Uplifting Women in the Star Wars Community

Today is International Women's Day, so today is a great day to be supportive of and celebrate the women in your life. It's also a great day to celebrate the many female characters of Star Wars who make these stories so relatable and special to many of us. Today I especially wanted to talk about uplifting women (and girls) in the Star Wars community.

Fandom (for Star Wars and generally) has changed a lot over the years. Social media's rise makes for easier connections with like-minded people around the world, but it also allowed for a rise in anonymous hate and harassment, often geared especially towards women. While it should never happen in the first place, it is also heartwaming the support that will rise up to meet the hate.

And women and girls have become a lot more prevalent in the community than before. While we were always here, growing conversations about how sometimes the community could allow or excuse behaviors that made women uncomfortable, as well as a new focus in storytelling on female characters have made room in the spotlight for female fans to show their way of expressing love for the galaxy far, far away and forging friendships.

I have endless admiration for some of the women who have pushed the boundaries and allowed space for womens voices to be heard in the Star Wars community, especially for Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano. Ashley has been a role model for me since I was a little girl, not just for her skills as an actor but also how she created one of the first geeky clothing lines that focused on women's clothes, Her Universe. She's always been a voice for women and been open about the importance of mental health, and I consider her to be one of the most important voices in Star Wars fandom.

This International Women's Day and beyond, take some extra time to uplift the women in the Star Wars community. Support female fan artists of all mediums, watch documentaries like Looking For Leia, and make sure you have some female podcasters/video creators in your rotation. May the Force be with you all!