My question is this: is this photo of two nerd-tastic women who are in a relationship at comic-con, sharing a kiss in their Leia garb (which in and of itself is another conversation), or two 'straight' girls sucking face to slut it up to get attention, as the amount of cameras around them suggests? We cant know. All I know is that this photo made me uncomfortable, not because of the homosexuality, but because I perceive forced, socially-constructed sexualization of these two women.
What is your reaction, both critically and emotionally?
The outfit that they are wearing is actually fairly popular at the comic-con event. We can't know exactly what made them kiss one another, it could very well be that they were doing it for the irony. However, this situation was facilitated by society. Firstly, Comic-con is famous for its scantily clad nerdettes and the outfits to fill that role are made easily available. The implications are obvious, if a person dresses for comic-con they draw attention if not intrigue with their getup. Despite this, we know that the attention one gets in a storm-trooper outfit is not the same attention one commands in the slave Leia outfit. The real issue is that these women understood what they put on, understood the manner of attention it would attract, and then still desired to wear the outfit and accept all of its social ramifications. Their decision to wear the outfit was not forced, it was made in response to the practical advantages. It is incredibly likely that these women were lavished with attention and positive comments and they ended their day feeling as good about themselves as possible. The frustration is that all of these comments and positive reinforcements are shallow and virtually meaningless, since they are not being interacted with as "person dressed as Leia" but as an attractive body, essentially an object. It is really just a shame that this is likely how they are made to feel good about themselves. There is nothing wrong with making someone feel good about who they are, but the shallowness of such reinforcement virtually renders it as meaningful as saying hello; there's just no substance.
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