Gender

The sentient species inhabiting the galaxy displayed a wide array of genders. Many species, based on variations in sex, employed the terms "male" or "female", or had culturally similar terms for that binary. Throughout the galaxy, at least eleven genders were present, in addition to beings without gender. For example, some Sabetue individuals lacked gender and were distinguished by their purely white skin.

An individual's gender could differ from what was expected at birth based on their sex. Among the clones derived from the human male Jango Fett, one clone trooper was given the name Sister by her comrades as a way to acknowledge her belonging among them; Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker noted that she had "transcended gender." Other humans, such as Naboo aide Tepoh, experienced and expressed gender in a fluid manner. Tepoh's desire to be perceived as more or less female varied at times.

Within the Galactic Basic Standard language, singular pronouns used by individuals who did not identify within the binary included "zhe," which was used by both the pirate Eleodie Maracavanya and the aide Tepoh, and "they," which was used by individuals such as the human Jedi Master Kantam Sy during the High Republic Era, the Kotabi bond-twins and Jedi Knights Terec and Ceret of the High Republic—who were trans—the Alderaanian pilot Taka Jamoreesa, and the Mirialan pilot Keo Venzee of the New Republic. Other languages also featured gender-neutral personal pronouns, including the Wookiee language Shyriiwook. The term "Neutrois" was used within the Galactic Empire to refer to individuals whose gender was neither male nor female.

Feminine pronouns were often used to refer to starships, although by the time of the First Order-Resistance War many considered this practice outdated. While droids were artificial intelligences created mechanically rather than organic life forms, many were assigned "he" or "she" pronouns, while others were referred to as "it." The bounty droid MA-55H was addressed using both singular "they/them" and "he/him" pronouns.

"He" was frequently used as the default pronoun for individuals whose gender was unknown. For example, when an unseen assailant attempted to assassinate Padmé Amidala, both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker referred to the assassin as "he" until they discovered that the attacker was actually a female changeling. Similarly, Darth Vader automatically used the pronoun "he" when referring to the rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star, despite not knowing their identity at the time. After discovering a buried starship, Fern defaulted to referring to the previous captain as "he," even without knowing their gender.

Certain personality traits were sometimes linked to genders. During an argument with Han Solo, who believed that Princess Leia Organa had feelings for him, an irritated Leia retorted, "I guess you don't know everything about women yet." Decades later, when Solo suspected that Finn was being dishonest with Rey about his real identity, he warned Finn that women "always figure out the truth. Always."

Clothing could carry cultural significance, including gender, that the wearer may not have intended to convey.

Certain species changed their genders or selected new ones at various times in their lives as a whole. Xidelphiad individuals underwent protogynic phases, entering a chrysalis when transitioning from female to male, a process that took years before completion. Dianogas possessed the physical capacity for multiple reproductive roles and chose their desired gender. Diangous was their most common gender; a female named Omi encountered several other females and more who were diangous, but did not encounter a dianoga who identified as male for many years. The Chalhuddan species shifted through five genders during different stages of their lives. Their native language used pronoun cases that reflected their current gender, two or three of their past genders, and sometimes the gender they anticipated transitioning to next. Due to the absence of equivalent pronouns in Galactic Basic, "you" and "they" were used as substitutes.

The native cultures of various species assigned specific roles and expectations based on gender. The Tusken Raiders of the desert planet Tatooine lived in clans or tribes; in many of these, the males acted as warriors, protecting the tribe and attacking intruders, while the females raised children and protected the home. Tuskens completely covered their bodies, but Tusken females were distinguished by their jeweled masks. However, not all tribes adhered to these strict gender roles: in the tribe that former bounty hunter Boba Fett joined, both females and males wore similar clothing and fought alongside each other.

Warrior initiation rites involved giving each individual a bantha of their gender to care for, creating a lifelong connection between the bantha and the Tusken. Members of the Gamorrean species resided in clans governed by a Clan Matron, who chose a male Warlord to co-rule based on his strength and combat abilities. Sows primarily farmed, while boars engaged in warfare against other clans. Boars may have been responsible for hunting, but sows may have hunted in addition to farming.

Among the avian and matriarchal Lanai on the planet Ahch-To, the female Caretakers passed their titles and roles down from mother to daughter, maintaining the sacred structures of the First Jedi Temple. The male Visitors spent much of their time fishing in the sea, but upon returning with the month's catch, they joined the Caretakers for several days of celebration. Accounts regarding the species of the planet Crul are inconsistent, though they agree that Crolutes were native to the planet. Some stated that Crolutes were divided into "cows" and "bulls," while others believed that Crolutes were an entirely male species paired with a counterpart female species, the Gilliands.

Some species had differing appearances in addition to differing roles for their genders. An example was the Dathomirian species. On the planet Dathomir, female Nightsisters and male Nightbrothers lived separately. The Nightsisters became witches who wielded magick enhanced by the planet's power. When they wished to reproduce, they visited the Nightbrother village to select a suitable mate; the Nightbrothers were subservient to the Nightsisters. The Nightsisters had pale or white skin, often adorned with subtle or monochrome tattoos, while the Nightbrothers used bold tattoos to accentuate their colorful skin and natural striping. The government on Devaron was matriarchal. Devaronian males were barred from holding office, as they were deemed less serious-minded and more prone to wandering the stars compared to females, who remained on the planet. Males were bald and had horns, while females had small bumps instead, along with hair on their heads.

During the [Imperial Era](/article/imperial_era], it was uncommon for a Chiss to be Force-sensitive. Almost all individuals with the ability of Third Sight were girls, and it would diminish as they reached adulthood. While it remained strong, they served as navigators called ozyly-esehembo in Cheunh, which translated to "sky-walker" in Basic.

Certain species, like 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 deduced from the clothing and body positions of Paccosh corpses that the species valued women highly.

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

In the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, the actor portraying Meena Tills was male, leading to action figure packaging and Legends stories claiming 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 align with her namesake.

Author Claudia Gray has mentioned on her Tumblr blog that the Star Wars galaxy includes entirely new genders. While her novels have not explicitly named these genders, she first hinted at their existence in 2016 through Leia Organa's observation of four or more genders in her novel Bloodline. Gray introduced the multi-gendered Chalhuddans in the 2017 novel Leia, Princess of Alderaan.

Also in 2016, the novel Aftermath: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig became the first Star Wars work to feature an explicitly genderqueer character, the non-binary pirate Eleodie Maracavanya, who identified as neither male nor female. 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, Taka Jamoreesa in the 2018 novel Last Shot by Daniel José Older, and Keo Venzee in the 2020 video game Star Wars: Squadrons. In March 2021, in recognition of the International Transgender Day of Visibility, the Star Wars Instagram account announced that Terec and Ceret, two Kotabi Jedi Knights from the Star Wars: The High Republic comic book series, are trans non-binary.

Several characters appearing in the multimedia project Star Wars: The High Republic have had their genders depicted inconsistently, rather than through intentional portrayals of gender transitions. Shai Tennem's initial appearance in the short story "Starlight: Go Together," written by Charles Soule and published in Star Wars Insider 199, used masculine pronouns for Tennem; however, Soule's 2021 novel The High Republic: Light of the Jedi referred to Tennem using feminine pronouns. Estala Maru is mistakenly referred to as "her" in Light of the Jedi; the Insider short story "Starlight: First Duty," by Cavan Scott, uses masculine pronouns, and Maru is depicted as male in The High Republic comic book series. Upon the initial release of Light of the Jedi, Teri Rosason, whose first name was not disclosed in the book, was first mentioned with masculine pronouns, and Adampo first appeared with feminine pronouns. In The High Republic: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray, Rosason's initial appearance described the character as "a human woman of advanced years," and Adampo was given masculine pronouns. E-book versions of Light of the Jedi were subsequently corrected to represent Rosason as female and Adampo as male.

In the non-canon 2022 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, a gonk droid is referred to using both "he/him" and "they/them" pronouns.