Summary
I love that queerness inStar Trekis normalized. It seems perfectly natural forStar Trekto include queer characters, butexplicit on-screen LGBTQ+ representation has been surprisingly rare until recently.Star Trek’s first same-sex kiss made franchise history in 1995, when Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) fell for Lenara Kahn (Susanna Thompson) inStar Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 4, episode 9, “Rejoined”. Lt. Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) was briefly shown with a male partner in 2016’sStar Trek Beyond. Both instances were considered controversial at the time, even thoughStar Trekwas known for being ahead of the curve in representing other types of diversity.
In 2017,Star Trek: Discoverybecame home toStar Trek’s first queer main characters, Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz).Discoveryfeatured no less than five main or recurring LGBTQ+ characters over its 5 seasons, including nonbinary character and actor Ensign Adira Tal played by Blu del Barrio, and there have been far morequeer characters in modernStar Trekshows, with each series including at least one.Queer fans have definitely benefited from more direct LGBTQ+ representation inStar Trek, but the true beauty of inclusion isn’t just in queerStar Trekcharacters existing – it’s inhowcharacters onStar Trekare queer.
Star Trek: A Queer History Of The Franchise
While the Star Trek franchise has only added explicitly LGBTQ+ characters in the last 4-5 years, it has had ties to queer themes from the beginning.
Why Star Trek Uses Alien Metaphors For LGBTQ+ Identities
How Metaphorical Queerness In Star Trek Can Be Helpful
By telling stories about alien societies as stand-ins for actual human diversity,Star Treksheds light on the queer experience without needing to explicitly state that.InStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 5, episode 17, “The Outcast”, Soren (Melinda Culea) is a female member of the otherwise agender J’naii, who was portrayed as a victim of systemic oppression that cisgender and/or heterosexual audiences can empathize with.Star Trek: Enterpriseseason 2, episode 14, “Stigma” draws a metaphorical parallel to the HIV/AIDS crisis whenSubcommander T’Pol (Jolene Blalock), a regular character viewers already know well, deals with contracting Pa’nar Syndrome after a mind meld.
Allegories are more valuable, however, when the queerness inStar Trekis explicit.Star Trek’s future doesn’t care about homosexual relationships but it mattered in the 1990s, so Dax’s relationship with Lenara Kahn inStar Trek: Deep Space Nineis framed with a Trill taboo against reassociation.“Rejoined” is relevant because Jadzia and Lenara still fight a social stigmaechoing contemporary attitudes towards same-sex relationships. Adira’s nonbinary gender and they/them pronouns aren’t an issue for anyone inStar Trek: Discovery, but making Adira Tal the host of a Trill symbiont (literally a plural entity) is a clever way to start changing resistant minds about using they/them for actual nonbinary people.
InStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5, episode 6, “Whistlespeak”, part of Captain Michael Burnham’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) xenoanthropological brief on the pre-warp society on Halem’no is the Halem’nites' recognition of 3 genders. Without drawing any attention to it, everyone simply defaults to they/them pronouns for guest character Ravah (June Laporte).
Star Trek’s Queer Stories Aren’t About the Future (They’re About Now)
Star Trek Models An Ideal Version Of The Present
Instead of being a literal prediction of the expected future,Star Trekis a projection of an ideal future based on present circumstances, so as being queer becomes less stigmatized in the present,queer allegory inStar Trekis replaced with actual LGBTQ+ representation.Part of that normalization is showing queer characters' problems and imperfections unfettered by modern criticism. Adira Tal is just as nervous about coming out as nonbinary as they are about working on the USS Discovery’s bridge. The hurdles toCaptain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan)and Commander Raffi Musiker’s (Michelle Hurd) relationship inStar Trek: Picardare Seven’s Borg past and Raffi’s substance abuse, not anti-gay rhetoric.
Queerness is acknowledged, but is ultimately an ordinary part ofStar Trekcharacters. Stamets and Culber’s marriage onStar Trek: Discoveryis just part of the fabric of the show. Their relationship is organic, easily accepted, and never feels tokenistic. InStar Trek: Lower Decks, Lt. Beckett Mariner’s (Tawny Newsome) sexual orientation is just one of many things that make Mariner one of modernStar Trek’s most interesting characters.Being queer onStar Trekis completely normalized, further proving howStar Trek’s future is a wonderful celebration of human diversity in the modern present, and I love that.
