That the central new character-SPOILER ALERT-
The new Jedi in training who has discovered they can use the force is a woman, and a maginificent one, Rey.
And despite having a female lead, the current box office of this new science fiction film is 740.3 million so far, second only to Avatar. For now. Look out, Jake Sully.
Rey is capable and multi-faceted. She's tough, she's compassionate, she's confident, she's brave, but she's not fearless.
She is human, and an amazing character for tiny geekettes to emulate.
Unfortunately she has not been treated fairly as a character.
Others have noted the disturbing lack of Rey Merchandise available for such a central character. At Wal-Mart I bristled to se her on the cardboard display, but no product available. Even going to Amazon availed no results that were not scarce, overpriced, or alternate sellers who were clearly collectors.
Even the dirt bag character who's thirty second cameo was trying to abduct BB-8 had a toy.
That said, the title of this post is not in fact, sexism in toys. That's a whole different subject I will broach another day.
This is the beginning of a new weekly post.
Mary Sue Monday.
Lets talk about being a fangirl, a geek girl. Not the blatant sexism and war on women that has traumatized victims as seen in Gamer Gate, that continues still, but a far more subtle attack.
As a role player, and a sometimes fanfiction writer, let me tell you the most terrifying words I fear when creating an original character in a pre-existing world.
Mary Sue.
What is a Mary Sue?
According to wikipedia, an idealized character who is inexperienced through youth or rank who still saves the day through unrealistic abilities.
For those of you playing the home game, that means every anime character ever.
Anyway, the caveat is also they they sometimes but not always exist for the writer's self insert wish fulfillment.
Originally this term only haunted me and other fan girls in fanfiction and fandom based role play. In recent years unfortunately it has branched out to new characters brought into a fandom by the fandom's own creator. Many female characters in the media have come under fire.
Like Rey in Force Awakens.
First of all, from the wikipedia definition, the term Mary Sue is not inherently negative. Many popular characters fit the current descriptor.
Secondly, the use of the term Mary Sue for name calling only seems to apply if a character lacks gonads. There is a male variant, Gary Stu, but to this day I have never heard it used.
The term Mary Sue has gone from a trope to a potentially terrifying insult to creators of female characters. As someone who does quite a bit of online role playing, I have known what it is to live in terror of the title to the point of not giving my characters traits that would fit.
Then my soul sister made an excellent poiint.
"Who cares? So what if a character is over powered, has a string of lovers, is super talented, and has limitless resources? So do Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark."
Then it hit me. The iconic Iron Man and Batman were Gary Stu's. And I had never heard a peep about it. They had never been called on it. So today I start a new weekly tradition on this blog: The Mary Sue Monday, highlighting how two simple words have been used to keep American Geekdoms sausage fests and create a double standard in character creations.
I will be evaluating existing characters, mostly well known, without revealing their identities or gender until after.
The core evaluators will be the Wikipedia Definition and Springhole.net's Universal Maru Sue Litmus Test.
...however while the first Mary Sue Monday Post (May The Force Be With You) is written, it is not transcribed, so expected it tomorrow on account of sleepyness, work schedule, and time.
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