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This article covers the Canon version of this subject.  Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Legends version of this subject. 
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"I was afraid, before I left Kamino. We don't really know what happens to unusual clones. But my brothers never let me doubt. I wasn't sure if the Jedi would understand."
"The Jedi are all about transcending things. I don't think we can complain if you've transcended gender."
"Transcended gender. We'll work on it, but I like where it's heading."
―Clone trooper Sister and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker[1]
Vanguard Squadron

Vanguard Squadron was comprised of non-binary, male, and female beings, along with two beings of unspecified gender.

Multiple genders, or sexes, existed in the sentient species of the galaxy. Many beings were designated "female" or "male" or were non-binary; at least eleven genders existed. Genders could also change or be chosen, and beings could be genderless. Some species had defined social roles based on genders. Many droids had personality programming that corresponded to the notions of gender among organic beings.

Description

A diverse spectrum

"At the time, I thought they were only looking for girls."
"When the Queen was younger, it was important that her handmaidens be similar to her in appearance. That has changed over the years. Physical resemblance to her is no longer the primary qualification. I think you would have made an excellent handmaiden, and I'm glad you chose to join me."
"I was pleased, too. Sometimes I wake up and I want to be perceived as some degree of female, but sometimes I don't."
―Tepoh and Saché discuss why the former had not previously considered becoming one of Queen Padmé Amidala's handmaidens[1]
Kantam Sy THRA3

Kantam Sy, a non-binary human Jedi Master

Various genders,[2] or sexes,[3] existed among the sentient species of the galaxy.[2] Many species used the designations "female" or "male," or had cultural equivalents for that binary pair of terms.[4] At least eleven genders existed throughout the galaxy,[5] as well as beings who were genderless.[6] For instance, some individuals of the Sabetue species were genderless and could be identified by their pure white skin.[6]

Individuals could be a gender that differed from what was assumed when they were born. Among the clones of the human male Jango Fett,[7] a specific clone trooper was named "Sister" by her fellow clones to affirm that she belonged among her brothers; the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker observed that she had "transcended gender." Other humans, such as the Naboo aide Tepoh, were fluid in experiencing and expressing a particular gender. Tepoh sometimes wished to be perceived as more or less female, and other times did not.[1]

In the Galactic Basic Standard language, singular pronouns used by individuals who did not identify as one of the binary genders included "zhe," which was used by the pirate Eleodie Maracavanya[8] and the aide Tepoh,[1] and "they," used by individuals such as the human Jedi Master Kantam Sy in the High Republic Era,[9] the Kotabi bond-twins and Jedi Knights Terec and Ceret of the High Republic[10]—who were trans[11]—the Alderaanian pilot Taka Jamoreesa,[12] and the Mirialan pilot Keo Venzee of the New Republic.[13] Gender-neutral personal pronouns also existed in other languages, including the Wookiee language Shyriiwook.[14] "Neutrois" was a term used within the Galactic Empire to describe individuals of a gender other than male or female.[15]

Other aspects of gender

"It is I! A girl!"
"I'm never gonna live down announcing that when you first showed up here, am I?"
"Absolutely not. Nor should you. It was an iconic moment of boyhood. I salute you."
―Alys "Crash" Ongwa chides Ram Jomaram for his initial surprise at meeting a young woman, or "girl"[16]
MashDatabank-Survivor

Droids were referred to by a range of pronouns, such as the singular "they/them" and "he/him" for MA-55H.

Starships were often referred to with feminine pronouns, although many people considered that habit old-fashioned by the time of the First Order-Resistance War.[17] Although droids were artificially intelligent mechanical creations rather than organic lifeforms, many were designated with "he" or "she" pronouns, and others with "it."[18] The bounty droid MA-55H was referred to by singular "they/them" and "he/him" pronouns.[19]

Personality traits were sometimes associated with genders: When an unseen assailant attempted to assassinate Padmé Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker both referred to the assassin as "he," until they learned that the attacker was in fact a female changeling.[7] Once, when arguing with Han Solo, who claimed that Princess Leia Organa was having feelings for him, an annoyed Leia shot back, "I guess you don't know everything about women yet."[20] Decades later, when Solo suspected that Finn was lying to Rey about his real identity, he warned Finn that women "always figure out the truth. Always."[21]

Clothing could have cultural meanings, such as gender, that the wearer may not have intended to convey.[22]

Genders by species

Shifting genders

"In case you were unaware, Your Highness, Chalhuddans have five different genders and shift through them throughout their lives. Their native pronoun cases are rather complex—indicating not only current gender but two or three previous ones, and occasionally the gender they feel most likely to be next, but as our language has no equivalent words, 'you' or 'they' can be used in all cases."
―C-3PO, to Princess Leia Organa[23]
Leia Rey SWD

The human women Leia Organa and Rey, heroes of the galaxy

Some species as a whole would change their genders or choose new ones at different times in their life. Individuals of the Xidelphiad species had protogynic phases and entered a chrysalis when changing from female to male, a process that took years before they emerged.[24] Dianogas were physically capable of multiple reproductive roles and chose the gender they wished to be. Their most common gender was diangous; a female named Omi met several other females and more who were diangous, but did not meet a dianoga who identified as male for many years.[25] The Chalhuddan species had five genders through which they shifted at different life stages. In their native language, their pronoun cases reflected their current gender, two or three of their previous genders, and sometimes the gender they felt most likely to be next. Due to the lack of equivalent pronouns in Galactic Basic, "you" and "they" were substituted.[23]

Gender roles

The native cultures of species could have divided roles and expectations for their genders. The Tusken Raiders of the desert planet Tatooine formed clans or tribes; in many of these, the males served as warriors who protected the tribe and attacked trespassers, and females raised the children and protected the home. Tuskens completely clothed their bodies, but Tusken females were identifiable by their jeweled masks.[4] However, not all tribes adhered to such strict gender roles: in the tribe joined by former bounty hunter Boba Fett, females and males wore similar garb and fought alongside each other.[26]

Warrior initiation rites included giving each individual a bantha of their gender to care for, creating a lifelong bond between the bantha and the Tusken. Members of the Gamorrean species lived in clans ruled by a Clan Matron who selected a male Warlord to rule with her based on his combat skills and strength. The primary duty of the sows was farming while the boars warred against other clans. Boars may have been responsible for hunting,[4] but sows may have hunted in addition to farming.[27]

Lanais-TLJVD

The native cultures of species such as the Tusken Raiders and the Lanai (pictured) had specified roles for males and females

Among the avian[28] and matriarchal Lanai on the planet Ahch-To, the female Caretakers passed down their titles and roles from mother to daughter, and maintained the sacred structures of the First Jedi Temple.[27] The male Visitors spent much of their time fishing in sea, but when they returned with the month's catch, they joined the Caretakers for several days of celebration.[4] Accounts are unclear regarding the species of the planet Crul, though they agree that Crolutes were native to the planet. Some said that Crolutes were divided into "cows" and "bulls,"[29] and others that Crolutes were an entirely male species with a counterpart female species, Gilliands.[4][30]

Some species had differing appearances in addition to differing roles for their genders. An example of this was the Dathomirian species. On the planet Dathomir, female Nightsisters and male Nightbrothers lived separately. The Nightsisters became witches who wielded magick that was enhanced by the power of their planet. When they wished to reproduce, they would visit the Nightbrother village to select a suitable mate;[27] the Nightbrothers were subservient to the Nightsisters. While the Nightsisters had pale or white skin that they often tattooed with subtle or monochrome designs, the Nightbrothers used bold tattoos to enhance their colorful skin and natural striping.[31] The government on Devaron was matriarchal. Devaronian males were not permitted to hold office as they were considered less serious-minded and more inclined to wander the stars than females, who would remain on the planet. Males were bald and had horns, but females had small bumps instead along with hair on their heads.[4]

During the Imperial Era, it was rare for a Chiss to be Force-sensitive. Almost all of those with the ability of Third Sight were girls, and it would fade as they aged into adulthood. While it remained strong, they were employed as navigators called ozyly-esehembo in Cheunh, which translated as "sky-walker" in Basic.[32]

Some species, such as the Paccosh of the Unknown Regions, held one gender in particularly high regard. Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo insisted on bringing a Chiss woman with him to an asteroid mining station in the Rapacc system, having surmised from the clothing and body positions of Paccosh corpses he encountered that that species held women in high regard.[33]

Behind the scenes

"Leia is quite feminine, her character is as clearly defined as 'the boys' are, and she even dresses 'like a woman.' No longer the warrior."
―Carrie Fisher, on Leia Organa in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi[34]
Princessleiaheadwithgun

Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa

In interviews before[34] and after[35] the release of the 1983 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi,[36] actress Carrie Fisher discussed femininity in regards to her character, Leia Organa.[34] "The third one was very challenging because I had to integrate being feminine and powerful without being angry all the time," Fisher said at the 42nd World Science Fiction Convention.[35]

In the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, the performer under Meena Tills' guise was a man, causing action figure packaging and Legends storytelling to claim that Tills was male. When it was decided that Tills would appear in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, it was agreed that Tills would be female to match her namesake.[37]

Author Claudia Gray has mentioned on her Tumblr blog that there are brand new genders in the Star Wars galaxy.[38] Although her novels have not named new genders, she first indicated their existence in 2016 with Leia Organa's observation of four or more genders in her novel Bloodline.[2] Gray introduced the multi-gendered Chalhuddans in the 2017 novel Leia, Princess of Alderaan.[23]

PrideHR6Garron

2021's The High Republic comic series introduced the trans non-binary Jedi Terec and Ceret.

Also in 2016, the novel Aftermath: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig was the first Star Wars work to feature an explicitly genderqueer character who identified as neither male or female, the non-binary pirate Eleodie Maracavanya.[39] Following Maracavanya's introduction, zhe was followed by additional non-binary characters, such as a Black Sun agent in the 2016 novel Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston,[40] Taka Jamoreesa in the 2018 novel Last Shot by Daniel José Older,[41] and Keo Venzee in the 2020 video game Star Wars: Squadrons.[42] In honor of the International Transgender Day of Visibility in March 2021, the Star Wars Instagram account posted that Terec and Ceret, two Kotabi Jedi Knights from the Star Wars: The High Republic comic book series, are trans non-binary.[11]

Several characters in the multimedia project Star Wars: The High Republic have had their genders inconsistently depicted, rather than intentionally portraying gender transitions. Shai Tennem's first appearance in the short story "Starlight: Go Together," written by Charles Soule and published in Star Wars Insider 199, portrayed Tennem with masculine pronouns;[43] however, Soule's 2021 novel The High Republic: Light of the Jedi referred to Tennem with feminine pronouns.[44] Estala Maru is erroneously referred to as "her" in Light of the Jedi;[44] the Insider short story "Starlight: First Duty," written by Cavan Scott, uses masculine pronouns,[45] and Maru is portrayed as male in The High Republic comic book series.[46] Upon the initial publication of Light of the Jedi,[44] Teri Rosason,[47] whose first name was not revealed in the book, was first mentioned with masculine pronouns and Adampo first appeared with feminine pronouns.[44] In The High Republic: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray, Rosason's first appearance stated the character was "a human woman of advanced years," and Adampo received masculine pronouns.[48] E-book editions of Light of the Jedi were later corrected to reflect Rosason as female and Adampo as male.[44]

In the 2022 non-canon video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, a gonk droid is designated with "he/him" as well as "they/them" pronouns.[49]

Appearances

Wiki-shrinkable This in-universe list is incomplete. You can help Wookieepedia by expanding it.

Non-canon appearances

Sources

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Queen's Hope
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bloodline
  3. Helmet Collection logo small Star Wars Helmet Collection 11 (Helmets: Tusken Raider)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Star Wars: Alien Archive
  5. Eleven or more genders have been calculated from the following:
  6. 6.0 6.1 Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition
  7. 7.0 7.1 Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
  8. Aftermath: Life Debt
  9. The High Republic: Race to Crashpoint Tower
  10. The High Republic (2021) 2
  11. 11.0 11.1 Instagram-Logo Star Wars on Instagram: A post confirming Terec and Ceret's non-binary gender identities. (March 31, 2021): "&hellp;exclusive cover highlighting Terec and Ceret, trans non-binary Jedi[…]" (backup link)
  12. Last Shot
  13. Star Wars: Squadrons
  14. Doctor Aphra Annual 1
  15. "An Incident Report" — From a Certain Point of View
  16. The High Republic: Midnight Horizon
  17. The Last Jedi: Rose Tico: Resistance Fighter
  18. Star Wars: Droidography
  19. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
  20. Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
  21. Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
  22. Star Wars: How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 Leia, Princess of Alderaan
  24. Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy
  25. "The Baptist" — From a Certain Point of View
  26. The Book of Boba Fett logo The Book of Boba Fett — "Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land"
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
  28. Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary
  29. Star Wars: Aliens of the Galaxy
  30. "True Love" — Tales from a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens: Volume I
  31. Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
  32. Thrawn: Alliances
  33. Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 Bantha Tracks 16
  35. 35.0 35.1 BanthaCite "An Hour with Howard Kazanjian, Warren Franklin, Richard Marquand, Sidney Ganis and Carrie Fisher" — Bantha Tracks 26
  36. Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
  37. StarWars Much to Learn You Still Have: 10 Things You Might Not Know About Mon Calamari on StarWars.com (backup link)
  38. Tumblr-Logo Claudia Gray's Photo Blog — Hi Claudia! Having a bit of a debate on Wookieepedia… on Tumblr: "FWIW, I meant to portray Holdo as LGBTQ+. (I'm not putting a category on it, because there are brand new genders and thousands of species in the GFFA, so our terminology probably doesn't fit very well.)" (backup link)
  39. TwitterLogo Chuck Wendig (@chuckwendig) on Twitter: "That would be the gender-neutral / non-binary pronoun used by human space pirate Eleodie Maracavanya." (screenshot)
  40. TwitterLogo E. K. Johnston (@ek_johnston) on Twitter: "AHSOKA has Kaeden Larte as queer and a non-binary Black Sun agent." (backup link)
  41. TwitterLogo Daniel José Older (@djolder) on Twitter: "Thank you! I believe the first nonbinary Star Wars canon character is the great pirate Eleodie Maracavanya from @ChuckWendig's AFTERMATH series but proud to add Taka to the growing list #LastShot" (screenshot)
  42. Bex Taylor-Klaus Hopes Their Nonbinary 'Deputy' Character Will Save Lives by Bentley, Jean on The Hollywood Reporter (February 14, 2020) (archived from the original on March 8, 2021)
  43. SWInsider "Starlight: Go Together" — Star Wars Insider 199200
  44. 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 44.4 The High Republic: Light of the Jedi
  45. SWInsider "Starlight: First Duty" — Star Wars Insider 201202
  46. The High Republic (2021) 1
  47. The High Republic: The Rising Storm
  48. The High Republic: Into the Dark
  49. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

External links

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