Article from tkalonzo / DFW FanForce:

The New face of Star Wars Fandom? Blame it on Princess Leia

In the lexicon of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre the stereotypical fan was often referred to as a fan-boy. This stereotype was most often seen as a 20-30 heavyset male living in his parent?s basement. With the upcoming release of Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith comes a new paradigm shift, the fan-boy has given sway to the fan-girl.

This is most evident in the DFW Fanforce line-up for Episode III. On a recent evening, just under half of those in attendance were females. Position in line for DFW Fanforce at the Cinemark Legacy Theater will be dictated by the number of hours spent at the line up. As of Saturday, May 14, 2005 Starr Hoffman, age 26 a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of North Texas and self-employed muralist, held first place in line with 288 hours.

Starr's resume is most impressive she is a graduate student: Master of Library Science, she already has a Master of Art History, and Bachelor's in English Literature and Fine Art and of course she is a Star Wars fan. She holds a commanding lead and is expecting to remain there. She will be spending the last few remaining days at the line up, going home only to shower and change clothes.

DFW FanForce line up events began on April 17, 2005 with a special appearance by Peter Mayhew, Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies and has included a ?pool party? and belly dancing very non-traditional fan-boy events.

Proceeds raised at the DFW Fanforce line up are being donated to Rainbow Day, an organization that since 1982 has provided children living in high-risk situations with the skills they need to overcome adversity and stay drug free.