An Observation of the LGBT Presence in Star Wars

I constantly have to remind myself of the reality that Star Wars is definitely a fictitious universe, and by that logic, it means I should expect to see characters and actions occur that may not fall in line with biblical moral standards. Furthermore, it is a universe that has by and large been helmed by secular minds, who obviously are under little compulsion to create through Judeo-Christian principles. I accept the logic of this, as is true of most secular works from literature to film, to video games to television. I don’t expect the writing to fit my preferences.

That being said, I’ve always regarded the Star Wars films as being pretty reliable when it comes to normal standards of human sexuality. There’s never been an obvious presence of homosexuality in the films, and from a Christian perspective, I found this to be a reliable theme. These films are also widely appealing to many age ranges, and many consider them family-friendly films, generally speaking. With the minor exceptions of Leia’s revealing outfit in Episode VI and Padme’s brief stomach exposure in Episode II, Star Wars has always been appropriate in its portrayal of sexuality.

Despite this consistent pattern in the series, there follows a parallel line of storytelling found in the video games, comics, and novels that do not follow this same standard found in the films.

I don’t want to beat around the bush, so let me state it plainly: The LGBT agenda is clearly at the forefront of this parallel form of Star Wars media. Lucasfilm may be hesitant to portray such things on the big screen yet, but they have no problem with this in other corners of the Star Wars galaxy. It’s as though they are sending two messages with the hopes of blending the two eventually. But this sends a confusing message to fans. Onscreen we see a pretty different Star Wars than we find in the books.

Take no further look than the three books composing the recent Aftermath trilogy, all of which feature LGBT characters front and center and in detail. It quickly becomes apparent even in this galaxy far, far away there are still people suffering from gender dysphoria. Chuck Wendig insists, however, his readers to accept this character’s story through their gender-neutral pronouns, as though this could somehow be normalized. I honestly thought I was reading a misprint or something at first. As a side note, this transgender character serves absolutely no purpose and adds nothing to the story in any capacity, which is telling of the author’s purpose in including them. How absurd to find something like this in a Star Wars book, I thought.

Way to go, Chuck Wendig. He somehow created one of the least compelling trilogies in Star Wars history while managing to exclude one of its best characters (Luke Skywalker) and simultaneously pushing an immoral agenda that at best, a minority of people wished to see included.

Putting aside universal standards of morality for a second, there is a clear reason why the LGBT movement is failing in the medium of Star Wars and why it will never work:

It’s not creative storytelling – it’s an agenda. LGBT characters have never been a normal part of Star Wars until now. To introduce it now through this odd parallel newform of canon whilst not doing the same onscreen makes it all the more obvious that even Lucasfilm is not truly backing their own writers’ attempts to normalize this. We’re now over halfway through the latest saga of films, and by my calculations, I have not seen a single LGBT character onscreen or even referenced – just in the books and comics. Unless Episode IX drastically changes course, it won’t happen, anytime soon, either. Therein lies the ultimate embarrassing truth these writers are hiding behind:

Lucasfilm and Disney know that pushing an unpopular agenda will result in smaller profits and more backlash, and they’re not willing to risk it where the money could actually be affected in a significant manner. The novels and comics do not comprise their primary Star Wars media revenue, so it’s easier for one of these to fail than a big-budget film. As I said before, they are trying to blend two messages without upsetting too many fans. This will never work, and it isn’t working. This cultural obsession with “inclusion” is overshadowing creativity in media, as is obvious even in the biggest releases of late.

From a Christian perspective, I realize that when I engage with a secular form of entertainment, I will likely find myself disapproving of at least some element it features. This is generally inescapable, but I also recognize that stories serve a purpose and the content of those stories do not necessarily need to contain always morally upright themes and choices. The Bible contains some truly dreadful stories, but they serve a purpose and does not claim to affirm everything featured in its pages. The depravity of man and the evil of Satan is necessary to show in order to tell honest accounts. It’s unapologetically honest. It makes sense. In order to demonstrate God’s ultimate plan of redemption, the raw and grievous details of humanity’s steps along his path must not be left out. Thus, even the most difficult accounts recorded in Scripture contain a purpose.

Conversely, with Star Wars, I find myself ultimately disappointed in Lucasfilm in how they’ve chosen to cater to a minority of confused, broken people rather focusing on creating and telling the great stories in this galaxy. While I know this is mostly found offscreen, it is only a matter of time before Star Wars features full-on homosexual romances and other LGBT elements. This will be a sad detraction from an otherwise historically family-friendly series, and I hope it will be many years from now before that happens. At least the films and older novels can still be enjoyed for their adherence to a standard.

I’m sure many will disagree with me, and that’s expected, especially in these days. But there is something to be said about the ethics of compromising creativity and storytelling for the sake of advancing an agenda. A controversial and immoral agenda, at that. The Star Wars saga films stand above other series’ for their commitment to featuring strong male and female characters and good messages without promoting inappropriate sexual content. It’s one of the reasons I’ve always loved the series.

These new additions to Star Wars canon are a step in the wrong direction. Dear Lucasfilm, please get this. You possess the rights and authority over one of the most beloved fictional universes in history – don’t squander that for the sake of political correctness. Otherwise, you’ll have lost sight of what made us fall in love with Star Wars in the first place, and potentially ruin a great legacy.