Star Wars Thoughts – If I say “Rey is too powerful” am I degrading women?

I was just reading yet another thread about Star Wars on Twitter and it kinda made my blood boil a little.

I have actually blogged about a similar topic and my view on Rey is quite simple. It’s nothing at all to do with her being male or female. I am just trying to understand how someone without any training in the force can defeat an opponent who is clearly not her equal. I couldn’t care less if she was male or female. It’s just not believable in terms of the story.

Sure, there probably are sexist fans who think that Rey should be weak because she’s a woman but I’m not one of them.

Anakin was the chosen one and even he had to train for years to master the force and how to use a lightsaber so please don’t tell me that Rey could do what she did without being someone special.

We don’t know that she isn’t and I guess we need to see what Episode IX says about that but for now, I’m a woman saying that I think they made Rey too powerful to make a believable story. That’s it, really. Nothing sexist about that at all.

5 thoughts on “Star Wars Thoughts – If I say “Rey is too powerful” am I degrading women?”

  1. I’m a woman as well so rest assured, it isn’t just you. Other female fans are curious about how Rey got to be so powerful. Not just because of some Force-related comments in the novels but because every single Jedi in the mythology had to undergo training and also sacrifice.

    I recall one commenter on youtube said that just because you make a woman “strong”, that doesn’t always make her interesting or compelling to the audience. Otherwise she’s just Bella from “Twilight” holding a sword. One character who is liked is Ahsoka Tano and she had to train for years, grow into her own role, and make a sacrifice by leaving her master and the Jedi Order. So I think with a bit of improved writing we could have gotten Rey who had to train and overcome a big obstacle by giving up something valuable (like Luke lost his hand) and that way we root so much more for the hero.

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    2. I think you’re right on the money there. I never really looked at it from that perspective but it makes total sense. I think that’s one of the reasons why I had such a hard time of it, trying to relate to Rey was difficult for me because I was so used to seeing characters grow and mature into their power in the force. We never really had that with Rey. As for sacrifice, I think Rey has made some painful sacrifices such as losing her family and not knowing her heritage but we haven’t seen very much of any of this, not enough to be invested in her struggle. Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it 🙂

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      1. You’re very welcome! Now regarding Rey’s family, I wouldn’t even call it a sacrifice. She was abandoned; she didn’t want to be given up but she was. What the Hero in a Journey needs is to be tempted and then give up something valuable. To some extend she *is* tempted to join Kylo Ren because he’s offering her to belong somewhere…but she pulls back without giving up anything. If she had been fatally wounded or Ren would’ve killed one of her friends (and told her “this is your fault”) then we could feel more for what Rey is going through.

        I preferred Jyn’s arc in “Rogue One”. In the first five minutes we get her backstory, clear cut: she was also abandoned. That explains why Jyn is closed-off and doesn’t want to help the Rebellion. But in the end she chooses to fight for them and make a sacrifice. And when she and Cassian chose together, it’s not about man or woman, who’s strong and who’s weak. They become heroes together in their sacrifice and there’s something noble about it that still resonates with me in that film.

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      2. Well, I think I may have more in common with Rey than I initially realised. I know the feeling of abandonment all too well. I don’t know why I haven’t clicked with Rey. There’s just something missing, something that Luke had and she doesn’t and I don’t know what it is. I haven’t been invested in any of the PT characters other than Kylo Ren and I haven’t really thought about why that is. Maybe that’s something for another post 🙂 And I agree with you on Jyn’s background. She sacrificed her life for the cause. There’s nothing deeper than a person giving up their life for what they believe in. I love that.

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