May the 4th be with with you!

Star Wars day has got us thinking - just how queer is Star Wars?

Well, the short answer is – it’s really not very queer at all. However, it is a cultural phenomenon and if you're into a bit of sci-fi then the movies are generally worth watching.

From a queer perspective, the latest film did give us one lesbian kiss between two minor characters but that's pretty much it.

The droid C-P30 – voiced by Anthony Daniels – is often cited as a queer character. It’s not a particularly flattering stereotype to try and claim, and the character is a robot with no indication that a sexuality has been programmed in, so I think we can discount that one.

There's been a lot of discussion - and fan-fiction - about whether we're seeing any queer representation in the relationship between the characters of Po (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega). If you really want to project your queer fantasies onto those characters, then the films enable you to do that. Equally, if you’d prefer to see those two characters as two straight dudes just bro-ing it out, then the films enable you to do that. Personally, I’m not bothered. I’ll look for my queer representation in films that actually want to include authentic queer characters and their stories.

Does it matter that Star Wars doesn’t really care about including LGBTQ people in its films? It obviously would be nice if they did, but let’s not pretend to be surprised. The Star Wars franchise is owned by Disney – we know their track-record on this kind of stuff.

Happy Star Wars Day. May the 4th be with you.