Rat's Saucy Nest

Thanks! I’m glad it made you laugh!

Yeh, they only use “he” and “it” in the movie! There were a few interviews, before the movie was released, that implied and once even outright stated by one of the producer that BB-8 is a girl. A couple of news outlets picked up on that and reported it. Then the closer it came to the movie release, the more conflicting info was out there. Some staff members of the movie called BB he, others said she but the majority referred to BB as male. And I’m pretty sure it’s canon now that BB is indeed male, just like R2. I remember JJ saying that they started out with BB as a girl but the longer they worked with it, the more they saw BB as a boy.

But it became such a big thing apparently, that multiple real life and internet media outlets reported on the “issue”, asking if BB is male or female and how important it is that she’s female (actual quote from The Guardian). Reporters started asking actors what they thought BB’s gender is, it became one of those questions that they asked each one of the main characters. Oscar Isaac (Poe) replied that he likes BB but didn’t check under the chassis, haha. And there was even a reporter on the London red carpet premiere, that asked the real life model of BB directly if it’s a boy or a girl. It moved it’s head down and beeped sadly in response.

Anyways, it was funny and bizzare, so many newspapers and other outlets were suddenly concerned about the gender of a Star Wars Astromech. And that’s when I decided to pitch in on the debate, haha. It’s no secret that I adore strong female characters and that I identify stronger with female characters as well,so I chose the “she’s a girl” side.

I still like to think BB is female. She’s round and cute and shows more expression than R2 and since The Force Awakens is big on female characters (there were some unnamed female Stormtroopers, awesome!) I like thinking BB is one of them as well. But in the end it is a very silly issue that doesn’t matter too much, BB is a droid!

The only Astromechs that I know of that are canonically confirmed female are Obi Wan’s red R4 in the prequels and the pink R2-KT that makes a cameo in The Force Awakens and was built in honor of a little girl that died of cancer a long while ago.

I might love Star Wars a little bit too much