Is It Just Me Or Is Vader Barbie a Femme Top Icon

Star Wars and Mattel just released a line of Star Wars Barbies and I’m pretty sure these are actually very good??

The Leia doll’s outfit is pretty straight forward, even if she does look more like Mila Kunis than Carrie Fisher for some reason. It’s even more high fashion than Leia’s usual clothing but these dolls are based on the original concept art, which was more flamboyant anyway. Plus Leia absolutely would have worn this when she wasn’t on the run.

Then we have the R2D2 doll, and frankly this is where things start to get a little gay. It’s a very cyberpunk meets pop princess sort of look – which is gay, obviously – and to quote my fiance, “no one straight wears a collar like that.”

It’s when we get the Darth Vader offering that I begin to lose it.

I’m someone whose Star Wars obsession was peaking around about the same time I discovered I was into girls, so these two things are deeply connected for me. But I still never thought I’d be proclaiming any incarnation of Vader a queer lady icon. And yet. Just look at her. Look at that vinyl skirt, and the utter disdain on her face. Look at her boots.

I’ve never seen a greater embodiment of the “step on me” evil lady meme in my life. I can’t believe I’m saying any of this and I also can’t believe that no one else is? Where are the rest of you? Why aren’t you out there on Twitter proclaiming her our new femme top queen? Have I just lost my entire mind?

I cannot be the only one seeing this. She’s already the best seller in the pre-orders so I know I’m not the only one floored by her greatness. I’d give a thousand Marvel movies for just one spin off about alternate universe anti-hero Lady Vader and her wife Padme travelling the universe, kicking ass and taking names. In those boots.

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Siobhan

Siobhan has degrees in information management and medieval history making her lots of fun at parties. She's written for Dirge, Biscuit and Diva and is currently working on a book on the supernatural women of Ireland for Wolfenhowle Press (and if you want to help feed her while she works on it you can check out her patreon here.

Siobhan has written 34 articles for us.

23 Comments

    • Bless you for replacing my previous week-long earworm with this, coupled with that visual.
      May the gods rain down licorice bootlaces on you, both black and red, along with someone to wear the boots to match.

      • The gods are welcome to do exactly that! I get this stuck in my head all the time, and it’s one of the few songs with Spanish verses I can sing accurately. ¡Es un escandolo!

  1. Vader Barbie is the Love Child of The Evil Queen/Regina Mills and Bette Porter.
    This is giving me a lot of complicated Mommi feelings.

  2. So I have to confess that I collect Barbies, not the $7 ones on the toy aisle but the collector ones, do you all find me really creepy yet?
    Anyway, I’ll probably get the Princess Leia one, it’s pretty cool.

    • Unless you start collecting the type of dolls that you find in horror movies, it ain’t creepy.

  3. I wanted that Vader Barbie as soon as I saw it a few days ago, but then I saw the price. :(

    Also, is C-3PO just R2-D2’s clutch in this incarnation? Because I absolutely love that!

  4. Critical Q: Does R2-D2 have a gender? This is a source of contention among my peers…

  5. I’m thrilled Mattel has recognized how important fashion is in Star Wars. As someone who really wanted a Padme Barbie (the woman literally changed her outfit in EVERY scene. So much potential.) these look awesome! That Vader Barbie should legit be a real character in the Empire. Maybe an inquisitor or something.

    Also, I love finding more people who recognize Leia was a fashion queen. Most think of her as just a rebel tomboy, but both Luke and Leia got some serious love for quality structure/statement pieces from their mom.

  6. My money is on the NEW ‘left above knee’ (lak) AMPUTEE BARBIE, complete(?) with what could resemble a NEW computerized Leg prosthetic.
    Gee, I hope her leg stump is ORGASMIC when KISSED/TONGUED/MASSAGED/STROKED. Been there,
    kissed that,
    caused unexpected orgasmic commotion.
    Velma, ‘amputee devotee’, since age six.

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