Recently, a comic popped up in my Facebook news feed of Leia wearing her slave outfit chained to the wall inside the Millennium Falcon, begging Han to give her back her clothes since it was 3 days since they had rescued her from Jabba's palace. My first reaction was to roll my eyes, but then I noticed that she was chained to the wall. My hackles rose. Obviously, this is supposed to be funny, and obviously, many were finding it so—there were several likes and re-shares already. I don't often comment on stuff like this, usually feeling that it's not worth it, but this time I couldn't help myself.
I left a comment explaining in detail why this picture is offensive to me (I really think it should be offensive to anyone who really thinks about it—she was chained to the wall!). Predictably, several people replied to me, defending the "joke," telling me to "chill out," and even swearing at me. I had expected that, so whatever. The thing that really horrified me, though, was that absolutely no one agreed with me. Not one.
I like a good joke as much as the next person, but I have a problem with a so-called joke that objectifies women, and I really have a problem with a joke that makes out that it's funny to chain women to the wall. This is 2014. We should be past this kind of crap.
For the record, I would also have been offended if the gender roles were reversed. But, as a woman, I am not only offended, I am actually terrified of what it says about all those people who told me to shut up (some of whom were women). What is wrong with us?
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