairness, I’ll give you his reasoning. He said he knew the ladies in question and didn’t want to use their likeness without their permission. I guess it’s okay to plaster the mostly naked bodies of women around the internet as long as you don’t show their faces? Also, he knows these ladies, and writing e-mails to ask for permission is hard.
And it’s not just him. I single him out because he owns the prominent Slave Leia costuming site and calls himself “Slavemaster,” but he’s hardly alone. There was a G4TV Slave Leia car wash about a year ago, which I almost participated in as a regular Leia. They’d simply advertised it as a “Star Wars Charity Car Wash,” and I was all gung ho to show up as Leia until it was moved to the weekend of a college reunion.
I’ll be honest: had I gone, I would have walked out. G4 isn’t known for its feminist ideals, so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.
For me, what I wear when I’m out as a costumer has an even greater impact than the clothes I choose to wear at work. I work in a cave. But when I'm out in costume, I'm surrounded by people. Some of them very young people, who I don't want to give the impression that Leia was okay with being dressed up like a dancing girl. As a woman in costuming, particularly in a franchise that is often perceived as being "for boys," I am in a unique position to encourage the younger nerd girls that yeah, it's okay to love Star Wars. There are girls who are awesome in the franchise, and we're not just there to be eye candy.
I commend you if you made it all the way through that. If any of you who made it this far have any opinions on the matter, I’d love to hear them. Is there a context in which this costume isn’t objectification? Would you be willing to wear it?
