For my kids Star Wars was last month. But sexism springs eternal. And the attitudes about what boys do or don't or will or won't play with that come up in Michael Boehm's account of #WheresRey are girl problems because they're boy problems:
n January 2015, a number of toy and merchandise vendors descended on Lucasfilm's Letterman Center in San Francisco. In a series of confidential meetings, the vendors presented their product ideas to tie in with the highly-anticipated new Star Wars film...Boehm's insider blames Reagan, which seems like a political cheap shot. We don't need a deregulation boogeyman when the problem is all of us and the world we're creating for our kids. Skip the comments, obv.The insider, who was at those meetings, described how initial versions of many of the products presented to Lucasfilm featured Rey prominently. At first, discussions were positive, but as the meetings wore on, one or more individuals raised concerns about the presence of female characters in the Star Wars products. Eventually, the product vendors were specifically directed to exclude the Rey character from all Star Wars-related merchandise, said the insider.
"We know what sells," the industry insider was told. "No boy wants to be given a product with a female character on it."
Where's Rey?
Insider Says Lucasfilm Vendors Removed Star Wars Character to 'Improve Sales' [sweatpantsandcoffee]
