Steve Martin Triggers Feminists by Calling Carrie Fisher "Beautiful"

Jerry Thornton 12/29/2016 11:09 AM

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NY Mag – Princess Leia’s status as the catalyst of male sexual awakening has been alluded to countless times in pop culture. On Friends, when Ross confesses to Rachel that he had a sexual fantasy about bikini-clad Leia, Phoebe assures her it’s a rite of passage. “Every guy our age loved that,” she says. “It’s huge. That’s the moment when she stopped being a princess and she became, like, a woman.” As the Washington Post’s Alyssa Rosenberg points out, one of the most glaring signs that Leia is seen as sexy rather than complex is the Philadelphia dad who complained about a scantily clad Leia action figure. And on Tuesday, Steve Martin helpfully reminded us of this fact in a now-deleted tweet …

But that characterization of Leia — as a wet dream for prepubescent men — is something Fisher spoke out against her whole career. … So remember Fisher for her immense talent, her outspoken feminism, and her moving commentary on mental health — not for the way she looked onscreen.

OK, this is going to be a big help going forward. What Steve Martin – that noted misogynist and member of the male patriarchy – has done here is help give us the SJW rules of engagement as we head into 2017.

If you pay tribute to someone by suggesting you first fell in love with their looks, then came to appreciate their brains and talent, it’s wrong. At that point, you might as well have put Carrie Fisher in a gold bikini, put a chain around her neck and made her watch while you throw her twin brother and boyfriend into the Sarlacc pit yourself.

Even if it’s true. Even if Princess Leia has been the ideal of the tough, independent, no-nonsense, take charge woman and a romantic crush for generations of men, you can’t mention it. Even if Carrie Fisher would never have gotten the role if she looked like Boss Nass, to acknowledge that simple truth is to basically commit a hate crime. Thank our non-binary Creator that we have feminists like this and that Philly dad who’s worried about a Leia action figure giving his son a boner to set sexists like Steve Martin straight.

That said, in the time I have left in 2016, I just want to pay tribute to Carrie’s mom, Debbie Reynolds. I was never really familiar with her work, other than the time the Irish Rose was in a stage version of “Singin’ in the Rain” so she made me watch the movie. And while I can’t speak to her feminism, her commentary on mental health, she was a total dime. The way she died is both tragic and speaks volumes about the power of love between a mother and daughter. But also, my God was she a gorgeous woman. Sorry if that offends anybody and I promise I won’t talk like this in 2017.

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