Comments on: My First Love: Star Trek

By: Miranda

Miranda — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:46:43 +0000

Totally- this post was originally going to be part of a mini series we ran about things we like that aren’t necessarily very feminist-friendly at heart at all (though I’ve never liked the “this is/this is not a feminist show” approach as I think it can narrow discussion down to whether or not a thing “is” feminist). But the team were asked to write on things they really loved that somehow – even incongruously- made them think about gender issues or provided a childhood “click moment”. People wrote on things from Helen Mirren in Excalibur to Revolutionary Girl Utena to Calamity Jane. I love hearing people wax lyrical about things they’re really into :)

By: Lavender Menace

Lavender Menace — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:58:58 +0000

I love all the Star Trek shows except Enterprise. The original series is groundbreaking for 1967 and DS9 showed at least the potential to be groundbreaking, although I don't think it quite got there in the end. I don't find any of the shows feminist at heart, although most of them have some moments and characters that can offer feminist perspectives, and Star Trek is always wonderful for providing material for posts about gender and pop culture!

By: kinelfire

kinelfire — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:17:47 +0000

Dr. Mae Jemison appeared (albeit very briefly, in the background almost) as a transporter operator in an episode of the Next Gen. She might have had one line, I can’t clearly recall. But she looked like she might explode with happiness, and the producers made a big fanfare about the first black, female astronaut was honouring them by appearing.

I loved ‘All Good Things’ for many reasons; one of which was that there were men in the minidress uniforms that Tasha was put in in Encounter At Farpoint.

You can pick holes in every series of Trek, but they are of their times, and they all *try* to portray a more hopeful future. Considering it’s a product of a bunch of people, now, that’s not to be sniffed at.

I feel the need to re watch all the Trek I can get my hands on now… Thank you!

By: Viktoriya

Viktoriya — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:10:44 +0000

The 'blonde woman' is actually Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who was gener Roddenberry's wife. She was initially cast as Number One (the female first officer) in the pilot, but the studio insisted that the character be eliminated. Majel dyed her hair blonde, and got the part of Nurse Christine Chapel. She also voiced the Enterprise (and most other Federation vessels') computer for pretty much the entire run of all Star Trek incarnations. (Incidentally, she went on to play Lwaxana Troi in the Next Gen and DSN, who was that rare thing: an older, sexually active woman.) Uhura... well, one of the reasons why Nichelle Nichols wanted to quit was because at times she felt like a glorified switchboard operator. It's true, her role as the communications officer did involve operating the switchboard... but then, so did Lieutenant Worf's role in Next Gen, and I doubt anyone would accuse him of being a secretary. Moreover, there are examples of Uhura - who is a Lieutenant Commander - being a part of the landing party, using a weapon, and generally NOT falling into Captain Kirk's bed. In the books and films, Uhura also gets a lot more character development. Fundamentally, though, the fact that she was on the bridge, having a voice and NOT being the Captain's Yeoman (ie Yeoman Rand in the Charlie X episode mentioned above) was shocking all by itself in the 1960s, just as the mere presence of George Takei in a role that wasn't a waiter or martial artist was shocking.

By: ribenademon

ribenademon — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:43:55 +0000

“nd there are also two women. Neither are secretaries.”

I don’t remember the blonde woman, but I am pretty sure Uhura gets to answer the “phone” and that is basically it.