Damsels - Space

Their primary narrative function was to be rescued by a strong, capable hero, reinforcing traditional gender roles of the era. The Silver Screen and the "Languid" Heroine

Following Leia, the 1980s saw a fractured approach. You had true damsels (Princess Ardala in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century ) and you had warriors (Ellen Ripley in Aliens , though she was a "final girl" more than a damsel). The trope didn't die; it went underground, waiting for the next generation to recontextualize it. space damsels

As science fiction moved into the 1960s and 70s, and particularly with the advent of second-wave feminism, the damsel began to change. While the danger remained, the reaction changed. The space damsel began to fight back, becoming a "damsel in distress" only temporarily, or turning the act of being captured into a strategic advantage. Their primary narrative function was to be rescued