Kathleen Kennedy Hopes Female Leads in Star Wars Will Change the Industry

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy stated in a press junket for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will help change the situation for female leads in Hollywood, Comic Bookreports. She hopes Jyn's leading lady status in Rogue One and Rey's prominence in The Force Awakens will lead to more "genuinely female" heroes. She went on to clarify what this means.

"I find it really interesting, when I first stepped into this job, I started looking at, what does it mean to be a female hero?" Kennedy said. "And when you look at it in this industry, it's pretty shocking." She feels that many female heroes in action movies are just "acting like men", basically.

She said, "I think the character of Rey, the character of Jyn, these are empowered women that are not necessarily just taking on male characteristics. These are genuinely female heroines. I think that's really important, and I think it will make a difference."

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this sort of rhetoric. Whenever anyone accuses female heroes of "taking on male characteristics", I have to wonder what this means. Why are certain characteristics "female" and certain ones "male"? What make Rey and Jyn more "female" than other action heroes? They certainly aren't the traditional, classic ideal of femininity built on demurity and politeness, so what is it?

I sort of get where she's coming from on some level. Traditionally ALL heroes shy away from things that have been traditionally associated with femininity for whatever reason: emotions, vulnerability, communication. I think it would be great for both male AND female heroes to treat these qualities as more valuable. I also think there should be a variety of ways for female characters express themselves and I don't like the trope of a female character who's "one of the guys" because she proves how "tough" she is by putting down other women. I think that might be what Kennedy is getting at.

But I don't really think it's helpful to decide that some characters need to act more "female" because really, what does that even mean, if we're not relying on stereotypes?

It might be more valuable to say that fiction as a whole needs to not treat being a female hero as something to be ashamed of or stigmatize qualities historically associated with femininity. But it's okay for women to have qualities historically associated with masculinity too because those qualities are NOT solely the domain of me. That there needs to be a variety of ways women express themselves while being strong, from being hard and nails to soft and sweet. Everyone should be able to express themselves in a variety of ways without worrying about gender stereotyping. I think that's a more valuable, clear way to approach the issue.

At least, that's my take on it. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with me or Kathleen Kennedy?

Read: Kathleen Kennedy Clarifies Comments about Female Directors in Star Wars, More Rogue One News