For sci-fi fans of a certain age (ahem), a pivotal moment in our their sexual development came in 1983 when, about half an hour into their first viewing of "Return of the Jedi," their sweet, but tough heroine Princess Leia was turned into a naughty slave girl by Jabba The Hut. It was a stunning transformation that left a lot of aspiring adolescents with their first inkling of some strange new feelings. Maybe that's why long after those young nerds became adult nerds, the fascination with Carrie Fisher's unique bikini costume lives on in the fanboy community—and fangirls, too, for that matter, since someone has to want to wear them too*. We briefly touched upon this before, but now Wired takes a closer look at the phenomenon that still has Star Wars fans—and the occasional bondage enthusiast —captivated over two decades later.

*Update One female Leia fan writes in to set us, er, straight: "Fangirls only like Leia's metal bikini because we want to *wear* it? I can guarantee that many queer fangirls felt our first inklings of lust watching Leia in that bikini, too!" (Thanks, S.!)

· "The Cult of Leia's Metal Bikini" (wired.com)
· Leia's Metal Bikini (leiasmetalbikini.com)

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Previously: Star Wars Sex Fiction, Game Show and Cosplay Convention Cuties, Ode to Star Wars, Morning Wood (Darth Vader Fetish Babe)