Today is International #DayoftheGirl, and for it I just want to take a brief moment to talk about someone who was my inspiration when I was a girl. Her name was Carrie Fisher, and she was the actress who portrayed Princess Leia Organa in the Star Wars Universe. As a young child I was fascinated by the worlds portrayed in science fiction, including Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Battlestar Galactica. Many of these shows were, technically, before my time. My father, however, loved them and loved watching them over and over again. I would sit on the floor in front of his chair, watching reruns of Doctor Who on PBS, or lounge on the couch as I enjoyed taped episodes of Star Trek. The one thing that is remarkable to me now, looking back on it with the benefit of hindsight, was how women were portrayed.
While yes, there were the obvious tropes of damsels in distress and scantily clad ladies of various alien origin, it strikes me looking back on it now that women were portrayed as people of power. Each of the shows I watched had female leads, and the female leads they portrayed weren't always the wilting flowers you would expect from the 70's.
In Battlestar Galactica, there were Athena, Sheba and Cassiopeia. Athena and Sheba were both officers and Cassiopeia was a medical technician. All three were strong, confident women who didn't just hide behind a man; when it came down to it all three were willing to lay their lives on the line for their fellows. They didn't trade off their femininity, though it's worth noting that Cassiopeia didn't start out as a medic but became one after a series of events that allow her to become close to Starbuck. Instead they show an assertion, confidence, and self-awareness that is unusual for the time the show was produced in.
In Buck Rogers, there were Colonel Wilma Deering and Princess Ardala, polar opposites in personality but both powerful women who were confident in their authority and sure of themselves. Colonel Deering was a fully-capable leader and pilot, and never bothered to hide her disdain for how often Buck pandered to her. Princess Ardala, however, seemed more like the stereotypical princess: rich, spoilt, and determined to have her own way. She used her sex appeal like a weapon and was never afraid to say what she wanted. She also knew exactly how to assert herself and never let her men get away with defying her.
Doctor Who had a plethora of companions both male and female, but the three I remember the best are all women. Romana, a fellow Time Lord, was a confident and headstrong companion who matched the Doctor in both wit and ability. Sarah Jane Smith was a reporter and a good one, too. She was classy and sassy, determined and unwilling to let the Doctor push her into the background. Finally there was Leela, a primitive warrior who not only didn't let the Doctor push her around, she didn't hesitate to put others in their place, either.
And of course, in Star Trek there was Uhura, a woman whose very presence was a controversy for its time but in my childhood mind, she belonged there as much as Sulu, Scotty or Chekov. She wasn't part of the furniture; nor was she just a pretty face for Kirk to flirt with. She was a bridge officer, taken seriously and respected for her knowledge and skills instead of relegated to the background just because of her gender.
All of these powerful women showed a young girl that not only was it natural for women to hold authority, but that they have the right to assert themselves. None, however, did it as strongly as Carrie Fisher did with Princess Leia. Leia was a no-nonsense kind of girl, determined to rid the galaxy of what she saw as an oppressive and unjust Empire through whatever means necessary. From the moment we first see her aboard her ship we are shown there's something special about her. And when she shoots a storm trooper before trying to flee, we know she's not only capable of but willing to defend herself. Every scene she's in after that she dominates, not through obnoxious appropriation or through arrogant assumptions, but simply with her very presence. She gives orders with every expectation that they be obeyed not because she is a princess but because she is in the lead.
She was a princess, a senator, a diplomat, a fighter, and a rebel. With Leia, I was shown that a woman being assertive was not only natural, but expected. She was never treated as less than what she was because of gender, and even when Han Solo used his sarcasm against her she would turn around and give back as good as she got. Fisher's masterful portrayal of a woman sure of herself and her abilities gave me a goal post to aim for. I wanted to be her, not just because she was cool, had awesome hair, and neat outfits. I wanted to be her because she was someone to be admired and respected, someone who knew who she was and what she was capable of. She showed that women aren't meant to be set dressing but a part of the world. Not only that, but she definitively proved that women are not only capable of making change but that we have every right to, and that our voices are just as important as our male counterparts.
So thank you, Ms. Fisher, for showing me not just what women can do, but how, and that I shouldn't be afraid to stand up for myself while doing so.