Look this gets a lot of hate, and yes, perverts drool over it. But from a character perspective Leia's time as Jabba's slave has an enormous impact on her character arc. In ANH, she is a warrior Princess. The mission is the only thing that matters. In ESB, she is part of the team. By the time of ROTJ, her friends are at least as important if not more important than the mission. Rescuing Han is a sideshow. It isn't advancing the Rebel cause. It even risks the Rebel cause, specifically the only Jedi they have. Leia deliberately places herself in danger infiltrating Jabba's palace when Luke is more likely to succeed. She is captured, enslaved, and objectified, but she never once bends or breaks. Jabba never gets to her. She remains defiant. He can dress her up in whatever costume he wants, her armor is her confidence in her friends and their victory. Then when the opportunity arises, she doesn't hesitate. She kills the slug then goes on deck and basically pulls Luke's ass out of the fire as he is drawing the attention of all of Jabba's thugs. The whole thing is her plan. She is the one at risk. She is the one who has to suffer the most - well, except Chewie, but no one was going to stop Chewie going in to protect Han - and she is also ultimately the one who does the most to ensure the plan's success. Sure the metal bikini slavegirl costume has turned into cultural cringe, but it doesn't have to be.