An angry mother from Walthamstow, London has vented over at Twitter after finding out that Disney Stores did not have any Princess Leia merchandise. Disney had Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and even Chewbacca (Although Chewbacca's was a soft version). Sadly, Disney seemed to have neglected the prominent female character of the "Star Wars" series, Princess Leia.
42-year-old Natalie Wreyford's tweet became viral and eventually turned into a huge online campaign with the hashtag #WeWantLeia that compelled Disney to immediately release a report saying that they will manufacture Princess Leia dolls and will add it to their merchandise soon.
She wanted to throw a birthday for her two kids, Honor, 6, and Seth, 4, with a "Star Wars" theme. Upon walking into the toy store, she was glad that she was able to immediately find action figures for the two main male characters, but was dismayed when she could not find one for Princess Leia. She informed MailOnline, "I was passing the store in Convent Garden and noticed they had a new 'Star Wars' range out. They are fabulous dolls - they are large, interactive and speak quotes from the films. I wanted to get a doll for both my children, but none of them were of female characters - and certainly not Princess Leia, who was noticeably absent."
She shared that she felt absolutely terrible when her 6-year-old daughter told her, "I want a Leia one." She said, "I knew she was going to say it. There was an anticipation that she was going to get one, but I knew I couldn't fulfill it. She was so excited, but when I had to tell her they don't do Princess Leia dolls, she was absolutely crushed. She burst into tears."
According to Wreyford, it was very "tricky" trying to explain to her daughter why there were no female "Star Wars" dolls available. She said, "You don't want to be having these conversations with your child when they are that young about why they have not included Princess Leia alongside all the male characters." She then added, "It's really uncomfortable. We felt betrayed and shut out by Disney." Wreyford believed that gender labeling could have a negative effect on today's children.
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