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The  Star Trek  franchise has always been at the forefront of sociological commentary and even though there were no LGBTQ characters on  Star Trek: The Original Series,  Gene Roddenberry always planned to have an LGBTQ crew member appear in the fifth season of  Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Leonard Nemoy himself gave support in 1991, saying, "It is entirely fitting that gays and lesbians will appear unobtrusively aboard the  Enterprise —neither objects of pity nor melodramatic attention." But Roddenberry died before it could happen.

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Though  TNG  never ended up having LGBTQ characters as part of major storylines, other entries in the franchise carried the torch, and both  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Discovery ,  and  Star Trek: Picard   aimed to be inclusive to the community in meaningful ways. Here are the LGBTQ characters you may have missed in Star Trek, which continues to boldly bush the bounds of pop culture.

Though  TNG  never had an LGBTQ crewmember, it did feature a character designed to broach the subject of sexual orientation in the episode "The Outcast". Soren was introduced as a J'naii, an androgynous race that saw gender as a primitive concept. She informed Commander Riker that she was inclined to present as female and they began a secret relationship.

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When the J'naii discovered what she'd done, they arrested her and subjected her to "psychotectic" therapy, which eliminated all aspects of any gender. Jonathan Frakes (Riker) felt the episode could have been more daring, with Soren presenting more as distinctly male, but it did show the ramifications of sexual discrimination.

A fan-favorite character on  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,  Garak was a tailor on the space station's promenade level that was known for his flamboyant turn of phrase and his love of gossip. Details about the character's sexuality are included in the book  A Stitch In Time.

Actor Andrew Robinson explained that he played Garak as bisexual on the series, and even felt that at times the emotive Cardassian might be pansexual, and loved people regardless of what gender they presented.

Jadzia Dax was a fascinating character in  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  in that, as a member of the Trill species, the gender of the host body entering into the symbiotic relationship with a Trill symbiote didn't matter. So while the symbiote "Dax" was male, after the death of his host body he was put into Jadzia's female-presenting body.

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This allowed Jadzia Dax to approach the topic of same-sex romance on occasion, such as with Curzon Dax's former lover, who didn't seem put off by the fact that Dax was not female. All Trill are implied to be inherently pansexual.

As part of the immortal time-traveling beings known as the Continuum, Q could take any shape he wanted. He chose to present himself as a fastidious and mischievous male when he appeared to Captain Picard aboard the Enterprise in  Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Fans have long debated about Q's sexual orientation (the consensus is he's pansexual), especially since as the series progressed he became more and more familiar with Picard. In the episode "Tapestry", Q commented on their relationship and implied that he might have been Picard's lover in an alternate universe.

In the  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  episode "Let He Who Is Without Sin...", Worf, Jadzia Dax, Julian Bashir, Leeta, and Quark all decide to go on a vacation to Risa, the Federation's pleasure planet. Worf spends the entire time being a grump and eventually elects to join a radical political group intent on causing a revolution.

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This leaves Jadzia Dax plenty of time to spend with Arandis (played by Vanessa Williams), who was once Curzon Dax's lover. As the two spend more and more time on Risa together, their obvious chemistry makes Worf bitterly jealous. It's thought by fans that Arandis is bisexual.

When viewers met Jett Reno in  Star Trek: Discovery  Season 2, little was known about her except that she held the rank of Commander and served as an engineer aboard the  USS Hiawatha.  Conflict during the Federation-Klingon War meant the destruction of her ship and many of her fellow crewmembers.

In a brief conversation later in the season, Reno explains that she was married once, but that her wife (who was a Soyousian) died sometime during the war's start. Eagle-eyed fans will notice she continues to wear her wedding band.

Kira Nerys (Mirror Universe)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  had several episodes that took place in the Mirror Universe, beginning with "Crossover" and followed by "Through the Looking Glass", "Shattered Mirror", "Resurrection" and "The Emperor's New Cloak". It allowed characters who were otherwise heterosexual to become LGBTQ.

In the Mirror Universe, Kira Nerys was bisexual and flaunted her sexual orientation openly and with confidence. Actress Nana Visitor was glad the series included a bisexual character, but disliked that the portrayal had to be "evil" for the sake of the plot.

Captain Kathryn Janeway

It was a titanic victory for Kate Mulgrew to portray the first female captain in the  Star Trek  franchise, but the actress wanted to push the boundaries even more. She spoke with producers about allowing Captain Kathryn Janeway to have a same-sex relationship, but they didn't go for it.

The closest she got was in the  Star Trek: Voyager  episode "Ashes to Ashes", when a female member of the crew returned from the dead and wanted to leave the ship. She went on a date with Captain Janeway , who tried to convince her to stay. Captain Janeway remains an LGBTQ icon to this day.

Seven Of Nine

Recently, in the Season 1 finale of  Star Trek: Picard,  eagle-eyed fans can spot ex-Borg Seven of Nine and ex-Starfleet officer Raffi holding hands in an intimate fashion aboard the  La Sirena.  Showrunner Michael Chabon has said a relationship between the two will be explored in the next season.

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In both  Star Trek: Voyager  episodes "The Killing Game, Part I" and " Dark Frontier, Part II ", there are sections of dialogue that seem to imply that Seven of Nine is possibly bisexual, long before  Star Trek: Picard  made it so. Actress Jeri Ryan lobbied in 1997 for Seven of Nine to be bisexual.

Philippa Georgiou (Mirror Universe)

In the tradition of changing the sexual orientation of characters in the Mirror Universe,  Star Trek: Discovery  featured a prominent series of episodes featuring the alternate reality where Philippa Georgiou was still alive and bisexual. When she's brought to the prime timeline of  Discovery,  she retains her Mirror Universe traits.

This is presented most prominently in the fact that, on a mission to a Klingon planet in Season 1, she engages in a threesome with both a man and a woman. While the seduction is for the purposes of obtaining information, it's implied that Philippa Georgiou has done this for enjoyment before.

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The final frontier is here for Star Trek 's queerest crew

The final frontier is here for Star Trek's queerest crew

Star Trek: Discovery’s fifth season marks the end of the most diverse and LGBTQ+ inclusive series in the 58-year-old sci-fi franchise.

After a television journey that’s lasted seven years, five seasons, and 65 episodes, the gays, queers, trans nonbinary, and even the straight characters of Star Trek: Discovery sashay away with a bang!

The first two action-packed episodes of the 10-episode final season of the science fiction drama are now streaming on Paramount+ ( and for free on YouTube ). The storyline this time around is pure adventure, mystery, intrigue, and a search for ancient clues (no more spoilers!) that continues this series’ intense focus on the characters’ relationships, but also calls back to Star Trek’s roots.

“There is action,” said actor Doug Jones, who plays the alien Saru . He paused briefly as he searched for the right word in a recent interview with Out. “Action mixed with, with family. The relationships in this show are so deep by now, by season five especially, that the action means something when there's so much at stake between all the characters and why we love each other and want to care for each other.”

Love was a theme repeated by everyone connected with the series who sat down to speak with Out recently.

“That's what we strive for in every episode and every season,” lesbian showrunner Michelle Paradise told Out . Discovery was nominated five times for Best Drama at the GLAAD Media Awards and won in 2021. Paradise is especially proud of how her series has been a beacon of LGBTQ + representation, boasting a cast of at least seven out actors who are gay, queer, transgender and trans nonbinary playing roles not all that different from their actual lived experience.

“The representation is so important to us, and it's very, very intentional,” said Paradise. “Every season, every episode, it's intentional.”

When the series launched in 2017, it was intended to be a prequel to the original Star Trek series of the 1960s, set at least a decade before the 23rd century adventures of Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise . Discovery was the first spinoff whose central character was not a starship captain, and the first to revolve around the misdeeds, keen insights, and growth of a Black woman.

Sonequa Martin-Green plays Michael Burnham, a human orphan raised on Vulcan, the never-before revealed adopted sister of Spock, and Starfleet’s first mutineer — who did ultimately rise to the rank of captain by the end of the third season.

On a red carpet in 2017, Martin-Green told this reporter her hope was to stand up as a role model in the same way Nichelle Nichols did in the very first Star Trek series, as Lt. Uhura. She told Out that Nichols very much inspired her own performance in this leading role.

“I have been very grateful to stand, and I think I can say that I have at this point,” she said. “Everything that she did, the impact she made in front of the camera and behind it, in society, my goodness! She made it so that I could stand with her.”

When Star Trek: Discovery’s third season propelled the crew of the Starship Discovery into the 32nd century, it introduced two new queer characters: teenage lovers Adira (played by Blu del Barrio ) and Gray (played by Ian Alexander ), who are reunited in this fifth and final season. Del Barrio has a recurring starring role and Alexander returns as a guest star in the third episode. Although Alexander previously identified as a trans man, they and del Barrio told Out in 2022 they are both trans nonbinary.

For del Barrio, that evolution of identity occurred just as much in front of the camera on a soundstage in Toronto, as it did behind the scenes.

“I think it's been a really scary thing to do it through this show and to do it so openly and for lack of a better word, but transparently,” they told Out recently. “And at the same time, I'm incredibly grateful to have been able to start and go through the beginnings of my transition while also playing this character.”

As Star Trek’s first-ever recurring gender nonconforming character, and as a 26-year-old exploring their own trans nonbinary identity, del Barrio told Out they were glad for the good that it did for young viewers back on 21st century Earth to see themselves on that same trajectory.

“It really feels like a sacred thing to me,” they said. “This piece of work feels really sacred because there was a huge change going on for me emotionally. Medically transitioning, all of that was during the last four years. It's like a really crazy snapshot in time.”

But becoming a role model was never something del Barrio sought, they said.

“I really did not think that I deserved to be the person to do that. And I think I've now realized that I did not see other trans people in the media. I didn't necessarily see myself, someone that was maybe a little bit anxious and scared and nervous.”

Actor Wilson Cruz told Out that Star Trek: Discovery provides an answer to that feeling of anxiety that so many share in these troubled times.

“I think the best possible word, given this moment culturally and politically, is resilience. I think, if we can inspire you to be resilient in this moment and to show up for your communities, then I will have done my job.” Cruz plays Dr. Hugh Culber, the gay partner of and fellow “space dad” with Anthony Rapp’s character, Commander Paul Stamets.

“Wilson has used this phrase that I'm going to borrow from him,” Rapp told Out . “One of the things that this show is doing, is showing that we're in the future. The fact that two of the main crew members who are really good at their jobs have been there from the beginning.” There’s never actually been an episode dealing with Culber and Stamets’ orientation; it’s just a given that they are a gay couple, as it would be if they were straight.

“And then we brought into our family and crew this brilliant young person. Adira, that we keep kind of saving the universe, that we're among the ones that really make a huge difference. I do think that this sends this message loud and clear that, ‘Hey, we're still alive, we're still going to be here, hundreds of years into the future. We've always been here, throughout history, some of the major minds of the world have been queer folks throughout history. And that will continue to be the case.’”

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Rapp, who was in Tokyo performing his one man musical Without You at the time of our interview, said he and Cruz have heard repeatedly from fans the positive impact they’ve made.

“We've heard from so many people over these several years who've been profoundly impacted by that representation, by seeing the way that we are with each other and how much it's helped them, either young people themselves that were coming out, or just came out, seeing themselves in Adira, and parents of young people who are like Adira. Just seeing that it has been profoundly meaningful to them, that in turn, is very meaningful to us,” said Rapp.

His next statement is especially prophetic given the recent controversy over the International Transgender Day of Visibility. “It’s essential,” Rapp said. “Visibility is essential to the safety and equality of queer people. It always has been, and it is what has made the difference over the last 50, 60 years. People finally were saying, ‘We're here, we're queer, get used to it, etc.’ It's taken a while. In some places, there's still very far to go. But we've taken as much ground as we have because of that visibility.”

A character who became less visible in the prior season was Ensign Sylvia Tilly, always played with aplomb by out queer actor Mary Wiseman . And, without providing any spoilers, it’s a joy to say she is back and better than ever. “Super fun,” is how Wiseman described to Out what it’s like to return in a different capacity than what fans have seen Tilly do before.

“I think it's kind of nice for Tilly to be both inside of it and outside of it,” she said. “It just feels like she has a lot of autonomy. And for me, it's great, because I get to be there, and it's a nice character development that Tilly gets to come in almost as a consulting expert, instead of being just part of the crew, as she always was. I think it orients her in a different way, where she has a lot more agency, and has gained a lot of confidence by going off on her own and teaching at Starfleet Academy.”

Starfleet Academy is the name of the next Star Trek series, now in pre-production, under the supervision of executive producer and man in charge of all things Trek , Alex Kurtzman. He talked with Out about what made Discovery far more LGBTQ+ inclusive than any other iteration of the 58-year-old franchise.

“I think you hire different showrunners, so that they will give you their vision of Star Trek, right? Nobody wants the same vision for every show,” said Kurtzman. “There has to be certain common denominators, right? Trek is about an essential vision of optimism and inclusion and a sense that our future can actually be bright, even in times of darkness. But beyond that, part of what I love about Star Trek is that each writer of each show brings their own interpretation to it, and I think that's how it stays fresh. So, in no way, shape or form am I taking credit for being the one who's doing all of it, because I couldn't. This show doesn't exist without Michelle, just as every other show doesn't exist without the showrunners and all the amazing writers and crew that work on them.”

“That people are feeling seen and that people are seeing themselves, amidst all of the fun and the cool storytelling and the action and the adventure, that's wonderful,” added Paradise. “That is a wonderful thing about this show. And hopefully that's what people think of, among many other things, once the show finishes its run.”

Even when the characters are in a binary male / female relationship, Star Trek: Discovery finds a way to draw parallels to contemporary issues of love across cultures and other barriers. Can a Kelpien ambassador and a Vulcan president find love in the 32nd century?

“Saru and President Karina, played by Tara Rosling, has been such a fun journey, and I think they're both in love for the first time ever as grown adults,” said Jones. “They've had such a sense of duty all these years that now it's like, ‘Wait, but my heart beats as well, so I can have both!’ That's been lovely to explore and unfold and see. Can career and duty and diplomacy and all of the things that they represent, can that also coincide with ‘I love you,’ and me finding out that I think it can.”

David Ajala is back as well, in the role of Cleveland “Book” Booker, also introduced in the third season. “I love the fact that Michael Burnham and Cleveland Book have been through so, so much, but yet they're in a place where they're able to just try to build bridges.”

The ending of the fourth season saw Burnham and Book separate, and the tension between them is palpable in the first four episodes of season five screened for reporters. Ajala said love is a central theme this go-round, in addition to all the Indiana Jones-style action.

“Love, that's my anchor,” he said. “Love has more currency when it is expressed in action. And I think going forward in season five, Cleveland Book is in a position where he's on a redemptive journey and his love is shown in his actions. He is a student of life and a student of love.”

Out asked Ajala where he stands in terms of the LGBTQ+ community, and the well-known mantra, “Love is Love.”

“Absolutely! You said it. So, I stand in the middle of all that love which everyone is deserving of.”

Martin-Green, the series lead, took the opportunity to frame the series’ end as the end of her own personal evolution, standing up as Nichols did, as Kate Mulgrew did, as Avery Brooks did. Each of them in their own way was a pioneer in the Trek universe, expanding what it means to be seen, and to lead.

“I understand now because of the journey that I've taken, because my journey as Sonequa has paralleled Burnham's in a lot of ways. And there's been so much evolution and maturation and growth. I understand now that I do stand, and that that is why the people before me went through what they went through, that they would want me to stand freely, they would want me to stand confidently. And I understand that that's what I do, and that's what I will continue to do in honor of them, and in honor of whoever might come after me.”

When the cast of Star Trek: Picard was introduced at New York Comic-Con in 2019, Martin-Green took a seat all alone in an empty Madison Square Garden theater mezzanine, watching from afar, but spotted by this reporter. For this story, Out asked her if she had any idea back then what her work on Star Trek: Discovery would make possible: The launch of not only Picard but four other Trek series, namely Strange New Worlds, Prodigy, Lower Decks and now Starfleet Academy .

“Oh, my goodness! We just never in a million years would have imagined,” said Martin-Green. “I don't think any of us could have imagined what we were going to be doing. You know, the fact that we were making television history, with me, with so many others, with our diversity, the fact that we were innovating the franchise and pushing it forward, doing it justice. Now, we've become this mothership. Apparently, fans call this, this time is now called the ‘Platinum Age.’ And so, we're the mothership of the Platinum Age, and now we have our own children, and that is mind blowing. It's mind blowing.”

Platinum, with a whole lot of glitter and rainbows on top.

Season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery is now streaming on Paramount+ , with new episodes dropping every Thursday.

• 'Star Trek: Discovery' Stars React to Show's Ending With Season 5 ›
• Cover Stars Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz Are the 'Space Dads' We Need ›
• Star Trek's Blu del Barrio & Ian Alexander: Transgalactic Heroes ›
• Star Trek: Discovery's Anthony Rapp on Playing the Shows First Openly Gay Character ›
• Meet the Lesbian Co-Showrunner Queering 'Star Trek: Discovery' ›
• How Star Trek Helped 'Discovery' Star Emily Coutts Come Out ›

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The ‘Star Trek’ Cast on the Radical LGBT+ Representation of ‘Strange New Worlds’

FINAL FRONTIER: PRIDE

The out stars of “Strange New Worlds” discuss what the show’s unapologetic depiction of queerness and gender means to them and the “Star Trek” franchise’s history of allyship.

Pari Dukovic/Paramount+

When the Starship Enterprise finally continues its voyage this week, the loud and proud contingent of LGBTQ+ Star Trek fans will see something very special: themselves, represented in the 23rd century.

“I love that we’re premiering during Pride Month,” actor Melissa Navia tells The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, speaking ahead of the Season 2 launch of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds June 15 on Paramount+. “I feel like our poster is about that, too,” she adds. Promotional advertisements and videos prominently feature rainbow coloring and graphics, much to Navia’s delight. “I don't know if that was on purpose, but I’m going to go ahead and say it was!”

On Strange New Worlds , Navia plays Erica Ortegas, the pilot of the U.S.S. Enterprise . The Star Trek prequel series is set in the future, but also the past; the adventures take place in the 2200s, but it’s several years before those depicted in the original series from the 1960s, when Sulu (George Takei) served as helmsman under William Shatner ’s iconic Capt. James T. Kirk.

When Strange New Worlds launched last summer, Navia was asked by Variety about her character’s androgynous appearance and demeanor. “I like that we’re approaching it in a way that nobody bats an eye. Like, they shouldn’t, right? Everybody should be a bit queer,” she said. “I know I give off this wonderful queer energy. It’s just been a part of who I am.”

Kharen Hill/Paramount+

Almost a year later, Navia tells us she “absolutely” stands by those statements, and the community.

“Throughout my career, the trans and LGBT community have been just such rock stars for me, in terms of people who love what they see in me. They love what I bring to the screen and what I bring to characters,” she says. “The fact is, gender [fluidity] plays almost inherently a part of me and always has. So whenever I’m cast in things, I think people somehow see that. [The LGBT community] have been absolutely my biggest fans.”

“I’m queer,” says actor Jess Bush, without hesitation, speaking about both her own life away from the TV screen and on the Paramount+ streaming series. “I am so delighted that there's more representation for all expressions of sexuality and gender in Star Trek . That’s really exciting to me, and I’m really proud to be a part of that representation.” The Australian native returns as Nurse Christine Chapel, who in this incarnation is an openly bisexual character—but still with the hots for Spock.

“I would like to see [sexuality and gender] explored more for Chapel and for anyone else who’s on the show,” said Bush. “That is something that I think the fandom really appreciates, and it’s also a direct reflection of our society right now. The increased visibility and the increased acceptance of queer folk is something that's being celebrated a lot right now, but is also threatened a lot right now. There’s a lot of violence towards people who are queer.”

Bush was alluding to incidents like the Glendale, California, Board of Education meeting that erupted in a brawl between anti-LGBTQ+ and pro-LGBTQ+ demonstrators this month. And as The Daily Beast has reported , far right extremists have been targeting schools that show support for queer students. Bush mentions how, throughout its history, Star Trek has addressed current conflicts through science fiction storytelling, from war to racism and, more recently, LGBTQ+ and nonbinary inclusion.

“I think Star Trek has a certain power that could be used to fight that [violence],” she said. “I urge the [producers] to do that with the writing. I think it’s an opportunity for them to really step up and stand behind our queer fans.”

Those fans have long fantasized—and composed reams of fan fiction—about a potential romance between Star Trek’s original lead characters, Kirk and Spock, shipping them as “Spirk.” Paul Wesley plays a young Jim Kirk on Strange New Worlds , while Ethan Peck, the grandson of the legendary actor Gregory Peck, wears the famed pointed ears this time around.

“I do think one’s relationship with another actor offscreen, or your general chemistry, does actually translate onto the screen,” Wesley says. Spock meets Kirk for the first time in Season 2, and Peck says their foundational friendship was key to that scene.

“It really added a lot of nuance to that moment, the momentous moment that these two characters meet,” Peck says, after which Wesley deadpans: “Can we get ‘Spirk’ tattoos?”

Celia Rose Gooding is breaking ground in Strange New Worlds , not just as the first actor to portray communications officer Nyota Uhura since the death of the trailblazing Nichelle Nichols , but also as the first queer actor to play the role.

“As an out queer person, as someone whose relationship with their gender is ever-evolving and ever-changing, it is so exciting to be a part of this, especially playing a role that has been originated by cis women and has historically only been played by cis women,” Gooding says , adding that she is humbled to be trusted with Uhura’s story .

“To the trans and nonbinary queer community, know that there is an entire cast of people who want to do right by y’all and want to represent y’all in a way that is human and true and beautiful and lovely. And to have your support means the moon and beyond to all of us, but especially to me, because I am someone who has learned the most about myself from queer people, and as someone who is myself every day and has to show up as myself to play this character,” Gooding says.

“It just means a lot to me to be a part of this and to be just a small piece of an incredibly delicious franchise pie and have my little queer stamp on it and say, ‘A queer person was here and reprised the role and made sure that everyone knew that this person is here and is proud to be a part of this community and has a role to play in Star Trek.’ ”

Rebecca Romijn, who fans may recall as Mystique in the first three X-Men movies, plays a character who was hiding a terrible secret that was exposed in the first season. The revelation resulted in her arrest in the season finale, and she will go on trial in the second episode of this second season. Romijn’s character is Una Chin-Riley, an “augment,” meaning she is the result of genetic engineering, which is banned by Starfleet and the Federation. She is the Enterprise’s first officer and Capt. Pike’s “Number One.”

Given that Romijn also previously played a trans woman on TV’s Ugly Betty, we asked her if she saw a parallel between her characters’ experiences and the way society treats trans people as outcasts.

“It's like these three characters keep coming back in my life and I love it,” Romijn says. “Even though we have this utopian, futuristic world in Trek, sometimes we still grapple with these very human issues like prejudice and persecution. That episode really puts the spotlight on that. I think that the message that Una wants to send is, just because I can hide doesn't mean I should have to. And I would like to think that's what a lot of trans people feel like, too.”

Romijn also shouts out Jesse James Keitel, the out trans actor who played a nonbinary villain in a groundbreaking Season 1 episode directed by a trans woman, Sydney Freeland. “Having that episode with them, with Jesse James Keitel, she was so amazing on our show. We just can’t wait to figure out a way to bring her back.”

It’s clear that the stars of Strange New World know how powerful and how radical the show’s LGBT+ representation is.

As an active user of social media, Navia has heard from queer fans, asking about her character’s love life. “I know people want to see more of Ortegas in terms of her relationships and what I would say to that is, ‘Just hang on. Hang on for sure!’” she says. “I can't wait to see what fans and especially the trans and LGBT community continue to see in Ortegas. And hearing from them also inspires a lot of what we then bring to the role. So, thank you to them and, yeah, Pride month: Let's do it!”

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Published Sep 2, 2020

Star Trek: Discovery Introduces First Transgender and Non-Binary Characters

Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander join the cast for season three.

StarTrek.com

CBS All Access, ViacomCBS’ subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, today announced that season three of Star Trek: Discovery will introduce the Star Trek franchise’s first non-binary and transgender characters, furthering the “Star Trek” universe’s ongoing commitment to Gene Roddenberry’s original vision of celebrating diversity and inclusion.

The Star Trek universe’s first non-binary character is Adira, played by Blu del Barrio. Adira is highly intelligent with a confidence and self-assurance well beyond their years. They will find a new home on the U.S.S. Discovery and form an unexpected bond with Lt. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz). The first transgender character is Gray, portrayed by Ian Alexander. Gray is empathetic, warm and eager to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a Trill host, but he will have to adapt when his life takes an unexpected turn.

“ Star Trek has always made a mission of giving visibility to underrepresented communities because it believes in showing people that a future without division on the basis of race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation is entirely within our reach,” said Michelle Paradise, co-showrunner and executive producer. “We take pride in working closely with Blu del Barrio, Ian Alexander, and Nick Adams at GLAAD to create the extraordinary characters of Adira and Gray, and bring their stories to life with empathy, understanding, empowerment and joy.”

Blu del Barrio is a non-binary actor who uses they/them pronouns. Del Barrio was in their final year of studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art when they auditioned for the role of Adira. Del Barrio has been acting in theater and short films since the age of 7, and they’re incredibly excited to make their television acting debut in season three of Discovery .

Ian Alexander is a 19-year-old actor who uses they/them and he/him pronouns. He is best known for their roles as Buck Vu on the Netflix series “The OA” and Lev in Naughty Dog’s video game “The Last of Us Part II.” They are the first out transgender Asian-American person to act on television. They are also an advocate for transgender equality, racial justice and mental health awareness for LGBTQ+ youth.

The third season of Star Trek: Discovery will premiere on Thursday, Oct. 15. New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery ’s 13-episode third season will be available on demand weekly on Thursdays, exclusively for CBS All Access subscribers in the United States.

The First Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Trailer has Arrived

Star Trek: Discovery streams on Paramount+ in the United States, airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave in Canada, and on Netflix in 190 countries.

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How Queer Is Star Trek ?

Star Trek is not just one of the longest-running sci-fi franchises ever, it is also the most hopeful. The Federation represents the pinnacle of humanity: the idea that we can and will make a better life for each other. Yet, despite Trek’s message of a better future for all, LGBTQ+ characters are few and far between, and this exclusion has led to more than a few clashes between Star Trek creators and fans in the past. As Star Trek: Discovery heads into its next chapter , let’s look back at the franchise’s history of LGBTQ+ representation. Does Discovery fulfill the promise of a more harmonious, progressive future? Or does it, too, fall prey to the pitfalls that have plagued Star Trek’s past?

Not in front of the Klingons

For decades, queer people have been drawn to Star Trek , and the shows have gained cult status within the gay community. Why? To answer that question, we need to slingshot around the sun and time-warp back to The Original Series , a show with so much sparkling chemistry between its male leads that Kirk and Spock became the OG ship, launching a thousand fan fictions—which, back in the ‘60s, were painstakingly typed out on typewriters and handed around at conventions.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry did not vocally oppose the fans interpreting Kirk and Spock as lovers. Always a supporter of fan works, Roddenberry attended many of the first conventions, and encouraged his writers to read fanzines ( Spockanalia , in particular)—and although these didn’t include “slash” fanfiction, he wasn’t unaware of this fan response to the show.

When interviewed in 1979 for the book Shatner: Where No Man , Roddenberry was asked what he thought of the fan belief that Kirk and Spock were in love. His response was thoughtful: “Yes, there’s certainly love overtones. Deep love. The only difference being, we never suggested in the series [that there was any] physical love between the two. But we certainly had the feeling that the affection was sufficient for that, if that were the particular style of the 23rd century.”

But it wasn’t just the homoerotic subtext that LGBTQ+ fans subscribed to. Star Trek has long been a beacon of hope for marginalized people, as it presents the vision of a better future , one in which humanity has learned to celebrate diversity. Star Trek teaches us that we can not only resolve our differences but learn to love them, an idea that has strengthened countless viewers.

That was certainly the case for Wilson Cruz, who plays Dr. Hugh Culber, Discovery’s doctor and husband of Chief Engineer Paul Stamets. Speaking to me on the eve of Discovery’s season two premiere, Cruz explained that Star Trek was very important to him as a child. “I was one of those kids who needed to be reassured of a hopeful future, and Star Trek did that for me. It helped me imagine a future where I could love whoever I wanted, and inspired me to do whatever I needed to do to get us closer to that.”

This message, along with a comparatively broad scope of representation in terms of race and gender, has long appealed to the queer community. We watch Star Trek because it gives us the rare opportunity to see a version of the future where we also have a place among the stars. Or at least, it does in theory.

Unfortunately, there is a divide between what the Federation claims to be, and what it actually is. Star Trek’s writers want us to believe that the Federation is a utopian society, wherein the social problems of the past have been solved. And yet, nothing is ever that simple, and fiction can’t help but be a product of its time. The Federation might be beyond sexism, racism, and homophobia, but its creators certainly aren’t—which became more evident as the years wore on, and fans started to demand canon gay representation.

Infinite diversity…except for the gays

Trek’s vision of a utopian future was perhaps strongest in The Next Generation , as the crew of the Enterprise-D traversed the galaxy, solving conflicts with diplomacy and staying true to the Federation’s values (even veganism ). With this new era of possibilities came the idea that Star Trek could actually feature a gay character. This was suggested to Gene Roddenberry during a Boston fan convention in 1987, and he pledged to introduce a gay character in The Next Generation . This led to “Blood and Fire,” an unaired episode penned by David Gerrold in 1988 that has become infamous among LGBTQ+ fans.

Eager to address the AIDS epidemic , Gerrold’s proposed script saw the Enterprise crew encountering a ship infected with Regulan bloodworms. The solution called for Enterprise officers to donate blood, a plot point that Gerrold hoped would encourage viewers to do the same, as he told TrekMovie in 2014: “I wanted us to put a card at the end of the episode saying you can donate blood, contact your local Red Cross.” Aboard the infected ship were two male characters (Lts Freeman and Eakins) in a committed romantic relationship. Tertiary characters at best, the two men only appeared in “Blood and Fire,” and their relationship was established in a few lines of dialogue . “How long have you two been together?” asks a one-episode character from the Enterprise. “Since the Academy,” replies Eakins, and nothing more is said about it. As representation goes, it was refreshingly matter-of-fact—or it would have been, had the episode ever made it to air.

In the decades since, opinions have differed on why the episode was canned. According to Gerrold in his interview with TrekMovie , producer Rick Berman raised concerns that the subject matter was too risqué for The Next Generation’s timeslot, and that it would cause the show to lose viewers. This led to weeks of heated debate among the staff writers, resulting in the episode being axed and Gerrold furiously quitting the series. While we don’t know exactly what went on behind the scenes, it seems safe to say that there were concerns among the producers that showing gay characters onscreen would hurt ratings. Roddenberry, however, didn’t give up on his promise to fans—though he wouldn’t live to see it fulfilled.

On August 8, 1991, Roddenberry was quoted in the magazine The Advocate as saying: “In the fifth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, viewers will see more of shipboard life in some episodes, which will include gay crew members in day-to-day circumstances.” This interview was conducted in response to a fierce letter-writing campaign from fan group the Gaylactic Network, which implored the Star Trek writers to include gay characters. Both sci-fi novelist Arthur C. Clarke and actor Leonard Nimoy (Spock) wrote letters in support of this campaign. Yet, despite Roddenberry’s renewed pledge to include gay representation, he died just two months later, leaving Rick Berman at the reins of the franchise. The Next Generation never featured a gay character…although it did come close.

The Next Generation often explored social topics through allegory, and in the season five episode “The Outcast,” the writers tackled themes of sexuality, gender, and ostracisation. In the episode, Riker falls for Soren, a member of an androgynous race who identifies as female, in defiance of the accepted neutral gender. Soren is ultimately forced to undergo “treatment,” a brainwashing procedure that is a clear criticism of conversion therapy —a bold stance to take in 1992. For Jonathan Frakes, however, the writers fell short of making a real impact.

“It seemed to me that it was such a great opportunity, since Roddenberry had always taken such pride in addressing these issues, to cast a man in that part instead of a female actor.” Frakes, who played William Riker and continues to direct many episodes of Star Trek shows, told io9 that he feels that by casting Soren as a woman, The Next Generation missed the chance to show a true outcast story, as two male actors portraying a romantic couple would have challenged viewer perceptions at the time. “I mean, that was the message of the whole show,” he said, “But we had this girl and we put a Puck wig on her to make her look unisex. I don’t know, it was very bizarre.”

Considering that “The Outcast” was The Next Generation ’s only response to the fan campaign for gay characters, it’s a shame that the writers yet again fell back on allegory. And it didn’t have to be allegorical—although having a male actor portray Soren only occurred to Frakes years later, the writers considered casting a man, but the idea was shot down. Explaining the situation to the San Jose Mercury News later in 1992, Berman again raised his concern of viewer reactions: “Having Riker engaged in passionate kisses with a male actor might have been a little unpalatable to viewers.”

Had “The Outcast” featured a male actor in the role of Soren, this would have been a huge stride forward for television, as there had only been four gay couples on TV thus far . Yet, just like with “Blood and Fire,” attempts to make Star Trek queerer were prevented before the episode aired, and Soren was portrayed by a cis female actor instead. As it stands, “The Outcast” was still an important step for Star Trek challenging the boundaries of gender and sexuality, and it was one which paved the way for the next spinoff to be even bolder.

“Time to win the war”

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Discovery marks the first time a queer relationship was depicted on Star Trek . But while Stamets and Culber are the first long-running gay couple, the honor of the first kiss between two women in Trek history goes to Deep Space Nine .

Jadzia Dax was a Trill, an alien comprised of a 700-year-old symbiote and a mortal host. As symbiotes switch between male and female hosts, this enabled the Deep Space Nine writers to push the boundaries of sexuality: Jadzia commented on the attractiveness of various women, and would often talk about her experiences living as a man. This came to a head in the 1995 episode “Rejoined,” wherein Jadzia is reunited with Lenara Khan, wife of Dax’s previous male host. Despite the Trill law against reassociation, ie: rekindling old romances, Jadzia and Lenara are unable to overcome their attraction to one another—and thus was born Star Trek’s first gay kiss.

When io9 spoke to Ronald D. Moore on Deep Space Nine’s 25th anniversary , we asked him why, as co-showrunner and writer of “Rejoined,” he chose to cast Lenera Khan as a woman. “It was really built into the concept of the Trill, so we thought what if Dax encountered a woman from the past that it had been involved with as a man, y’know, wouldn’t that be daring. At this point, love between two women was very controversial to portray.”

For Moore, this decision was rooted in a sense of duty to Star Trek’s history of social commentary. “We thought let’s do it, because we are Star Trek and we’re supposed to be challenging these things, in the way that the original series challenged a lot of taboos about race relations back in the ‘60s. So shouldn’t we be trying this too?” Challenging taboos was never going to be easy. But after much back and forth between producers and writers, Moore is happy they were able to get the episode on the air. “We were able to push it through the system and get the episode made,” he said. “Ultimately it was the right moment to win that war.”

“Rejoined” was a heart-wrenching love story, which still resonates with fans today thanks to its exploration of societal prejudices. But beyond the social commentary, “Rejoined” established a crucial fact about the Federation—that same-sex relationships are not just accepted, but unremarkable, as none of Jadzia’s coworkers are surprised at the idea of two women being in love. This was a subtle but significant victory for Star Trek , especially considering how Beverly Crusher had balked at the idea of rekindling her own romance with a now-female Trill in The Next Generation episode “The Host,” which aired in 1991. “Rejoined” was also something of a landmark episode for television at the time, airing just four years after the first gay kiss in USA TV history (on LA Law in 1991), and featuring the fifth lesbian kiss ever to be shown on television. And yes, it did indeed prove to be controversial.

Before the episode even aired, several of Paramount’s regional affiliates cut the kiss from the broadcast, and in the aftermath, Paramount’s phone lines lit up with complaints from conservative viewers. In an interview for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion book, producer Steve Oster recalled one viewer phoning the show to accuse them of “ruining my kids by making them watch two women kiss like that.” According to Oster, the production assistant who took the call asked the man if he would be all right with his children seeing one woman shoot the other. When the man replied that this would be fine, the PA said, “Then maybe you should reconsider who’s ruining your kids.” However, Oster also revealed that for every phone complaint the show received, other fans wrote in expressing their gratitude to Deep Space Nine for showing romantic love between women.

The battle continues...

Ultimately though, this was just one episode, and for the rest of the show, Jadzia’s romantic plots focused on men. While modern viewers may be able to recognize Jadzia Dax as bisexual (and arguably genderfluid), much of her sexuality was confined to suggestive comments and subtext, and we never saw her in a romance with another woman. It’s worth noting that Deep Space Nine did feature queer characters in the Mirrorverse episodes, with Intendant Kira Nerys sharing a kiss with the un-joined Trill Ezri Tegan (the eighth lesbian kiss on TV) in season seven’s “The Emperor’s New Cloak,” but they were minor antagonists who didn’t return after that episode.

Then there’s the question of Garak, a recurring character whom actor Andrew Robinson played as “not having a defined sexuality.” Speaking to Liz Sourbut for Amazon in 2012, Robinson explained that for him, Garak’s sexuality was “inclusive,” and that the Cardassian tailor always found his close friend Dr. Bashir attractive. However, he hit roadblocks in trying to portray this attraction. “This is a family show, they have to keep it on the ‘straight and narrow’, so then I backed off from it. For the most part, the writers supported the character beautifully, but in that area they just made a choice they didn’t want to go there, and if they don’t want to go there I can’t, because the writing doesn’t support it.” However, Robinson has subsequently penned several Star Trek books that confirm Garak’s “inclusive” sexuality.

The battle to include queer characters in the main cast of a Star Trek show would rage on for years—and fans hoped this would finally happen when Seven of Nine was introduced to Voyager . In 1995, a fan organization dubbed the Voyager Visibility Project was formed to pressure Paramount to add a gay or lesbian character to the show. This project was endorsed by GLAAD , and Voyager producer Jeri Taylor seemed sympathetic to their cause. When it was announced that Seven of Nine would be added to the show in season four, rumors abounded that she would be a lesbian, or at the very least, that she would “experiment with her sexuality” while adjusting to life after the Borg.

However, in the March 1998 issue of TV Guide , Taylor regretfully debunked these rumors, saying: “The idea is something I’m absolutely sympathetic with, and I have tried several times to do it. But for various reasons there has been opposition, and it gradually became clear that this is a fight I could not win.” Neither Voyager nor prequel series Enterprise featured a queer character in the main cast, and as time wore on— Enterprise ended in 2005—fans got increasingly exasperated with the lack of representation.

The producers were far from oblivious about the fans’ desire for LGBTQ+ characters. In 2011, Brannon Braga (longtime Star Trek producer, and showrunner for Voyager and Enterprise ) told magazine AfterElton that he regretted never including a gay character in the main cast of any Trek show, explaining that the decision-makers were “squeamish” about the prospect. “There was a constant back and forth about how we [should] portray the spectrum of sexuality. There were people who felt very strongly that we should be showing [it] casually, just two guys together in the background in Ten Forward. At the time the decision was made not to do that.” Braga said he felt confident that nowadays, those same decision-makers would make a different call—and with Discovery , the time finally came for Star Trek to live up to Roddenberry’s promise, for better or worse.

Discovery fulfills the promise, but falters

Before Star Trek: Discovery even had a name, another promise was made that we would finally see gay characters walking the decks of a Starfleet vessel. In August 2016, then-showrunner Bryan Fuller told fans that there would “absolutely” be a gay character in the main cast, achieving what had been fought for but blocked for so many years. However, we’re far beyond the era of sneaking gay kisses past censors, and the new show’s queer representation has been contentious to say the least.

Discovery season one introduced us to Lt. Paul Stamets and Dr. Hugh Culber, a married couple whose love story was already years in the making—which resonated well with Anthony Rapp (who plays Stamets) and Wilson Cruz’s long-term friendship. Reflecting on his time playing Culber, Cruz told io9 how impressed he and Rapp were from the first moment they read the Discovery scripts. “We were moved by how seriously this relationship was being treated by the show, that it was being held up as an example of true love.”

Culber and Stamets are your typical married couple, and it is the understated nature of their relationship that, ironically, makes it rather remarkable. So often in media, if queer people are included it’s to make some kind of socio-political point. We even see this in Star Trek : both “The Outcast” and “Rejoined” revolve around relationship taboos, and feature tragic or bittersweet conclusions. While this has its place, LGBTQ+ life is not inherently political, and it’s important to show queer relationships as just another part of life. This was something that Cruz really appreciated about Culber and Stamets’ romance.

“Our lives are more than just our relationships and our sex lives; our lives are as complicated and complex as anybody else’s,” Cruz told us. “Not all our problems have to do with who we love. Most of them don’t actually. So I’m happy to see that that evolution is happening in media.”

However, Discovery’s approach to representation has not been without its share of controversy. Culber’s death at the hands of sleeper agent Ash Tyler led to huge fan backlash, as many people felt that Star Trek had fallen prey to the surprisingly common “bury-your-gays” trope, in which gay characters are introduced only to be killed later. To say this is damaging would be an understatement, and while no one is arguing that LGBTQ+ characters should be immortal, when representation is so sparse and then queer and trans characters are more likely to die, that hardly sends an affirming message. For this to happen to Star Trek’s first gay couple after years of fighting for LGBTQ+ representation in the franchise, Culber’s death felt even more personal to fans—and to those working on the show.

As he directed “Despite Yourself,” the season one episode in which Culber is killed, Jonathan Frakes was reminded of “The Outcast,” and the shadow of what could have been. “Stamets and Culber’s relationship was so powerful,” he explained, “So important to them and to the show. And I thought oh my God, this is like a strange revisit of a missed opportunity. You don’t want to kill one of the lovers of what is going to be an iconic gay couple on a hit television show! It just doesn’t make any sense.” Frakes also recalled the moment that Cruz was told Culber was being killed off. “I was with Wilson weeping at the idea that he would die on that show. This show was huge for him. It was huge for all of us! But when he got the phone call before he shot that scene, it was devastating.”

Culber’s death was not without purpose, though, and at the end of season one he was able to guide Stamets from beyond the grave. This made for a beautiful moment, one which Cruz found heartening: “I may have died but it really was our love that allowed [Stamets] to save not just our universe, but every universe. Gay love did that! And that’s pretty incredible.”

It is very rare for heroic, romantic moments to be awarded to LGBTQ+ people; if romantic love is going to save the day, usually it will be the love between a man and a woman. Yet, as groundbreaking as it was for Discovery to give this moment to a gay couple, its importance was far overshadowed by the controversy of Culber’s death…although there was still more to the story. [Warning: Spoilers for Discovery season two to follow.]

“You’re my home”

Culber’s resurrection in a shocking season two episode allowed the show to explore him as a character, as he confronted his purpose and found it difficult to reunite with his husband. “I got to define him a lot more this year,” explained Cruz. “He’s such an empath and he really wears his heart on his white sleeve, and that makes him a better doctor.” This made for a compelling story that granted Culber some meaningful character development, while revealing what made Culber and Stamets’ relationship work, even as it fell apart.

Although this plot often falls prey to the trap of telling, not showing (and we’re left wondering if it was tacked-on last minute), every moment between Rapp and Cruz carries great emotional weight, which is due in large part to the strength of the actors. The scene in which Culber tells an ailing Stamets that he’s staying on the Discovery , because Stamets is his home, is one of the finale’s highlights . Of course, the show could always do more—we still haven’t seen any trans or non-binary characters on Discovery —and sole responsibility of the franchise’s LGBTQ+ representation cannot rest on just two characters. Thankfully, there are no longer just two in the main cast, but here, again, we see Discovery both succeed and falter in providing good queer representation.

In a touching finale scene with Culber, new character Jett Reno (played by Tig Notaro) refers to her late wife, continuing the trend of refreshingly matter-of-fact representation. This is an effective way to establish that a character is queer, as Reno’s story doesn’t revolve around her sexual identity. The only weight this revelation carries is to create romantic solidarity between Reno and Culber—not because they’re both queer, but because they have both experienced love and loss. So, points to Discovery for that.

Then there’s Michelle Yeoh’s deliciously amoral Emperor Georgiou, who seems to have a fluid sexuality: At the end of season one, she goes to bed with two Orion dancers, one male and one female. Georgiou being queer is fantastic, especially as she’ll be Star Trek’s first LGBTQ+ lead once her Section 31 series is released. However, she is also a textbook Depraved Bisexual , a damaging trope wherein a bi character’s sexuality is framed as another part of their villainy.

While you could argue that Georgiou doesn’t like boundaries of any kind, there’s a scene in the episode “ The Red Angel ” which is stunningly tone-deaf, as Georgiou hits on Stamets only to be told that he’s gay, which she scoffs at. Not only is this a strange way to establish that the terms “gay” and “pansexual” are still being used in the 23rd century, it also perpetuates negative stereotypes about opportunistic bisexuality and sets a bi woman against two gay men. Again, Discovery tries for good representation but plummets into the pitfall of another damaging trope.

Yet, as the USS Discovery sails into the future in season three , Discovery has an excellent opportunity to provide LGBTQ+ representation that goes beyond the classic definitions of gay, straight, and pan/bisexual, as well as binary gender. Everyone deserves to get a slice of that bright future, and showing LGBTQ+ youth a world where they are accepted and loved is what Cruz has always considered to be the most rewarding part of his role. For him, Discovery “sends a message to those young people that we have always been here. That we are a part of the human fabric, and that we will reach the kind of society where your sexuality and gender have less to do with how you’re valued than what you do and who you are. For me, the most important thing is the reassurance to young people that everything is going to be all right.”

Looking to the future

Speculative fiction plays a vital role in our narrative pantheon. It is the space where we can imagine literally any possibility, build better futures, and hope to influence real life by showing what’s possible. If LGBTQ+ people are consistently ignored and cut out of this genre, then a clear message is sent: In all these realms of possibilities , queer people still don’t have a place. That certainly doesn’t support Star Trek’s core theme of inclusivity and celebration of diversity. The promise of the Federation is the promise of the future, a future free from prejudice, a future in which we’ve evolved beyond everything that holds us back.

After the years of prejudice that have plagued Star Trek’s journey to queer representation, Discovery has taken some huge strides forward. It’s no longer surprising if anyone mentions a lover who is the same gender as them. “The universe in which we live in on the show is a place where everyone is willing and capable of loving anyone,” says Cruz, and that’s crucial to establish for an apparently utopian society. Although Discovery has stumbled in providing representation, Star Trek is finally learning how to live up to the hopeful promise of the Federation: That one day, decades or centuries from now, we will all find a better future among the stars—regardless of who we love.

For more, make sure you’re following us on our new Instagram @ io9dotcom .

Star Trek's new characters Gray and Adira are transgender, non-binary

Science fiction franchise Star Trek's first transgender and non-binary characters will debut on US television next month.

Key points:

• Transgender character Gray will be played by transgender actor Ian Alexander
• Non-binary Adira will be played by Blu del Barrio
• They will appear in the third season of CBS Television's series Star Trek: Discovery

Transgender character Gray will be played by transgender actor Ian Alexander while non-binary Adira will be played by Blu del Barrio, an actor who, like the character, does not identify as male or female.

They will appear in the third season of CBS Television's series Star Trek: Discovery, the latest incarnation of the TV franchise that launched in 1966.

Star Trek has spawned films, cartoons and a legion of loyal fans, known as Trekkies.

"Star Trek has always made a mission of giving visibility to underrepresented communities ," said Michelle Paradise, the show's co-showrunner and executive producer.

"It believes in showing people that a future without division on the basis of race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation is entirely within our reach."

Star Trek: Discovery broke boundaries by featuring a married gay couple as central characters for the first time in the franchise's history.

The show also entered a new frontier when actor Sonequa Martin-Green became the first black woman to lead a Star Trek television series.

"I cannot wait for you all to meet these beautiful souls and wonderful artists," said actor Anthony Rapp, who plays one of the show's two gay characters, on Twitter.

"I am so so so proud of them and happy that they are a part of our show".

Actor del Barrio auditioned for the role while finishing drama school.

"When I got the call that I'd been cast as Adira, I hadn't yet told the majority of my friends and family that I was non-binary," del Barrio said.

"So when this happened, it felt like the universe saying, 'go ahead'."

Alexander, 19, played Buck Vu on the Netflix science fiction mystery series The OA and, according to CBS, is the first openly trans Asian-American actor to appear on television.

The third season of Star Trek: Discovery is scheduled to begin on October 15 and will be free-to-air.

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The Star Trek franchise has gone a long way when it comes to representing utopia. The franchise that was pitched as a " Wagon Train to the stars" has shown how humans can get past the unnecessary squabbles that come from differences, be they race, gender, artificial intelligence, or sexual orientation.

While there was very little LGBTQ+ representation in the original Star Trek , later series and films have introduced a plethora of LGBTQ+ characters. Many fans of the franchise have pointed to these characters as very important for the development of Star Trek , their personal journeys, and overall LGBTQ+ acceptance.

10 Jadzia Dax and Lenara Kahn

In Deep Space Nine , Jadzia Dax is a Trill, a species that combines with non-binary symbionts with remarkably long lives. While Jadzia identifies as female, her symbiont has previously combined with male bodies as well. This leads to a tender moment when Jadzia's symbiont recognizes a former lover, a symbiont that combined with Lenara Kahn .

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This leads to the first same-sex kiss in the Star Trek franchise. Unfortunately, the couple can't re-ignite their romance though due to other taboos in the Trill culture. Jadzia would also end up marrying Worf, showing an inter-species relationship.

9 Hikaru Sulu

The Enterprise helmsman in The Original Series , Sulu's sexual orientation became the topic of discussion after actor George Takei publicly announced he was gay in 2005. In the Kelvin timeline films, John Cho's version of the character is the first Star Trek character to be explicitly introduced as gay in a brief scene in Star Trek: Beyond.

Many criticized how brief the scene was as not "really representative," and even George Takei claimed it didn't fit with Gene Roddenberry's original vision for the character. However, many LGBTQ+ Star Trek fans pointed to that moment as the first time they saw any form of representation in the franchise. Many also believed that it would lead to bigger roles for the LGBTQ+ community down the road.

8 Paul Stamets

Star Trek: Discovery pushed the boundaries LGBTQ+ representation and exploration. There were hints in other series, and Deep Space Nine used Trills to attempt representation. Star Trek: Discovery , though, introduced no fewer than five LGBTQ+ characters. The most prominent among them is Chief Engineer Paul Stamets.

Played by openly gay actor Anthony Rapp, Stamets is integral in saving the crew several times throughout the course of the series. In a committed relationship with the ship's doctor, Hugh Culber, he represents one of the higher ranking LGBTQ+ officers. Changes in society and the move to streaming services have allowed for more LGBTQ+ representation going forward.

7 Dr. Hugh Culber

The other half of the captivating couple on Discovery , Dr. Culber is played another member of the LGBTQ+ community, Wilson Cruz. Culber was tragically killed by a Klingon, but was inadvertently saved by Stamets, who somehow pulled Culber's essence into the jahSepp, allowing his resurrection.

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Culber, much like Stamets, provides excellent representation for the LGBTQ+ community. While it could have been easy to introduce the first same-sex couple as lowly ensigns and still made it work, using such high ranking officers as the Chief Engineer and ship's Doctor for representation gives hope for a better future without discrimination.

6 Jett Reno

Introduced in season two of Star Trek: Discovery , Jett Reno is an engineer that helps Commander Stamets. Reno is a widowed lesbian, after her wife was killed in the Federation-Klingon War. She is played by Tig Notaro who is also openly lesbian, continuing Discovery's tradition of casting actors from the LGBTQ+ community to play the LGBTQ+ characters.

Reno served as a counselor of sorts for Culber who was struggling after his resurrection. She was the first one to notice that Stamets was still in love with Culber, while Culber was rejecting Stamets following the events on the jahSepp. She was pragmatic and level-headed which allowed her to be the perfect antithesis to the more vocal and emotional Stamets in the Engineering Department.

5 Adira Tal

Introduced in season three of Discovery , Adira Tal is the very first truly non-binary character on a Star Trek series. Using they/them pronouns, Adira is played by openly non-binary actor Blu del Barrio. Much like Jadzia Dax, Adira is joined to a Trill symbiont, even though Adira themself is a human. As established in Deep Space Nine , Trill symbionts are non-binary, but Adira is the first non-binary host.

In a relationship with a Trill, Gray Tal, the pair demonstrated how struggles of life, love and loss are no different for the LGBTQ+ community as they are from the heteronormative community.

Gray is a transgender male Trill who is also Adira's boyfriend on Discovery . Gray is played by Ian Alexander, who much like Gray, is openly transgender. Both Gray and Alexander are the first openly transgender character and actor in a Star Trek series.

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Gray was joined with the Tal symbiont for a while, but was killed in an attack on the ship. His symbiont was transferred to Adira until Gray could be resurrected by Dr. Culber.

3 Seven of Nine

A fan favorite character introduced on Voyager , Seven of Nine returns on Picard, where her sexuality is explored further. On Voyager , she had a relationship with Chakotay, a male member of the crew. On Picard , she enters a relationship with Picard's close friend and crewmate Raffi, a woman.

This depiction confirms Seven is, at the very least, a bisexual member of the LGBTQ+ community. Actress Jeri Ryan, who portrays Seven, has confirmed in interviews she believes the character to be pansexual.

2 Raffi Musiker

Introduced on Star Trek: Picard , Raffi Musiker is a friend of Admiral Picard, who is quickly demonstrated share a mutual attraction with Seven of Nine. Portrayed by Michelle Hurd, not much is shown about Raffi's sexuality in the first two seasons, other than her budding relationship with Seven.

In the third season of Picard , it's established that Raffi was previously married to a man and has a son and granddaughter. This revelation confirms that Raffi is, at the very least, a bisexual representative of the LGBTQ+ community.

1 Beckett Mariner

The only animated Star Trek character to be confirmed to be part of the LGBTQ+ community, Mariner is essentially the main character of Lower Decks . She explicitly says in the series she has dated "men, women, and gender non-binary babes." It is confirmed she dated a man before the events of the series, and, in season three, she is pursing a relationship with a woman.

The creator of Lower Decks has confirmed none of the characters were written as heteronormative, although Mariner's sexuality is the only one that has been explored on screen.

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IDW To Highlight Trek’s LGBTQIA+ Characters In ‘Star Trek: Celebrations’ One Shot Comic

| February 12, 2024 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 184 comments so far

IDW continues to expand its Star Trek comic collection with the announcement of a brand new one-off title celebrating the diversity of the franchise.

Star Trek: Celebrations

Just in time for Pride Month this June, IDW is releasing Star Trek: Celebrations focusing on the LGBTQIA+ characters across the Star Trek franchise. Here is the official synopsis blurb for the new title:

Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate but to  celebrate  differences in ideas and differences in life forms.” —Gene Roddenberry IDW proudly presents a one-shot anthology centering and celebrating LGBTQIA+ characters from across the  Star Trek  universe! Join legendary heroes from each era of the beloved franchise in stories that showcase the strengths of infinite diversity in infinite combinations, brought to you by a star-studded cast of writers and artists including Vita Ayala, Steve Orlando, Mags Visaggio, and more!

IDW editor Heather Antos previewed some of the storylines from the series with ScreenRant :

“It’s wanting to celebrate the badasses of the Star Trek universe, whether that’s Culber and Stamets, whether that’s Mariner, whether that’s Seven and Raffi… there’s so many characters that we’re going to get to see explored here by some incredible, incredible writers.”

And here is the cover by artist Paulina Ganucheau…

Star Trek: Celebrations cover

Star Trek: Celebrations arrives on May 29, 2024.

Lower Decks―Warp Your Own Way now available for pre-order

Another unique title coming from IDW this year is the interactive graphic novel Star Trek: Lower Decks―Warp Your Own Way . First announced at SDCC last summer, the”choose your own adventure” style book is now available for pre-order at Amazon . Here is the official blurb synopsis:

Mariner just wants to have a normal day, but no matter what side of the bed she wakes up on, the world is ending. Literally. If she has coffee, Borg attack! If she has raktajino, cue the Romulan boarding party! And in each scenario, Mariner and her friends end up dead, sometimes the ship is destroyed—and the day starts all over again. But by exploring the different paths,  you,  the reader, can discover things that Mariner can’t. There are inconsistencies that don’t make sense—putting aside the fact that Mariner’s choice of drink each morning shouldn’t affect which alien races attack the ship, other facts of her world seem to change too. Something is definitely off. It’s up to you to discover!

Warp Your Own Way is written by Ryan North with art by Chris Fenoglio, who previously teamed up for IDW’s excellent Lower Decks comic mini-series in 2022. The 208-page illustrated paperback arrives on October 15, 2024 and can be pre-ordered at Amazon for $24.99 .

Warp Your Own Way cover

Keep up with all the Star Trek comics news, previews and reviews in  TrekMovie’s comics category .

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Wow this is such a great idea and great to see!!

And they even remembered the Kelvin universe, even better lol.

I really do love that modern Trek has embraced queer characters and issues so directly. It doesn’t mean I like every character but regardless I give them credit for just having them. In fact I remember right on this board the huge dust up people had when it was revealed Sulu was gay in the Kelvin universe. Now there are so many queer characters on these shows no one really blinks anymore.

And that’s the point.

Lastly I really do give Discovery the most credit for having so many of these characters, from trans to non binary, it is probably what the show will be remembered for more than anything else IMO and was happy to see other shows like Picard and Lower Decks follow its lead.

What was so weird about that dust-up was that a primary critic of that revelation was none other than George Takei himself, who claimed that he always thought of Sulu as being straight when he performed the role — to which the obvious response obviously was, well George old boy, how would you have played him differently if you’d known he was gay? Really respect the guy, who I once had the pleasure of sharing a table with in Palm Beach in 1979, but for my money he was totally wrong on that one.

Yeah I get what Takei was saying obviously, he was saying Sulu was written just as much a straight guy as he was an Asian guy and that’s a very fair argument to have. And obviously Generations made that very clear too when his daughter was introduced.

However, yeah you’re also right, that’s all Sulu could only be at the time…today not the case. And since it was a Sulu from a different universe than it was much ado about nothing IMO. Kira was bisexual in the Mirror Universe while the Prime version wasn’t, no one cared. So I never understood why it was a big deal with this version of Sulu either.

The Point is, that sulu was made gay because Takei himself is Gay. And Takei himself said, that this is not that cool.

I think he is right about that. Invent great qay characters instead of adjusting a characters sexuality to that of the actor. Thats just cheap …

But….alternate reality?

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

There was nothing “cheap” about that. You have to remember, TOS was from the 60s when LGBT people were more in the closet than they are today. Sulu could have and should have been gay then but it wasn’t allowed.

But that was not the reasoning behind that descision. Kelvin Sulu was made Gay because George Takei is Gay and George Takei himself wasn’t pleased with that move.

Its cheap because they could have make any character gay but choose…. the one with the gay actor.

Why not a gay Kirk, Spock, Bones?

And in the same movies you had a straight character played by a gay actor. You say that it’s bad to make a character gay just because the actor is but do you realize that Zach Quinto is too?

Iam fine with Sulu being gay. And it is also fine that quinto plays a straight vulcan. I Just think that making the new sulu gay because the old sulus actor is Gay …. Is terrible reasoning.

It the behind the scenes stuff that bugs me. That Idea to “honors” an actors sexuality instead of the actor himself. Its just weird to me.

Because those characters were clearly defined during the run of TOS as being heterosexual. They had romantic relationships with women. Sulu was never given much of a personal life of any kind, let alone a romantic one. His sexuality could have been anything.

But see, that’s not a fair argument either. Takei didn’t want Star Trek to trade on his personal sexuality or contravene his decisions as an actor. You ask what he would have done differently if he firmly believed Sulu was gay? Any number of things – he’s an artist. Certainly in the movie era he would have played things like flirting with Ilia or being enamored by the female Klingon in V differently. In any case, even after he raised his objections, Pegg and co did it anyway for the PR. So eventually when Takei was asked about it by the press, he was honest and Pegg had to spin it all uncomfortably. I have nothing but respect for Takei’s position here.

But then to dismiss him by basically saying, “Well, Sulu barely had anything to do anyway, so he can be gay,” also just pours salt in an open 58 year-old wound about Sulu’s lack of visibility and development, and then uses it against him in a new way. IMO it diminishes what contributions Takei managed with the meager screen time he had, and again it’s all just so Trek could trade on his well-publicized sexuality. If it was really just about representation they’d have made a new character LGBT+.

Yeah, I don’t see this as a diversity issue. The issue is that they did not ask Takei for his blessing — or at least his input — on this character move. This should have been done out of courtesy.

Okay, you make some fair points I hadn’t considered. Still, “Any number of things — he’s an artist” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, given the limitations of what Takei had to work with. There’s really nothing in the canon that firmly cements Sulu as heterosexual, and I keep coming back to the notion that “playing him differently” based on his sexuality, in the absence of any written romance, would or should be pretty offensive to the gay community on its face. Sulu was mostly portrayed as a very competent officer with a wide variety of hobbies. So, what changes? His love of fencing, or passion for antique firearms?

That said, I agree that it would have been a good idea to get Takei’s blessing regarding the revelation about the character he’s been so connected-to, even though he didn’t play him in this particular film.

Again, the only real times that Prime Sulu was allowed any romantic inclinations were in the script for TMP (and sometimes deleted scenes) and Star Trek V. We know nothing of Demora Sulu’s upbringing. It’s sad that’s all we have to parse, but if I were Takei I’d be pointing at them as evidence of how he intended that part of Sulu to be played. He never protested the idea of Sulu being attracted to Ilia or the Klingon First Officer, and it’s best we give him the benefit of the doubt as to whether he’d have played it differently if he was of the mind that Sulu was gay.

At the end of the day we are talking about a man who lived with an understanding of a character he originated and lived with for 50 years. Actors are not the sole possessors of their characters, but this was a very delicate subject that the makers of Beyond unwittingly blundered into, all because they wanted to trade on Takei’s sexuality. I can see the POV that they were trying to honor him, but that blew up in their faces because they didn’t consider his contributions as an artist first.

I don’t know the exact timeline of when they tried to get his blessing, but it was certainly before the movie was released, possibly while it was being scripted. Either way, the Sulu scenes were not changed after Takei made his objections known to the writers.

I think it was after the film was in the can and it was being promoted. They weren’t going back to reshoot or recut the film.

And, you’re right. It did blow up spectacularly in their faces.

I love Simon Pegg and his films, but imo, this make Sulu gay thing was a really bad and unnecessary call.

Again, if I were to have the opportunity to speak with Takei at length as I did in 1979, I would ask him how specifically he would have modified his performance in TOS — if at all — had he conceived the character as being gay. (Sulu’s involuntary, uh, reaction to Ilia’s pheromones exists mostly in Roddenberry’s novelization of TMP, and his attitude towards the female Klingon bodybuilder looked more like awe than lust to me; YMMV.) Until I have more in the way of detail about what he meant by playing Sulu straight, I really can’t evaluate that claim. Much as I admire the man, I’m not obliged to give him the benefit of the doubt on anything.

That was really well argued, Ian. Very good job.

“ Pegg and co did it anyway for the PR.” This is simply an extremist lie.

I really hope we never again have to hear fans “they only did this because…”. It’s simply a lie. Unless you were in the writers’ room, you don’t know why they did anything until and unless they tell you why – which they often do (and did here!), but still usually get ignored.

We have to remember that there are a whole lot of extremist activists creating and spreading lies about diversity in nerd culture media to spread their radical political extremism. They love creating all sorts of narratives about nefarious ulterior motives of the creators. But these are all LIES created for an extremist agenda.

Fans who aren’t bigoted extremists shouldn’t be spreading these bigoted extremist narratives.

“Unless you were in the writers’ room, you don’t know why they did anything.”

Takei’s celebrity was heavily elevated by how he publicly came out and marketed himself after that. Pegg is on record as saying part of the reason for making Kelvin Sulu gay was to honor Takei. That’s all well and good, except he wasn’t flattered and didn’t feel honored at all. He raised his objections and they still kept those fleeting scenes in the cut.

At every stage of justifying this decision – writing it, filming it, asking Takei about it, and then defying his wishes, they knew they would get asked about this and would get press for it, so that was part of the calculus, and it’s just obtuse to think otherwise. You don’t need to be in a writer’s room to do the math.

Sometimes a spade is a spade, and it’s not right to ignore that just because some bigots would use it as ammo for their twisted narrative. Takei wouldn’t want that either, but that doesn’t make it right that they traded on his personal sexuality despite his objections. Despite the best of intentions, the writers screwed up on this one and it’s okay to admit that.

Not really. There are scenes suggesting that Sulu was heterosexual and none suggesting he was gay. .

Do tell. Please; you have the floor.

Episodes Shore Leave, Mirror Mirror, That Which Survives, Star Trek The Motion Picture, Star Trek V, off the top of my head.

Explain, please, how each of those works support your view that Sulu was clearly heterosexual. (You can skip “Mirror, Mirror,” where that’s obviously the case, but that was an alt-universe.)

Interesting that you left out “The Way to Eden,” where there’s a scene with one of the space hippy chicks trying to win Sulu over, and he’s not having any.

Hmm. I’ll have to watch Way to Eden again.

As for the rest, they’re all just examples where Sulu showed interest in attractive women.

Can you be more specific? I’ve watched those shows any number of times, and just don’t see it. How does he do that?

I don’t agree with your thinking, but I do agree that they should have asked George for his blessing first.

I don’t think its that simple. George had already passed the character on to John at that point. It’s not all up to George. It never was. There will probably be another Sulu on SNW eventually.

He’s entitled to his opinion, but he’s not the sole guardian of the character.

OK let me modify that — I think they should’ve asked him for his thoughts on it as a courtesy, whether they had already already decided or not. And then perhaps he comes on board with it and we don’t avoid the social media embarrassment of the whole situation.

You’re right, he’s not the sole guardian of the character, but he’s one of, if not the most important creative contributors of the character, especially since Gene Roddenberry had died years prior. They should have asked Takei and honored his wishes in this regard. He was obviously angry about what they did and I don’t blame him.

Considering that some southern state stations pulled the episode Plato’s Stepchildren for the first interracial kiss on TV, that’s a given.

“The Point is, that sulu was made gay because Takei himself is Gay. And Takei himself said, that this is not that cool.”

Jako let me make this as clear as I kind, I understand both sides have a fair point over this particular issue. I was never bothered by it but yes I do get some people feel making Sulu gay was just doing it to feel more ‘woke’ at the time.

Now I normally HATE that word, but if I’m being honest I do think this is one the rare times where I understand where the conservatives were coming from because they picked a very known and iconic character to be gay not because it was remotely relevant to the story or character, just to say they did it to get some brownie points. And I think Takei felt the same way.

And you’re absolutely right, that’s literally the only reason they did it. So I’m not really disagreeing with you. I also wish they just took a new character and they could be queer.

But for me, and I’m going to be honest, I don’t think it mattered. The truth is Sulu never had a relationship of any kind and he has always been just kind of there until the movies. Was he always straight, yes. Was it an important trait to his character, no, not in the least. The fact they made Sulu gay was probably the most anyone has talked about Sulu in 30 years lol. They gave the character an interesting development and could’ve done something unique with him for the first time ever. Unfortunately it was still Sulu because they did absolutely nothing with it lol.

So yeah I get it, this is one of those times where it feels like a way to score diversity points just to say you did it, not because there was any real reason to do it. And I don’t think you need a reason to add more diversity but in this case it did feel a little underhanded. But there is still no reason Sulu can’t be gay in another universe either, so it never bothered me on that level.

“And you’re absolutely right, that’s literally the only reason they did it.” Respectfully, I think it’s always a mistake to ascribe sinister motives to people you don’t know. I take second chair to no one in my dislike for Trek 2009 (except maybe for SW fans re THE RISE OF SKYWALKER), but on a personal level J.J. Abrams strikes me as a decent-enough guy, as do Pegg and Justin Lin. They all made a creative choice, for good or ill, that was a very small part of what turned out to be an okay, if unsuccessful, movie. I don’t think anyone was looking to be particularly “woke” or political, much less exploit anyone.

Sure you can be right, but what did they do with it? Nothing. Sulu meets his husband and daughter who they embrace and just walk away. That’s it. It would’ve nice if they had a moment with Kirk, some more discussions etc.

Even Takai said it just added nothing overall.

Again I had no problems with it as mentioned in my OP it just felt tacked on to say ‘hey look Sulu is gay now.’

If there was more done I wouldn’t feel this way but I do.

Now that said maybe they had planned in the next movie when they thought this thing was going to be a success. So if that was the plan OK but we’ll probably never know now.

I think you’ve hot the nail on the head here. I really hope we never again have to hear fans “they only did this because…”. It’s simply a lie. Unless you were in the writers’ room, you don’t know why they did anything until and unless they tell you why – which they often do, but still usually get ignored.

We have to remember that there are a whole lot of extremist activists creating and spreading lies about diversity in nerd culture media to spread their radical political extremism. They love creating all sorts of narratives about nefarious ulterior motives of the creators. But theses are all LIES created for an extremist agenda.

Again people say that because it literally added nothing to the character or story, nothing. You take that scene away, is the movie affected in any way? None.

Again I get it, Sulu was the first gay character in the franchise at the time so they were being more cautious over it. But for a lot of people out there, and you pointed out who they are, it just comes down to more liberal Hollywood running anonk and shoving issues down people’s throats no one was asking for and why it got the pushback it did at the time.

But I always countered that’s what Star Trek is so yeah.

I agree with you. They did the same thing in comics. The original Green Lantern Alan Scott, a character who was twice married and had explicit sexual memories of his wife, gay a few years back. Then they made the 3rd Robin, Tim Drake, Bi. Both the writers who were primarily responsible for developing these characters, Roy Thomas and Chuck Dixon, respectively, expressed their anger and disappointment at these developments, not because the characters were gay, but because it compromised their work.

I think Takei felt the same way.

That’s a very different situation since, as you point out yourself, both of those characters were explicitly heterosexual.

Well there was certainly a lot more concrete evidence to that effect, yes.

What do you think about those cases? Just curious.

If your intent is to honor the intent of the original authors (and I think that’s important), you should probably leave well enough alone, and concentrate on updating/reimagining other things.

That said, not being into comics I have no idea how much their sexuality informs who those characters are. In the case of, say, someone like James Bond, making him gay would completely rewrite what the character is, even though it probably wouldn’t affect his ability to do his job.

Fair enough. You’re right, the original writers who did the most to define the personality of these characters (not a lot of that in Golden Age comics obviously, we’re talking 80s and beyond for both these characters) were dissappointed and angry that they’re work was cast aside so blatantly. They couldn’t do much though. Say too much and DC won’t publish any of their past work. Plus, they don’t own these characters. Like many writers have said, they get to play with the Big Two’s characters and then put them all back at the end of their run for the most part.

As for how important it is, well, I guess it’s as important as the sexuality of any character on TV or film and the like. Comics are probably 100x more sophisticated and go for much older demographics now obviously and that’s why they have to beef up the personal lives of their characters. Stan Lee was obviously one of the first to recognize this importance with Spiderman at Marvel and DC has followed suit.

If you’re ever interested in picking a comic book/graphic novel up, I’d recommend Watchmen or Dark Knight Returns. Everyone loves those books.

I’ve read Watchmen, thanks, and admire it greatly.

Well, it wasn’t really another independent universe like the Mirror universe, it was a divergent timeline. Plus, the original premise, as stated by Orci and Kurtzmann was that the Kelvin characters had the “same souls” as the original characters.

Knowingly making Sulu gay completely violates and compromises that premise, a premise that really is the essential and greatest creative element of the Abrams ST films. That is, these are the same people in a slightly (or majorly, considering Vulcan got blown up) universe. The souls (and imo that would include sexual orientation which is a major characteristic) are the same.

That said, you do bring up a good point about Mirror Kira. However, it could be that the Prime Kira maybe had some bisexual tendencies but never acted on them due to her religious morals? I dunno, just a possible explanation.

Yes but Pegg explained it by saying that divergence still effected things having a butterfly effect in both the past and future. But yes I know not everyone buys that idea but it’s still all fiction end of the day. If that’s what the writer says then that’s what it is.

And yes all parallel universes are essentially just supposed to be the same people, it’s just more about the nature vs nurture aspect in terms of how much they change.

Pegg was put in the unenviable situation of having to talk that one out. I felt bad for him, even though he brought it on himself. But another of Takei’s objections was that this could reinforce the idea that being gay is a choice. I thought Pegg’s explanation of why he disagreed with that was kind and thoughtful, if still a bit of a leap.

I still don’t understand why anyone (including Leonard Nimoy) thought the Kelvinverse would work long-term as a concept. Recasting is one thing, but why would fans who have followed this franchise for decades embrace alt-universe versions of the characters, when it was those characters they had fallen in love with in the first place?

This is Nimoy advanced in years and capable of other questionable calls, such as endorsing a Cushman book.

Yeah, I once thought about it and realized that, with the possible exception of a fantasy scene in TAS and the daughter in Generations, Sulu was the *only* TOS character not shown as having any relationships at all. (He makes passes at Uhura, once when crazy and once in the Mirror Universe, and that’s about it for his supposed straightness.)

Practically, he was not one of the top major characters, so I don’t except he’d get a lot, but even Chekov and Uhura got a little here and there.

That and gay people can in fact have biological children.

Interesting. I didn’t think the DNA technology works that way for two men or two women to have biological child that includes both their DNA?

I didn’t say that. I just know of a lot of gay couples that have biological children. Also transmasc guys exist.

Also by the late 22nd century, it’s like very possible for that to occur.

OK, got it, and your second comment makes sense given technological advancements.

Takei is a narcissist and attention seeker, I think he was probably just jealous the attention was on a different iteration of his role and not his.

Well, I think it’s safe to say that actors are attention-seekers by trade. And I’m not at all convinced that has anything to do with Takei’s attitudes in this matter, in any case.

Thanks for the news flash. I can’t believe a famous actor would have those attributes? ;-))

Nope, I don’t think so. He knew John Cho before he got the Sulu role in Star Trek 2009 and he blessed his successor. Cho was worried that Takei might take umbrage at a Korean actor playing his Japanese character and Takei said it was perfectly fine as, in his mind, Sulu was representative of all Asian people.

Nope, this was solely because Takei wasn’t asked about making the character of Sulu gay. If they’d asked he would have said you can’t do that because Sulu is straight.

Making Sulu gay in the Kelvinverse was a big screwup. It was all done because Simon Pegg and the other writer wanted to have the first gay character in Star Trek. They thought it was a great way of honoring George Takei, the original Sulu, who is gay. The problem was that when it was announced that they made John Cho’s Sulu gay in the Star Trek Beyond, George Takei, said that both he and Rodenberry always envisioned the character as straight. That is exactly the way Takei intended and played the character and there are indications in TOS to that effect, e.g. Shore Leave, That Which Survives, Mirror, Mirror, etc. Takei made his feeling now and ended up embarrassing Pegg. Pegg then gave some wonky explanation on why the Kelvinverse Sulu was gay and the original Sulu wasn’t. This, of course, goes against the central premise of the Kelvinverse: that these are the same TOS characters in an altered timeline.

I guess it was too late or expensive for the reshoots and there are only a couple of scenes with Sulu’s significant other. It’s pretty easy to ignore.

I guess the moral of the story is check with the original actor or creator before changing the sexual orientation of an established character.

“  It was all done because Simon Pegg and the other writer wanted to have the first gay character in Star Trek. ” This is simply an extremist lie.

I really hope we never again have to hear fans “they only did this because…”. It’s simply a lie. Unless you were in the writers’ room, you don’t know why they did anything until and unless they tell you why – which they often do, but still usually get ignored.

Fans who aren’t bigoted extremists shouldn’t be spreading these bigoted extremist narratives.

“ It was all done because Simon Pegg and the other writer wanted to have the first gay character in Star Trek. ” This is simply an extremist lie.

Yep, I’m definitely an extremist. Oh, and a bigot. Thanks for that. You know me so well.

Ok, I believe that was the case. I don’t know for sure, but they did made a big ballywho out of it. And then it blew up in their face when Takei publicly rebuked them for it.

Yes it will be the ONLY thing it’s remembered for. Other, successful shows don’t need to go down that path. TNG already did this decades ago. NO.

An observation: for whatever reason, Star Trek seems scared to focus on lesbian relationships versus male gay relationships. For example, they totally dropped the ball with Seven and Raffi.

Matalas couldn’t ignore it fast enough.

Of course, he pretty much wiped the whole of S2 from existence, not just Seven/Raffi.

Matalas couldn’t ignore it fast enough.

Yeah, the complete dropping of their relationship — plus the pairing of their primary interactions then being largely with males (Raffi with Worf, and Seven with Shaw) gives on the perception (correct or not) that Matalas didn’t want any of this in the one season of Star Trek that he had control of.

It’s disappointing and a missed opportunity. But it’s probably another good reason that he’s now exciting Trek to head up that YA Witch Mountain series — and I doubt he will need to worry about having to deal with LGBTQ relationships on that series.

that’s good…season 2 and season 1 were bad

Loved S1. S2 though was the worst season of Star Trek since Enterprise S4.

Good. Picard Season 2 is the worst season of Star Trek. Thank god for Matalas for giving us Season 3.

Definitely agree on that. Season 2 was just horrible.

Respectfully, but have you watched all of the other TV versions of Star Trek? (if not, for this, binge DS9 first.)

While Discovery was the first to be completely out and honest about it and was the first to have gay male characters in a relationship….

Going back to DS9 where there were numerous instances (and tenuously & arguably TNG “The Outcast”) of which all of the other LGBTQ+ kisses, relationship innuendos, and any other way the writers could “go there” were with female characters. The idea of the time being it was more “palpable” (i.e. straight men wouldn’t balk the way straight females might) way to introduce us to a Broadcast Network.

Outside of Garek on DS9 (who was the MOST ambiguous) and then Sulu in the Kelvin U (a BRIEF scene) and now Stamets & Culber, the rest have all been female based (or the audience was to assume female…again the whole “palpable” thing.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not defending the major lack of representation, just pointing out how Trek has handled us over the years (I was a teenager during TNG). Just my perspective as a life long Trekkie.

I should have mentioned that I am talking about recent Kurtzman and JJA Star Trek era, not the Berman era.

The audience for genre programming tends to skew male, and straight men have long had a much easier time dealing with lesbian than gay sexuality (to put it mildly — “Seinfeld” even got some comedic mileage out of it.) If there’s been a preference for depicting male gay relationships in the current era of Trek, it’s hard for me to believe it’s deliberate.

I don’t disagree with that. What I think may actually going on here is that Matalas is uncomfortable with it.

What we have to go by is that when Matalas wasn’t the showrunner in S2 we had a lesbian relationship starting with Seven and Rafi (even if they were too chickenshit to do much with it, at least it was a start) but then the minute he becomes showrunner for his season that relationship is shut down — with him as the writing lead.

I admit, I’m one of those neanderthals who has a hard time with gay sexuality.

Seriously, I probably will never ever be comfortable with 2 guys kissing and definitely don’t want to see any intimacy beyond that.

That said, I have gay friends and I do want them to have all the rights I enjoy including the rights of marriage, work equality, etc. It’s only fair in our civil society.

WRT to Discovery I liked both Stamets and Culber and I could generally handle what was shown in the shows. It was largely innocuous. I didn’t show it to my kids, maybe in a couple more years when they’re older.

I do think it was an important step for Trek to include the Stamets and Culber couple. That said, I do wonder if things have gone overboard with representation. LGBTQ folks are a small fraction of the population and now what, almost 1/2 of the primary cast of characters in Discovery are LGBTQ? And then you have more of those characters on all the shows? I think maybe there’s over-representation now, as a reaction to the divisions in our own country with the far-right attacking LGBTQ rights and the left passionately defending them. So many TV series, movies, comic books, etc. all seem to have requisite LGBT+ characters. If you added them up, and I might make a cursory attempt, I’d bet money that the proportion would exceed the proportion in the actual human population. It’s a political thing, called, perhaps derisively, virtue signaling. I guess right wing media does the same thing, but of course, most of the entertainment industry skews left now. It’s just the way it is. Things are unbalanced and divided in this country and everyone is on edge with what they say and do because they’re afraid of being cancelled. It’s unfortunate. If we could actually respect and discuss things we have a better chance at allaying fear, anger, and reaching compromise and understanding, which are virtues of the societies depicted in Star Trek.

Still, there have been more lesbian relationships in Kurtzman Trek than gay male ones. Mariner’s desperately needs a coda to wrap it up, but while she was with Jen that was handled as well as you could expect of a 30 minute cartoon.

Good point. The more I think about it, the more I think this on Matalas specifically, not the franchise. Please see my response to Michael Hall above.

I think it’s a bit of a leap to say he was scared of Seven and Raffi. You could argue that it was a better use of Raffi to create distance and pair her with someone other than her girlfriend. Or that season 2 demonstrated they weren’t as interesting as they could have been, so why double down? They certainly end the season on a note of potentially rekindling their romance, though.

Personally, I thought it was weirder that there was an Andorian crewman named “Jennifer” than Mariner having a bisexual relationship.

At this point, I’m almost beyond caring. It’s just the state of the nation now, I suppose.

I always do wish that they incorporated more religious diversity in ST and, heck in other media as well. To me, that’s every bit as important as orientation, race, etc. But, of course, being religious is ascribed more to the right and Hollywood is largely to the left. Plus, a lot of creators, like Brannon Braga, who I believe described ST as an mythology for atheists or something like that, don’t think any of the human characters in ST should have any religious identity at all. Instead we have proxies like the Klingons and Bajorans. I do think that’s a shame and a missed opportunity. We need media where different sides come together to talk about differences. They did that with Worf, of course, and Kira, but we have real religions here. It’d be nice if some of the human characters encompassed that, along with race, gender, and orientation.

Maybe it’s spelled with all Andorian letters? ;)

I really respect that they’re putting this out there, and hope it pays off handsomely for them.

I imagine it will. They wouldn’t put it out if they didn’t think they couldn’t make money. FYI DC and Marvel do the same things.

I thought it might be more brave and apt in our current political and social climate to focus not just on the differences between which genders people engage in sexual relations with (which in my view is a very narrow perspective for which to define someone) but to celebrate the differences between people who hold different beliefs an ideas. For example, why don’t we have stories which result in die-hard conservatives and radical-liberals coming together and finding common ground? Then maybe we can truly include everyone in the discourse, including the pesky straight white folks. Just so you guys know I’m not trolling because there does seem to be a lack of trust and understanding when it comes to people like me, my first idea would be (as an olive branch, if you will) have a climate-denying tin-hat wearing conspiracy theorist understand the role of humanity on climate change. We could also have a similar scenario where our heroes visit a planet whose inhabitants didn’t vaccinate themselves from a deadly virus.

Instead we get another shallow attempt at highlighting diversity by stating “ohhh she’s kissing a girl, isn’t she brave”. *sigh*

One of my TNG pitches was about a planet that so polluted low orbit that they effectively were barring themselves from space because of all the debris (sort of like GRAVITY cubed.) The idea was that these people were absolutely united in their DESIRE to explore space and the belief they needed to do so — but even so, they still couldn’t bother to clean up their own mess and wanted a handout/cleanup from the Federation. I liked it as a ‘clean up your own mess and get back to us’ kind of story, almost along the lines of SYMBIOSIS. So I see the value in your idea of contrasting extremes, because it is true to life in all sorts of instances, even though it doesn’t seem to make logical sense. After all humans aren’t all that logical.

There is a really terrible movie called SOLAR CRISIS that was made in the late 80s and finally dumped on homevid during the 90s. It was a super-expensive film (some of the vfx are nice and it does have a moment where Charlton Heston gets to say, “I can do whatever I want — I’m the admiral,’) but it felt so stupid to me because the villain was a rich guy who was sabotaging the mission to save Earth by fixing the sun because he thought there was more money in a failed mission. It seemed imbecilic to me, because why are you sabotaging everybody’s existence, including your own? Decades later, it seems like business-as-usual, with so many denying all this stuff. It is kind of like the sad bemused scientist at the beginning of LOCAL HERO, saying they have the knowledge to head off the next Ice Age, but nobody will listen and it’s like ‘they want to freeze.’

I admit to watching SOLAR CRISIS just for Charlton Heston and in a way thought that 2007’s Sunshine from Danny Boyle was a much better remake and update of this story.

We like to watch SUNSHINE every couple of years, even though the last stretch gets a bit ropey. Need to find a new copy, on a rewatch the disc locked up less than halfway through and was unplayable for about 10 minutes of the movie (which seems to be happening with a lot of our blu-rays lately, including POINT BREAK, TERMINATOR 2 and even a Criterion of MEDIUM COOL.)

I certainly would have enjoyed watching that episode. I’m a little starving for a good ol’fashioned morale quandary.

I was actually inspired by a very weak and failed Disney pilot called EARTHSTAR VOYAGER that showed the intrepid crew blasting through a seemingly endless array of debris in LEO. I think it must have been one of the only TV projects that Richard Edlund’s Boss Films did VFX for (tho oddly enough, they also did SOLAR CRISIS, mentioned upthread.)

I’ve come to the point that the Uber-rich greedheads don’t scare me as much as they used to. For all their power and outsized influence we vastly outnumber them, and in the end they’re as mortal as the rest of us. What keeps me awake at nights is the Dunning-Kruger effect that enables them.

Paradoxically, if you put enough crap, including dust clouds, into earth orbit, you can dial down the sun slightly and aid reduce global warming — it’s been looked at.

Respectfully, You missed the point. When you grow up in a world where you cannot let anyone know who you are attracted to, if so you will be socially persecuted, your parents will lose their jobs, your family will be run out of town…..being deadly serious about those consequences.

Well, you turn to the closest thing you can find to an excepting, different, world-view family; Star Trek. In my case, every TOS Movie, Book (Waldenbooks Circa 1990) & TNG.

I am genuinely glad you are able to “sigh” in our current world over this “definition”. I am sure many “pesky straight folks” (your words) might feel tired of hearing/seeing as much as it is represented. I honestly, not in my wildest, would have ever thought in my youth it would be as widely seen as it is now.

Be happy we, of us, feel safe enough to have a chat regarding this “narrow perspective” as you categorize it. It takes being persecuted and feeling real life harm (physical, social, financial) to understand.

If it were not for Star Trek and being able to escape into that wonderful future, I don’t know if I would have survived into adulthood. I can never think Gene Roddenberry enough!

Respectfully, You missed the point. When you grow up in a world where you cannot let anyone know who you are attracted to, if so you will be socially persecuted, your parents will lose their jobs, your family will be run out of town…..being deadly serious about those consequences.

Yep, like in Russia, which Trump’s buddy rules.

This. We had the exact same experience. Still can’t come out in real life as any part of our identity because the mother is not at all accepting and we have been hurt by her before when she thought that there was a chance that we weren’t straight.

For us it’s nice to see Trek comics do this.

Thank you for your respectful rebuke

“For example, why don’t we have stories which result in die-hard conservatives and radical-liberals coming together and finding common ground?”

DS9 did exactly that. Sisko being the Emissary was the entire basis of what you’re describing. Here was a man who didn’t believe in any religion since according to Hippie Roddenberry most people would have moved away from and that Starfleet officers doesn’t exactly promote. He was very hesitant over the entire issue because he clearly did believe it but as time went on he accepted not just being the Emissary but understood why Bajoran spirituality was important and necessary to have.

That’s one of the (many) things I admired about DS9 and you’re talking to a very liberal atheist. The show helped open my eyes to religion I never really thought about in the real world.

But you’re probably talking about more episodic story lines, which on that end I can agree with you, but in our anti-woke society today would probably be harder to pull off.

I agree. I think Star Trek has always been pretty good at holding up a mirror to society. I just feel that for whatever reason, it used to be done in a more intelligent and less divisive way.

I don’t know how much I agree with that though. I know there is this huge culture war thing brewing but it’s been brewing for decades now. I remember when people were upset just having a black guy and a woman be the leads of Star Trek shows were considered divisive. And they were because it was still the 90s.

Today it does feel more conscious because it’s talked about endlessly. Every time Hollywood adds two women to something, a group of people act like it’s the end of society as they know it. I’m not saying there hasn’t been a push to add more diversity or talk about more socially relevant issues but people act like this has only been happening in the last 10 years. No, it’s been happening waaaay longer than that. The difference is today we simply live in a more accepting society (which is a good thing, right?) where they are more open to these things. But there is still people out there that feel it’s too much too fast or they are getting phased out. No one is getting phased out. Last I checked straight white men still control the majority of the western world.

The irony about Star Trek where we constantly laud the diversity of it’s casing, the reality is, and sit down for this, the majority who are making it today are still straight white men. Look at nearly every show runner right now and you tell me how many of them are women or POC? Who was making Star Trek mostly in the 60s? Straight white men. Who was making it in the 70s/80s when the movies started? Straight white men. Who was making it when TNG started through Enterprise? Straight white men. Who was making it when Abrams started his movies? Straight white men. There has been a few women here or there but very little and none of them has ever had a large control of the franchise itself. And when you add an actual person of color, forget about it.

This is the crazy thing, Hollywood hasn’t changed much in terms of who has the control. The creatives are a little more diverse but end of day very little has changed where it really matters. They are simply reacting to a more inclusive society in general because they know there has been a lack of true diversity for a long time and these issues been building for a long time now.

Yes times are a changing, they always are. No one is trying to push anyone out, just include others because the people making these decisions are mostly the same people making them 50 years ago; just with a very different outlook now.

Star Trek has always been and always should be divisive — with the progressive social views contrasting and shown to be a more advanced human direction than the reactionary/conservative views of the past.

You don’t have to like it, but that’s how it is and that’s how it’s probably always going to be.

including the pesky straight white folks.

This dumbass inference that “straight white folks” are somehow all in agreement with your BS would be funny if I didn’t actually think that you probably believe believe all that nonsense.

As a white straight white man myself, I can assure you that my views have nearly zero in common with yours. You don’t speak for me, and you don’t speak for many, many straight white males.

Relax sir, it just a tongue-in-cheek reference from other sources which I used with no great harm intended. We have perhaps both fallen into the same trap as generalization, since it’s unlikely that the sample of “straight white males” you know is not large enough to come to the conclusion that my views don’t represent the majority…. just as I should not imply that they do.

You “straight white folks” do this bad faith stuff all the time. You push people’s buttons and when called out on it you play the “oh ha ha you misunderstand my tongue in cheek nature, sir” bit.

Yeah, it’s right up there with the classically bad remark that: “Listen, some of my best friends are ‘fill in the blank.’ ”

And as a straight white male, the last thing I want to be associated with are these red state MAGA views.

Sorry mods! LOL

I think it’s unlikely we’ll see an episode where climate denialist antivaxxer homophobes are portrayed as anything but irrational, illogical people…. because that’s what they are. They’re not going to do a show where it’s determined they’re really good folks once you have a beer with them. Diversity isn’t rational and irrational people holding hands for a minute. Niceness and proximity doesn’t eliminate inequality. Honestly, if you want well intentioned but misconceived “both siding” Trek, it’s already been made. Go watch Let that Be You Last Battlefield. Bele was a jerk and Lokai had some legitimate grievances. I’ll die on that hill.

Great point. And let’s remember that Bele was the one of the two who was very afraid of an impartial group of people assessing justice in that situation.

Lokai steals a shuttle because he’s running from a fanatic, and they’re ready to take him back to the Starbase to be charged. Bele takes control of the Enterprise and then is invited to dine at the Captain’s Table.

I don’t think they we’re making the argument they intended to make with that episode.

Lol, no we are not. :-)

This is an extremist narrative.

You seem to think that writers can’t actually do two different things in one story or series. This is a lie. It’s an extremist narrative meant to radicalize people in nerd culture by telling them that the reason that they’re not getting whatever it is they want from a show is because the writers are including diversity.

There is no “instead”. Trek can do and be many different things. The existence of this one special doesn’t prevent them from doing many other things. In fact, IDW has two different ongoing series continuing, along with countless specials and miniseries.

Also, it is a lie to claim that anyone actually said “ohhh she’s kissing a girl, isn’t she brave”. Literally no one – and certainly no one at Trek – has ever said any such thing. Another extremist narrative.

And even if they were, is that really any different from Roddenberry himself saying, “ Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate but to  celebrate  differences in ideas and differences in life forms.” ?

Funny how you’re not heaping scorn on him for such a similar statement.

Also, why does is bother you so much to see that some people want to do a special highlighting the LGBTQ characters in Star Trek? Or that many fans will enjoy said special?

It’s weird that it’s important for you to see people who CHOOSE to be conservatives represented on Star Trek, but not people who happen to be born different from you. Apparently, representation is only important to people exactly like you. And you clearly resent when anyone else gets it from Star Trek. When it’s not you, it’s “Shallow”. Typical. *sigh.*

As badly I think all these new shows are, this is the one instance I felt they got right and hope they continue. Too bad most of the characters suck except Jett Reno, one of the few I like on Discovery but she’s not in it enough to make me care.

See there is one thing you like about NuTrek, Jett Reno! ;D

LOL! Yeah she’s great!

In light of some of the conversations on this thread;

“If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life’s exciting variety, not something to fear.”

-Gene Roddenberry

Do you think Gene was envisioning, like, QAnon when he was talking about that, though?

Adira and Grey are probably the worst LGBTQ+ characters in Star Trek. Boring, bland and pointless. They did them a disservice with Discovery’s crap writing. Captain Angel in SNW is a much better trans character.

Ah. Yes. I took think that a stereotypical trans villain is such great representation for trans people, including myself.

To elaborate because I know I will be asked: I’m a transfem member of this system. And from where I’m sitting, Captain Angel was a lot of negative stereotypes about us, including coming across as low-key predatory towards Spock. There is no better representation there.

What do you think about the Situation where Adira explains their pronouns to stamets?

I thought it was auch a missfired attemp of queer repressntation. It is the what… 29/30. Century of Star Trek and Adira still has to explain their pronouns?

One: my reply wasn’t about Discovery. It was focused on the part about Captain Angel. It was not a commentary on representation in Disco.

Two: iirc the situation was framed as if Adira was just starting to come out as non-binary. It wasn’t a case of Stamets misgendering them if I’m remembering right. It was them going “I trust you, can you help me by calling me these pronouns so I can see if they feel right for how I see my own gender?” Which is actually 100% accurate to our experiences as trans people. We will reach out and ask people we trust to do things like that.

Adira using they/them pronouns in Discovery ist great. However. There was the oportunity to pull Off a real Star Trek by having the characters of the Star Trek Future Not needing to come out for example. And I think they missed that and instead wrote it like a Show Set in nowadays.

But isn’t Discovery Star Trek after all. A Show set in a future where people have overcome this? A Future where trans people are totally equal?

You missed what I was saying.

It wasn’t about that in that scene. Trans people are still trans people, even in the future. Trans people are still just people exploring their relationship with their gender. Trans people will still need to speak up and say “this is my relationship with my gender”, nobody can read their mind. Nobody will just look at someone and go “oh your pronouns are this, cool.” How would you know for sure? If you saw us in real life, you’d assume we’d be a she/her. But no, we’re collectively a he/they (soon to be experimenting with neo-pronouns) but how would you know that if we don’t tell you that.

I think Adira using “they” pronouns actually makes perfect sense given that the character a Trill (well, human but with a Trill symbiont). Quite literally non-binary.

Adira has to explain pronouns because the 32nd century isn’t real and the show is made for people in the 2020s.

Agree on Adira and Grey. I actually loved their first appearance, but I feel they shouldn’t have brought Grey back. It pushed credulity right through the window with its “sci-fi”/magic solution and they had nothing decent to do with the character once they did. I liked Adira to begin with, but the character rapidly became very one-note and dull.

Captain Angel though, was lord-awful from the start. Really awful, over the top, scenery chewing performance that belonged in a DS9 Mirror Universe episode and not the Prime universe. I sincerely hope that character never returns.

Incidentally, Jadzia deserved to be forefront of that cover. They never made an issue of her sexuality but she was clearly bisexual. As a gay teenager, who saw little to no positive representation of non-heterosexual characters in the media at the time (sorry, I still loathe the term “queer”) “Rejoined” was incredibly moving to me. Jadzia remains one of my top 5 Trek characters.

100% Jadzia should be on there.

“not just to tolerate but to celebrate”

And there is everything, in a nutshell.

It’s a shame it’s done with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face, especially on Discovery.

Gray and Adira. They serve no story purpose, adding almost nothing to the series as a whole. Some of the worst main characters Trek has ever put on screen. Seven and Raffi. They have no chemistry whatsoever, and add nothing to the series. Their relationship is barely shown, mentioned or talked about.

It’s very easy to say oh this character is gay, this character is bi, look how progressive we are. Actually making them a compelling CHARACTER… who just happens to be gay or bi… is the trick and so far, the majority on that cover have not done that imo, apart from Sulu (which is a special case) and Chapel (although I didn’t even realise they made her bi for some reason)

I’m taking what we can get. I have a lot of complaints about the way they’re treated but at least we’re eating even if it’s not good. It’s still better than what Star Wars has given us. (Your big gay character is. Grand Moff Tarkin? Keep it, Lucasfilm. I don’t want to be represented by that.)

“At least we’re eating even if it’s not good”?

What a sad way of thinking.

I’m gay and I’m not someone who feels the need to see themselves on screen in order to validate my existence, but if you do like seeing yourself on screen, then at least make it good, otherwise what’s the point?

It’s not validation for us. It’s knowing that we’re not alone.

Yes, we get it. Everyone hates Adira. But for us, whose collective gender identity can be best summed up in a way that will sound completely stupid but it’s just the opening credits of DS9 but the comet is a giant grey fox that can somehow survive in and fly through space, they’re important. It’s nice to see people like us exist in media so we know we aren’t alone and can one day be accepted. That we won’t be treated as if we’re insane for being who we are.

Do you really need a tv show to tell you that?

I think you’ll find it is validation. Which is sad that it’s still needed by some in 2024. Other minorities, sure, being LGBT though?

Do you like…. anything?

Personally, I wouldn’t want a show that prides itself on its commitment to diversity treating me like I’m the mustard stain no one is allowed to talk about, but you do you.

And I’d rather be treated the same way as everyone else, but you do you. Some people just have a obsessive craving to be called special these days.

But deliberate exclusion is the opposite of be treated the same way as everyone else.

No one suggested deliberate exclusion. No need to fabricate arguments and outrage to suit your agenda.

And what agenda is that?

“It’s nice to see people like us exist in media so we know we aren’t alone and can one day be accepted. That we won’t be treated as if we’re insane for being who we are.”

You: “Do you really need a tv show to tell you that? I think you’ll find it  is  validation. Which is sad that it’s still needed by some in 2024. Other minorities, sure, being LGBT though?”

Whatever. I don’t get you. I think you’re just here to troll.

Please see my response above

As a straight white male, Probably 90% of media and societal interactions I have had in my life are set up to validate me, whether I want that to happen or not.

So why would I deny validations to others who haven’t had my advantages? In fact I think the media should go out of its way to give diverse groups these small measures of validation in the media (like Gritizens is suggesting) that have been lacking for decades. Why should I feel threatened by that?

Also I’m growing tired of the idea that LGBT characters have to be “subtle” very very quickly. Straight and cis characters are allowed to be as very unsubtle as they want and yet a person saying their pronouns outloud is a problem? Two men being married isn’t subtle enough? A small portion of an episode being a date between two women isn’t “subtle”?

Compared to all of the episodes about the relationship between a man and a woman? Two wedding episodes in the 90s and the beginning of one movie being a wedding? DS9 where Jadzia openly implies that she sleeps with her random dates? Come on! Maybe we deserve these things! Maybe we deserve to be open and in your face just as much as the straight couple next to us!

“subtle” feels like a dog whistle for “don’t get out of line and know your place”

Agreed. Regarding what I brought up earlier, all we have to go by is that when Matalas wasn’t the showrunner in S2 we had a lesbian relationship starting with Seven and Rafi (even if they were too chickenshit to do much with it, at least it was a start) but then the minute he becomes showrunner for his season that relationship is shut down — with him as the writing lead.

It is what it is

Maybe for some, but dramatically Gray’s storyline culminating in a “We see you” metaphor is pretty clumsy, regardless of how well-intended it was.

Discovery leans into things in a very overt way that a lot of the time I think would be more effective and timeless if it were handled with finesse. Like, on one hand it’s sweet to give Stacey Abrams a role in the show as she’s an important figure who famously loves Star Trek. But to make that a speaking cameo as the President of Earth, for a politician who was running for office in an election year? It’s unnecessarily blunt to me.

And I’m not saying Trek is known for being subtle all the time, but this show tackles some issues in a way that feels especially blunt and lacking in nuance.

I guess people are going to use my comment as a springboard for the airing grievances of whatever character or story arc the want to vent about. Getting into “not my problem” territory there

Subtle is overrated. We give MAGA politicians and supporters far more allowance for nuance than their white grievance politics deserve.

“Sure, Trek called out the oppressors in society out on their hypocrisy. But were they subtle. For shame”

lmao Disco sure isn’t the first Trek show to not be subtle about things either.

Was Far Beyond the Stars fucking subtle? No! It was sure in your face about its meaning and what it represented.

Minorities have to walk this impossible tightrope called nuance and subtlety. Meanwhile everyone else can congratulate themselves on their political incorrectness. The average Trump supporter doesn’t care about subtlety. The reward the lack of it.

How about we get out of our comfort zone, let marginalized people speak their truth, and everybody else try to be subtle for a change.

I’m good with that.

It’s not what makes for a clever and powerful drama that will age well though. That’s more important for a show than scoring cheap political points or hamfistedly getting a blunt lecture on the airwaves. And positioning a Star Trek show to be an overtly anti-MAGA platform is so limiting as well. It should be more than that.

Someone brought up “Far Beyond the Stars” as not being subtle. It’s not. But it was smart, mysterious, impassioned, dark, wrenching and timeless in its presentation. That’s how a clever drama does justice to its audience and its messaging and creates a proper lasting impression. If it were an exact science more shows would be doing it all the time, let alone Star Trek shows. But I just know Discovery does not meet a lot of standards of great allegorical storytelling – it telegraphs its messaging, it lectures, and it goes for low hanging fruit for brownie points. I want to celebrate this diverse cast and crew, but what they have to work with is just so shallow, it’s a shame.

Going all the way back to the original point we were making.

Where the absolute hell is two guys being in a relationship that feels like it doesn’t even actually matter much to the show being “too blunt” and “lecturing.” If anything we feel like we’re being lectured for daring to accept these characters as representation because the fandom think that everything Disco does is awful. Because that’s sure what Emily is doing in this thread.

It feels like “subtle” is code for “don’t exist at all” because their LGBT identity isn’t even at all important to these characters in the shows they’re from. For example Chapel was confirmed bi in a joke. Yet her entire arc revolves around a man. If they made it more subtle than that then she wouldn’t be confirmed bi at all.

It feels like anyone who says that this needs to be more “subtle” are among the group review bombing Transformers Earthspark because there was a scene where a new character gently corrected me (Optimus Prime) when I accidentally got their pronouns wrong. And the only other time their gender identity ever came up was when they met another nonbinary person and was absolutely happy to learn that they weren’t alone. There was absolutely nothing “lecturing” there.

I’m not complaining about two guys being in a relationship. I’m sad that Stamets and Culber don’t have interesting believable dialogue anymore like they did in season 1, but I’ve always appreciated their inclusion in Star Trek.

I don’t like what was done with Gray. Ghost boyfriend trope turns into a wince-worthy walking metaphor. The offense is that it’s bad drama that ages badly. It comes from the same place as not liking how these characters wear their hearts on their sleeves, have dramatic emotional outbursts, and treat each other like their personal therapists, even in the middle of a life-threatening situation. It creates character inconsistencies (how is Adira from early season 3 at all like how they are by the end of 4, for example?), it undermines these characters as competent professionals, and it makes the overall show feel cloying and contrived. Plots like the visit to the planet made of feelings don’t exactly help.

I can’t speak for what the OP thinks subtlety means when it comes to Discovery. But to me, subtlety in drama is not about using it as a cudgel to keep minorities in their place or whatever wild ulterior motive people are violently flashing circling their liberal wagons to protect themselves from here. I certainly don’t have one. I’m a 40-something gay Asian living in America; I’m acutely aware of what it’s like to be starved of good representation in Hollywood and Star Trek, and I appreciate the spirit of the efforts being taken now.

But I’m also tuned into what makes for good drama, subjective though it may be. And there are all sorts – Star Trek is very stylized television, it’s not a grounded drama. People don’t actually talk like they do in TNG, but there is enough emotional and character truth to what’s being played out, that the drama works more times than it doesn’t. Subtlety is things like Patrick Stewart’s and Leonard Nimoy’s micro-expressions, finding allegories that might be lectures but they don’t feel like lectures. Or it’s as simple as building up a romance between a shy Kelpian and a Vulcan. But things like Wesley being given dialogue about how weird it is to be addicted to drugs is clumsy. So is Gray being a literal “We See You” metaphor in 2021. So is Stamets’ fatherly concern being demonstrated with sh*tty dialogue where he just blurts out unconvincing lines about caring for two kids he hasn’t been seen to bond with that way. So is populating the bridge stations with talented people of all ethnicities who are then afforded no character, even in a season when the main cast is tiny.

These writers could do better, and do better by our minority communities besides just showing up and being lazy with how they make their points and develop their characters – they work so hard to make this show in all other aspects, and they’re thoughtful people, but so often the writing just feels like roguh drafts stamped, “Good Enough.” Standards are high for great drama these days, and there are diverse and LGBT+ characters all over US television now. I don’t think Discovery’s clumsy writing deserves an automatic pass just because they all showed up and have the best intentions. You have to do the work after that.

If you feel Gay characters just living their lives and one black woman making a cameo is hamfisted is don’t know what to tell you. You’re all worked up about a big nothing burger. The problem may be in the receiver instead of the messenger this time. That’s a you problem, not mine.

No, you are imposing your prejudices onto me here by assuming I have a problem with gay characters or a cameo because it’s a black woman. I would never do that to you or any other poster here.

I’m trying to talk about what makes for believable compelling drama and how cheap it is to score a political point by casting an active politician. You’re trying to simplify and distort my position into being about prejudice, which is not what I discuss at all upthread. That’s not just a you problem, it’s disingenuous.

I think Gray’s storyline comes across as clumsy because the actor is boring as shit to watch — so all we are left with is thinking about other aspects of the character, like the gender thing, because we are bored shirtless watching this bad actor, and it’s taking us out of the episode.

This is wonderful. The IDW comics have been wonderful lately and it’s nice to see these characters get a spotlight.

What a great idea! Granted, a story about Gray Tal doesn’t interest me much since the character was the mayor of dullsville onscreen, but maybe IDW can do more with him. Also, what about Jadzia? It surprises me that they’d do a comic about Trek’s queer characters and not include her since she was the first one the franchise introduced.

Wow that looks horrendous

I was going to say that’s a really nice looking cover.

Each to his own my friend!

Does it? I don’t agree at all. Trek fans are weird with comic art, like something isn’t translating. Every comic post comes with complaints about the art. It just seems short-sighted to me to call an art style bad just because you don’t personally favor it.

The characters are all recognizable. I understand the idea it’s trying to convey. The alignment seems fine. I know taste is subjective, but it’s a long way from horrendous.

I could show you some horrendous comic covers for days.

I will rephrase I do not like the cover art never been a fan of floating heads

ah. Fair enough.

Question: Are any readers here trans? If so, were you happy with the Adira/Blu storyline? Or was it enough to (finally!) have representation on the show?

I have a gay sibling. When he saw Stamets and Culber on DSC, he said he finally felt “normal and accepted” on American TV. (We’re Canadian.) He thought he’d never see the day.

Yes. It was just enough to have representation on the show for us.

Very glad to hear that at least Gritizens! 🙂

I don’t like the character all that much to be honest but their inclusion is still worth it.

I do wonder we’ll see him again next season?

I’m not trans (although I am LGBTQ), but I thought their story was fine. Their being nonbinary wasn’t actually their main story arc, although to listen to some corners of fandom, it’s all they ever did with them. It was a small part of a larger storyline for the character, including many aspects, like their growing self esteem, their relationship to being Trill, Trill culture, and their past lives (particularly, but not exclusively, Grey), their growing found family with Stammetts and Culber, their friendship with Tilly, along with all the plot elements. Plus, it gave us a chance to see the Trill homeworld proper for the first time in Trek, and see where it is in the far future.

It’s not JUST representation, although representation is important, for the reasons you mentioned. I liked the character, and they added to the show and gave us stories we hadn’t yet seen before in Trek.

Glad your sibling liked it!

This is really great! The more diversity in Star Trek the better. Good call. 😎👍

And that Lower Decks comic sounds amazing. Of course it does because it’s Lower Decks! May have to order that.

I agree, the more diversity the better. That said, I would include characters who are openly religious too. That’s been a whole dimension that the entertainment industry largely ignores, or, when they include it, it’s incorporating the worst, most hostile and bigoted stereotypes.

-points at DS9-

Yeah, I already stipulated to DS9 and the Klingons in another post.

I just think it’d be nice to see some human characters of different faiths interacting and sharing their religious views instead of using alien proxies. I’m trained in physics, but, especially now, with kids and as I grow older and having lost several people I love in the last few years, I’ve been digging deeper into my faith, and, I think, it’s made me stronger and more thoughtful in my morals and how I treat other people. There are good things and bad aspects of religion, obviously, and a lot of attention lately has been on the horrific aspects of religious institutions and people who call themselves Christians but obviously are not due to their blatant hatreds of others who are different from them. It would do my heart good if we could see religious folks of different faiths coming together in the ST universe too. I think that would inspiring and educational. I’d appreciate it, but I guess I’m in the minority here.

this is not gonna go over well with trek fans. i know trek itself is and has always been progressive but people dont like this stuff. bad idea for trek fans. good luck everyone.

Speak for yourself.

Then they are not really ST fans at all

Trek isn’t Trek unless it’s enraging bigots. It’s Trek’s ENTIRE raison d’etre.

Since everyone here is a Trek fan and most seem fine with it I think they’ll be OK.

Only extremist bigots “don’t like this stuff.” And no one cares what they think. No one makes Star Trek for them. They are missing the entire point of Star Trek, according to the man who created it.

Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate but to  celebrate  differences in ideas and differences in life forms.” —Gene Roddenberry

I like that part: celebrate differences. IDIC and all that.

It hurts to see so many of the Republican party, beginning with Trump, MGT, Don. Jr, Boebert, etc. go explicitly over to racism, xenophobia, etc. It’s so open now so vile, so ugly, so un-American and so anti-Christian. It’s scary and it disgusts me as an American and a Christian who just wants to do his best to follow in Christ’s footsteps.

It’s a hard life, with a lot of tears, and yet there are so many of us who hate and fear the other and just want to hurt and persecute other people. I love ST’s optimism, but I think our nation is in decline and we’re doomed as a species.

As a LGBT+ Jew: put your money where your mouth is and support us instead of sitting here going “what about Christians?”. Support the other two abrahamic religions too.

Uh, what do you want me to do? Of course I support Jews and I support LGBT+ rights.

I don’t have much time to be an activist. Just started a new job and I am TRYING to keep my head above water as there is a huge stack of material and computer tools I’m still finding my way through. I’m donating more money to outreach to the poor (probably $200 month or more) and I live in one of the most expensive area codes and we only have 1 income and 12 year old twins.

If you’d like to make some suggestions, I’ll take them into account.

Gritizens, I’m not all down on Christians above all else. We’re all on this planet together and I don’t care what anyone’s faith or sexuality is. If someone needs help, I help them. Period.

Love it, and buying it for my LGBT daughter.

Spoiler notice: This blog will discuss characters and plot points in various Star Trek shows, including Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery. 

When we began working on our QueerSpace project, especially our second episode that explores queer worldbuilding in science fiction literature , I immediately began wondering about Star Trek and its history with including LGBTQ+ characters and storylines. 

To be honest, I expected Star Trek to be at the forefront of LGBTQ+ inclusion. After all, Star Trek : The Original Series (1966-1969) is so well known for being a leader in terms of gender and racial integration — featuring an initial cast of men and women of different races working together. But it turns out this environment of inclusion did not extend to queer identity. I sat down with space history curator and the Museum’s resident science fiction (and Star Trek) expert Margaret Weitekamp to learn more and explore Star Trek ’s history with LGBTQ+ stories and characters. 

According to Weitekamp, part of the reasoning behind Star Trek 's groundbreakingly diverse cast was to signal that the show took place far in the future: “To have a truly integrated group of men and women and aliens of different races working together, we must be centuries from where we are now.” But that representation then had a profound effect in its contemporary moment.

This makes the delay in introducing LGBTQ+ characters even more pronounced. Surely this future society wouldn’t be exclusively heteronormative and cisgender?

The first openly gay characters in the Star Trek television universe weren’t introduced until the first season of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. (Although it is worth noting that in the 2016 film Star Trek Beyond it is established that the Hikaru Sulu of the Kelvin Timeline, portrayed by John Cho, is gay — a nod to George Takei, who originated the role of Sulu in Star Trek: The Original Series and publicly came out as gay in 2005.) 

Star Trek: Discovery ’s Paul Stamets and Dr. Hugh Culber, portrayed by out actors Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz, are the first openly gay characters and the first gay couple portrayed in the central cast of a Star Trek tv show. “They don’t start with some big reveal,” Weitekamp explains. “They introduce each character in his professional role, doing his professional stuff, and then there’s this great intimate moment of them standing next to each other, brushing their teeth, just like any couple would.” 

There is one disappointing moment where it seems that Discovery is playing into the “bury your gays” trope with the (spoiler alert!) murder of Hugh Culber. But fear not, he is brought back to life (this is still sci-fi, after all). The team behind the show insist that his short-lived death isn’t a “bury your gays” moment , with executive producer Aaron Harberts saying in an interview with IndieWire : “It was essential that this crime not be gratuitous. It had to push the story, and it had to come from character and emotion. Culber is killed because he’s the smartest person on the ship. He’s not killed because he’s gay. He’s killed because he’s a threat…”

Later on in Star Trek: Discovery , a non-binary teenager named Adira is introduced, portrayed by non-binary actor Blu del Barrio. In a scene in season 3, Stamets, not yet aware of Adira’s pronouns, refers to them as “her,” and Adira corrects him, saying, “‘They,’ not ‘she.’ I’ve never felt like a ‘she’ or a ‘her.” I would prefer ‘they’ or ‘them’ from now on,” which Stamets accepts in stride. When we discussed Adira’s coming out scene, Weitekamp was especially impressed by a moment later in the episode when, with Adira asleep at their workstation, Culber and Stamets have a conversation, both referring to Adira using their correct pronouns without hesitation. Seeing those scenes in succession really shows how simple it should be to respect a person’s identity: Stamets didn't know, now he knows, and now he'll use the right pronouns.

Through Adira we also meet their boyfriend Gray, a transgender Trill portrayed by Ian Alexander, the first trans actor in Star Trek history. As Adira and Gray’s story unfolds, “they really present Stamets, Culber, Adira, and Gray as a kind of queer family of choice,” Weitekamp said.

With Star Trek: Discovery , the franchise made huge strides in introducing LGBTQ+ characters, casting queer actors to play them, and making those characters fully-realized and their experiences authentic.

But it took a while for Star Trek to get there. So what took so long? And was the absence of queer characters as conspicuous as it seems today? 

“It’s really in the 1980s that people start to ask questions about same-sex relationships and that kind of representation in Star Trek ,” Margaret shares. In the mid- to late-1980s, a group of science fiction fans formed a group called the Gaylactic Network with the truly incredible slogan, “Out of the closet and into the universe.”

“As various groups of gay and lesbian science fiction fans, like the Gaylactic Network, start to push that they wanna see more positive representation, Star Trek seems like a really likely place because it had been so out in front in terms of positive depictions of African Americans, Asian Americans, women in leadership roles,” Margaret explains. “So they really start pushing for some way of seeing this addressed.” 

There are conflicting accounts on whether Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry promised that there would be an out gay character in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), but ultimately there isn’t. Instead what we see are a few allegories to queer experiences, most notably in the Season 4 episode “The Host” and the season 5 episode “The Outcast.”

In “The Host” (1991) Dr. Beverly Crusher falls in love with a Trill named Odan. The Trill are a humanoid species joined with a symbiont who can pass from host to host with little concern for the presenting gender of their Trill host. After the symbiont Odan’s host body dies, he is eventually transferred to a new host — this time with a female body. Although the new Odan professes love for Crusher, she rejects the overture from Odan as a woman, saying “Perhaps it is a human failing, but we are not accustomed to these kinds of changes… Perhaps, someday, our ability to love won't be so limited.” 

And then there’s Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5 episode 17, “The Outcast” (1992). When I spoke with Weitekamp, she told me this is an episode that she frequently used for classroom discussion when she was teaching. It’s quite fascinating to examine the episode in terms of what it hoped to accomplish, how it was perceived at the time, and the way we interpret it today.

The episode features the J’naii, a humanoid race that has no gender, believing that they have evolved past it. Will Riker meets a member of the J’naii named Soren and their chemistry and attraction is clear. 

Soren confesses to Riker that she secretly identifies as female and the J’naii eventually realize this and arrest her. In order to return to her society, Soren must undergo “psychotectic treatments” to remove her gender identity and make her androgynous once again. Riker sets out to rescue her, but it’s too late. “The heartbreaking thing at the end,” Weitekamp explained, “is the character comes back and says essentially ‘I'm so much happier now that I'm a part of the way society is supposed to be.’ She’s clearly kind of brainwashed.”

This whole episode was intended as an allegory for the way that queer people are often treated by their communities. Soren’s identity is called a “perversion” and she is referred to as “deviant.” The psychotactic therapy is a stand-in here for conversion therapy.

And while this episode was very clearly Star Trek ’s foray into a “gay rights” episode, it left many disappointed. After all, the couple at the center of this big moment in Star Trek history was unmistakably heterosexual. Right off the bat, Weitekamp notes, it’s immediately evident that all members of this adrogynous race — including Soren — are played by female actors: “They very clearly cast a woman as this androgynous figure. So you, the viewer, are not made uncomfortable or made to confront an actual same-sex relationship.” Actor Jonathan Frakes, who played Riker, has since spoken on the subject , saying that the show wasn’t bold enough with their casting in the episode and that it would have been more effective if Soren had been played by a male actor, to really push boundaries.

It’s also fascinating to look at this episode, 30 years on, in the way it approached gender identity. In 1992, it used gender identity as an allegory for homosexuality, but watching it today, you can’t help but wish it could have treated the idea of being non-binary not as an allegory but as an idea to explore respectfully in and of itself. This may have been many viewers’ first exposure to non-binary individuals, yet they are presented as the bad guys, trying to oppress others. And their non-binary identity is telegraphed by removing their personality and emotion, implying that a binary gendered identity is what makes someone lively and interesting. 

Although we cannot change the past, what we can do is continue to establish science fiction as a realm that is welcome to people of all backgrounds because, after all, the future — real or imagined — is what we make it. It’s gratifying to see the strides that Star Trek has made in Star Trek: Discovery and I hope it continues on this show as well as across other Star Trek properties. And who knows, maybe someday we’ll revisit the J’naii and see that storyline play out in a more satisfying way.

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Why Did It Take So Long for Star Trek to Embrace Queer Characters?

"it’s bewildering yet predictable that prior to the 21st century, trek only used analogies to talk about queerness.".

Star Trek fandom is made up of several generations, and not all of those generations communicate effectively with one another. “Star Trek Twitter” freely uses the word “Trekkie,” even though older Trekkers shame them on that one. Gatekeeping from historical know-it-alls is a problem in Trek fandom, just as much as it is with Star Wars trolls. And often, much of that gatekeeping simply comes from a “get off my lawn” mentality from older generations.

But one area the smart Trek fan generations are united in is this: It took way too long for the franchise to get its act together with LGBTQ+ representation, and even the fans who didn’t live through those years are aware of that painful truth. The outcry over Dr. Culber’s death wasn’t just about the possible perpetuation of a harmful trope; it was a collective groan from queer Trek fans who, as a community, had been waiting for healthy, happy gay characters in Star Trek since Gene Roddenberry promised they would appear.

In 1986, just after the existence of The Next Generation had been made public, fans at conventions started asking whether we’d finally see gay people in Starfleet. At a 20th-anniversary convention in Boston, a representative of a gay Star Trek fan club—the Gaylaxians—confronted Roddenberry directly about the issue. Franklin Hummel, a librarian and member of the Gaylaxians, wanted to know “if there would be a gay character on the new show.” Roddenberry gave a half-hearted promise, responding, “Sooner or later, we’ll have to address the issue. We should probably have a gay character.” Sooner turned out to be later. Much later.

Closeted for much of his early career, George Takei tells a story of Gene Roddenberry swimming toward him at a pool party in Los Angeles, during the run of The Original Series. Takei hit him up with the idea of tackling gay rights and, according to the story, Roddenberry was open to the idea but was too afraid of the series getting canceled over a “firestorm.”

“‘The times will change as we move along,’” Takei remembers Roddenberry saying. “‘But at this point, I can’t do that.’” Assuming this conversation took place when Takei remembers it happening—sometime between 1966 and 1968, it’s notable Roddenberry was talking about this kind of representation at all. Then again, any straight man working in the arts—like Roddenberry—would find himself working alongside gay people.

In fact, the man who designed the costumes for Star Trek , William Ware Theiss, was gay. That said, we don’t really need to pat Roddenberry on the back here too much. Despite what he said to Takei, putting a gay character in TOS at all was almost certainly never on the table. But the fact that George Takei even had this chat with Roddenberry in the 1960s is saying something.

We tend to give Star Trek a lot of credit for pushing racial boundaries on TV, but the truth is, the Civil Rights movement was a very public, massive social movement happening while the show was being produced. The NAACP existed in the 1960s. GLAAD did not. And just to put it in perspective, the Stonewall riots happened on June 28, 1969, three weeks after Star Trek aired “Turnabout Intruder,” its final episode. So, again, assuming this story from Takei is legit, Takei pushing Roddenberry into a “gay rights” story line was a hundred times edgier than any of the other boundaries Trek broke during TOS .

Roddenberry may have been a risk-taker when it came to race issues on TV, but in the 60s, he was also participating in a movement that was fashionable for white liberals to support. This doesn’t detract from the accomplishments of The Original Series , but it does make you think about that tricky pop culture sci-fi mirror. Social change can be amplified by pop culture, and in that way, Star Trek is one of the best signal boosters of all time.

Pre-21st-century Star Trek certainly showed a lot of bravery, but when it came time for gay characters to possibly appear in The Next Generation , that era of Star Trek failed to provide a meaningful mirror. When Roddenberry launched TNG , he promised his writers that writing about AIDS and homophobia would happen on his show. And why not? Star Trek: The Next Generation was a syndicated program and, as such, had fewer rules from Paramount about what they could and couldn’t do. If a local station didn’t want to carry the series because it depicted gay people, that was their business. And yet, with all that freedom, Roddenberry didn’t do it.

Infamously, “Trouble with Tribbles” writer David Gerrold wrote a script called “Blood and Fire” for TNG , which would have depicted gay crew members on the Enterprise while also tackling a kind of 24th-century version of HIV. Although Roddenberry claimed to support the script, the Great Bird of the Galaxy himself seems to be the person who shot it down, allegedly saying the script was “a piece of shit.” Gerrold mostly ascribes these viewpoints to Roddenberry’s manic behavior and substance abuse during the early years of The Next Generation , once recalling that “I don’t know how much [Roddenberry] drank because I never saw him sober.”

Others suggest that Roddenberry’s canceling of “Blood and Fire” can be attributed to his aggressive lawyer and puppeteer Leonard Maizlish. When Herb Wright was assigned to rewrite “Blood and Fire,” he learned that much of the negative notes supposedly written by Roddenberry originated, more likely, with Maizlish. And in 2014, David Gerrold himself blamed the “clusterfuck” on homophobia deriving from longtime Trek producer Rick Berman.

Still, regardless of whose fault it was, the fact remains that “Blood and Fire,” a Season 1 Next Generation episode set to depict gay people in the 24th century, never got made. [i]  In the 2003 Enterprise episode “Stigma,” the Trek franchise asserted a vague HIV analogy; what if mind-melds were considered taboo among Vulcans at a certain point in history? Not only was this episode two decades after the dust-up involving “Blood and Fire,” it also failed to portray any gay characters.

In fact, after The Next Generation debuted in 1987, across four different Trek series for 18 years, all the way up to the year 2005, there was not one explicitly gay character from “our” universe. In Deep Space Nine , it was insinuated that series regulars Kira (Nana Visitor), Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer), and Leeta (Chase Masterson) were all bisexual. Oh, wait a minute. Their evil duplicates from the Mirror Universe were bisexual! In the regular universe, they were not. These bisexual baddies also reinforced negative stereotypes that LGBTQ folks have looser morals, simply by virtue of being not straight. In terms of progress, Mirror Universe bisexual characters were more out, but not exactly good role models in the way other Trek characters are.

Although characters on The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , Enterprise , and Voyager were often coded or read as queer by the fans, none of the Trek series actually managed to depict an overtly non-straight character without some kind of twist or metaphor. Because of this fact, you can start to understand why Trek fans in 2018 felt like they’d had the rug pulled out from under them with Culber’s fake-out death. It’s bewildering and yet, somehow, predictable that prior to the 21st century, Trek only used analogies to talk about queerness.

For queer fans like S. E. Fleenor, this meant finding characters that were “coded” as queer. When I asked Fleenor about Seven of Nine’s queerness, they pointed out: “We can hold creators, including Gene Roddenberry, responsible for refusing to embrace queer and trans characters and story lines as more than subtext. Their queerphobia and transphobia outside the world of Star Trek had a huge impact on the world created within the narrative.” To their point, even with TNG , some of the attempts at writing toward gay rights issues ended up sending a mixed message.

Perhaps the most divisive episode of The Next Generation is the 1992 episode “The Outcast.” Written by Jeri Taylor, the episode introduces a single-gender alien species called the J’naii. On this planet, gender is considered “primitive,” and if individuals claim to have gender leanings one way or another, they are required to undergo “therapy,” which basically brainwashes them into the cultural norms of the planet.

Watching “The Outcast” today is a mine-field, partly because Riker admits to the guest character Soren (Melinda Culea) that he can’t figure out what pronouns to use if people aren’t either male or female. The most overtly heterosexual character on the ship of course falls in love with a nonbinary alien who, as it turns out, wants to declare their gender as female, which is forbidden by her culture.

Arguably, Taylor’s gay allegory was well-intentioned, but the writing feels directed at heterosexuals. Because a gay allegory was written for a straight audience, many of the queer people in the audience at the time were understandably offended. “We thought we had made a very positive statement about sexual prejudice in a distinctively Star Trek way,” producer Rick Berman said in 1992. “But we still got letters from those who thought it was just our way of ‘washing our hands’ of the homosexual situation.”

Jeri Taylor went on record saying “The Outcast” was intended as an “outspokenly . . . gay rights story.” But was it? Although the contemporary reputation of “The Outcast” is very mixed, the episode has gained some renewed praise in the 21st century. Writing for Star Trek.com in 2020, Nitzan Pincu points out, “By giving Soren the chance to rebel against her oppression, the episode voices a queer plea to free sexual ‘others’ . . . Her reprogramming illustrates the dehumanizing effect of conversion therapy, which was little known outside of the gay community at the time the episode aired.”

Even when Trek failed to provide real representation, “The Outcast” can be read as a case for allyship. As Pincu mentions, Worf initially presents a bigoted attitude toward the nonbinary J’naii, but by the end of the episode, he’s the one who decides to go against orders and help Riker rescue Soren. If the goal of “The Outcast” was to make antigay straight families uncomfortable in 1992 and give kids something to think about that broke through the sexual dogma they’d been taught, then the episode was successful.

I was 11 when the episode aired, and I specifically remember it challenging my assumptions about who Riker was allowed to crush on. The episode may not be remotely progressive by 21st-century standards, but Jeri Taylor’s heart was certainly in the right place. It may not be a moment to applaud, but I dare anyone to find another action-adventure series aimed at families, airing in 1992, that depicted the hunkiest straight dude in the universe falling in love with someone who is clearly queer, and in terms of a contemporary reading, clearly a trans character. Most of Soren’s conversations with Riker at the top of the episode are about pronouns. It’s clunky in 2022, but in 1992, you’d be hard-pressed to find another big TV show in which characters were having frank conversations about which pronouns they preferred.

___________________________

From Phasers on Stun!: How the Making (and Remaking) of Star Trek Changed the World by Ryan Britt. Copyright © 2022 by the author and reprinted with permission of Plume Books.

[i]  In 2008, “Blood and Fire” was made as a fan film “episode” by James Cawley’s series Star Trek: Phase II , later rebranded as Star Trek: New Voyages . David Gerrold wrote and directed the piece, which retooled his TNG script into a TOS setting. In this version, Kirk’s nephew Peter Kirk was gay. It enjoyed in-person screenings at Star Trek conventions but existed almost exclusively online as a nonprofit fan film. In 2008, Paramount and CBS had to implement more draconian policies about fan films, meaning “Blood and Fire” probably couldn’t have been made today.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Casts Its First Nonbinary Character For Episode That Already Had LGBTQ+ Ties

This sounds like a cool addition to the latest Star Trek series.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is halfway through its run, and it’s quickly become a fan-favorite among fans of the sci-fi franchise . While we already know Strange New Worlds has scored a second season, during which we’ll meet Paul Wesley’s version of James T. Kirk , there are plenty of other characters for Paramount+ subscribers to meet in Season 1’s back half. This includes the show’s first nonbinary character, who’ll appear in an episode that already had LGBTQ+ ties established.

Big Sky and Queer as Folk star Jesse James Keitel has landed a guest spot on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ’ seventh episode. As revealed by Variety , Keitel, who is a trans woman, will play Dr. Aspen, who used to be a Starfleet counselor, but became a humanitarian aid worker following their experiences on the Federation border. Aspen will form a “surprising connection” with Ethan Peck’s Spock, one of the Enterprise’s science officers. This episode, which drops Thursday, June 16, was directed by trans filmmaker Sydney Freehand, who has helmed episodes of shows like Grey’s Anatomy , Fear the Walking Dead and Reservation Dogs .

Jesse James Keitel’s casting in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds marks another major step for LGBTQ+ representation in the Star Trek franchise. On the acting side of things, Star Trek: Discovery has particularly made great strides in this area, with notable examples including Anthony Rapp’s Paul Stamets and Wilson Cruz’s Dr. Hugh Culber being married, as well as Blu Del Barrio starring as nonbinary character Adira and Ian Alexander recurring as transgender character Grey. Star Trek: Picard has also featured Michelle Hurd’s Raffi Muskier and Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine in a romantic relationship , and in last week’s episode of Strange New Worlds , Jess Bush’s Christine Chapel mentioned dating both men and women.

As already noted, Jesse James Keitel’s Dr. Aspen is only set to be a guest character in the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episodes, but if the series ends up running for a long time, perhaps there’s a chance they could be brought back in a future season. Along with the aforementioned TV shows, Keitel’s other credits include Alex Strangelove , Younger and Miller & Son . The actress shared on Twitter that getting to “be part of the Star Trek family” is “an ACTUAL life long dream come true” for her, and then posted the following:

Thank you for welcoming me aboard! The enterprise just got a little bit hotter 🥵😈🪐 https://t.co/JpRa9iUpNV June 7, 2022

Taking place after the events of Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, and a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series rolls around, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follows the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise traveling to wild locations in the galaxy , running into strange phenomena, helping people along the way, all that jazz. Along with Ethan Peck and Jess Bush, the main cast includes Anson Mount as Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley/Number One, Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura, Babs Olusanmokun as M’Benga, Christina Chong as La’an Noonien Singh, Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas and Bruce Horak as Hemmer. The series’ recurring characters include Adrian Holmes as Robert April, Dan Jeannotte as Sam Kirk and Gia Sandra as T’Pring.

Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on what Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has coming up, and learn what other shows are also currently airing or will premiere soon by scanning through our 2022 TV schedule .

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Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.

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Did Gene Roddenberry Try to Have a Gay Character on the Original Star Trek?

• Rod Roddenberry believes his father would support LGBTQ+ characters on Star Trek now.
• Gene Roddenberry's views on LGBTQ+ characters evolved over the years for the better.
• Roddenberry, pre-Stonewall, was not considering LGBTQ+ characters on Star Trek in the 1960s.

TV LEGEND : Gene Roddenberry tried to have an LGBTQ+ character on the original Star Trek series.

A few years back, there was a bit of a controversy when George Takei, who played Lt. Sulu on the original Star Trek TV series from 1966-1969, criticized the decision of the Star Trek film reboot to have the Sulu in the film series (which was set in an alternate timeline where Captain James T. Kirk and his crew took over the Enterprise earlier than in the original timeline) be gay. Takei argued, "I’m delighted that there’s a gay character. Unfortunately, it’s a twisting of Gene’s creation, to which he put in so much thought . I think it’s really unfortunate." Takei felt that since Sulu was intended to be straight by Roddenberry on the original Star Trek series, that it would be wrong to have him be gay in the new timeline. Takei urged the filmmakers to create a new character instead.

Rod Roddenberry, Gene Roddenberry's son (Roddenberry died in 1991), noted at the time , in reference to his father, "I think he would be 100 percent in favor of a gay character in Star Trek. There’s so much going on in the world today. I think he would love any sort of social issue being brought into Star Trek. ”

Roddenberry is almost certainly correct that his father would have been in favor of there being a gay character on Star Trek now, but I think there has been some confusion as to Roddenberry's thoughts on the topic when it came to the original series. Essentially, Roddenberry has been positioned by some fans as someone who wanted to do an episode with LGBTQ+ characters in the 1960s, but just wasn't allowed to do so. Was that the case?

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What has George Takei said about asking Gene Roddenberry for an LGBTQ+ character on Star Trek?

George Takei, in a PBS interview , told the story of a time in 1968 when he tried to pitch Roddenberry on doing an LGBTQ+ character on Star Trek:

“I did very privately bring up the issue of gays and lesbians. And he was certainly, as a sophisticated man, mindful of that, but he said – in one episode we had a biracial kiss, Captain Kirk and Uhura had a kiss. That show was literally blacked out in the south, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia didn't air that; our ratings plummeted. It was the lowest rated episode that we had. And he said, “I'm treading a fine tight wire here. I'm dealing with issues of the time. I'm dealing with the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and I need to be able to make that statement by staying on the air.” He said, “If I dealt with that issue I wouldn't be able to deal with any issue because I would be canceled.”

Takei continued, "And I understood that because I was still closeted at that time. I talked to him as a liberal rather than as a gay man and I understood his position on that. So that's the way Star Trek envisioned our future in the 23rd century, but I think we're getting closer to that utopian society that Gene Roddenberry visualized, much more rapidly than even the technology.”

The interesting thing about the network, at the time, is that it specifically ASKED its producers to find roles for Black actors, sending out a memo ( courtesy of FactTrek ) stating, "We urge producers to cast Negroes, subject to their availability and competence as performers, as people who are an integral segment of the population, as well as in those roles where the fact of their minority status is of significance. An earnest attempt has been made to see that their presence contributes to an honest and natural reflection of places, situations and events, and we desire to intensify and extend this effort."

In other words, casting a regular Black character or a regular Asian character was, while certainly admirable by Roddenberry, not something that the network even had a problem with at that point in time. Having an LGBTQ+ regular character, though, wasn't even in the realm of possibility in 1968 for a network TV series. In other words, Roddenberry might very well have been mindful of Takei's concern at the time, but there was no way he was ever seriously considering having an LGBTQ+ character on the series.

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What did Gene Roddenberry say about his interest in having LGBTQ+ characters in Star Trek?

In a great 1991 interview with David Alexander , Roddenberry discussed how his views had changed over the years, and he specifically offered up that his views on LGBTQ+ people had evolved for the better:

I n the early 1960s, I was much more a macho-type person. I was still accepting things from my childhood as necessary and part of reality how men related to women, et cetera. My assistant, Susan Sackett, used to say to me, "You really put down women a lot for someone who is supposed to be thoughtful and liberal." I began listening to her and agreeing that she was right in her perceptions. My attitude toward homosexuality has changed. I came to the conclusion that I was wrong. I was never someone who hunted down "fags" as we used to call them on the street. I would, sometimes, say something anti-homosexual off the top of my head because it was thought, in those days, to be funny. I never really deeply believed those comments, but I gave the impression of being thoughtless in these areas. I have, over many years, changed my attitude about gay men and women.

Again, by the launch of Star Trek: The Next Generation , Roddenberry was a different person, and society was thankfully different (David Gerrold has noted a number of times that Roddenberry specifically said circa 1986 that there WOULD be gay crew members on the Enterprise in The Next Generation ), and it is VERY likely that, had Roddenberry lived, he would have made sure that there was an LGBTQ+ character on The Next Generation . Sadly, he died before that could ever happen.

However, there was no way that he was ever even considering having an LGBTQ+ character on Star Trek in the late 1960s, pre-Stonewall. Roddenberry was certainly ahead of his time in many ways, but this after the fact portrayal of him as a guy titling at windmills in the pursuit of progressive ideals doesn't fit the reality of the late 1960s. He certainly did what he could, and he should be praised for doing so, but he wasn't trying to have LGBTQ+ characters on his network science fiction TV series in 1968.

The legend is...

STATUS : False enough for a false (there's some gray area when it comes to "I'd like to do that, but I can't")

Be sure to check out my archive of TV Legends Revealed for more urban legends about the world of TV. Click here for more legends specifically about Star Trek.

Feel free (heck, I implore you!) to write in with your suggestions for future installments! My e-mail address is [email protected]

What do you think? Leave a respectful comment.

William Brangham William Brangham

• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/george-takei-on-why-the-original-star-trek-never-featured-a-gay-character

George Takei on why the original ‘Star Trek’ never featured a gay character

The original “Star Trek” series may not have lived long, but it prospered.

The TV show ran for three, low-rated seasons on NBC in the late 1960s, but later found a large, devoted following in reruns. The sci-fi series prided itself on its portrayal of an interracial, international cast of characters careening heroically across the galaxy in the starship “Enterprise.”

George Takei , who played Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu on the original series, credits the show’s creator, the late Gene Roddenberry , for this vision. “He said the starship Enterprise is a metaphor for starship Earth,” Takei told the PBS NewsHour in a recent interview. “And the strength of this starship is in its diversity, coming together and working in concert as a team. And he cast accordingly.”

WATCH: George Takei on challenging the “mindless inhumanity” of U.S. history’s darker chapters

The Enterprise’s crew, led by Captain James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner), also included crewmembers from Asia, Africa, Europe, as well as one alien named Spock (played by the late Leonard Nimoy ). The crew’s overarching mission, as Kirk declared in the show’s opening credits , was “… to seek out new life forms and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before.”

While the crew of the Enterprise dealt with alien races both friendly and hostile, “Star Trek” also pushed some taboo social boundaries. The 1968 episode “Plato’s Stepchildren” showed one of the most prominent interacial kisses ever seen at the time on American TV, when Captain Kirk kissed Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (played by Nichelle Nichols). That kiss caused several TV stations in the South to black out the episode in protest.

Roddenberry hoped the Enterprise crew would give American viewers a broader view of humanity, and so many have wondered why he never included any LGBTQ characters on his show. (For context, the debut of openly gay characters on primetime TV came a few years after the end of the original “Star Trek.”)

Takei is gay, and since his time on “Star Trek,” has become an enormously popular LGBTQ rights activist. I asked Takei if he ever talked with Roddenberry about that omission on the show.

Takei said Roddenberry wanted to have a gay character but said he feared network executives would balk and might cancel the show. Takei described Roddenberry telling him, “I’d like to do that, but he said ‘I’m walking a tightrope.’ The interracial kiss was very controversial.”

For “Star Trek,” a pioneer in so many ways, it took 51 years for the franchise to finally feature an openly gay character .

William Brangham is an award-winning correspondent, producer, and substitute anchor for the PBS NewsHour.

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George Takei on challenging the ‘mindless inhumanity’ of U.S. history’s darker chapters

Arts Oct 23

• celebrities
• George Takei Explains Why There Were No Gay Characters on <i>Star Trek</i>

George Takei Explains Why There Were No Gay Characters on Star Trek

I n a new video for Big Think, George Takei reveals he onced asked Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry why the original TV series didn’t feature LGBT characters.

“I did very privately bring up the issue of gays and lesbians,” said Takei, who played Sulu on the long-running sci-fi series. “And he was certainly, as a sophisticated man, mindful of that, but he said — in one episode we had a biracial kiss, Captain Kirk and Uhura had a kiss.”

That episode was “Plato’s Stepchildren,” which aired in 1968. The characters played by William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols locked lips while under the psionic thrall of controlling aliens. “That show was literally blacked out in the South — Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia didn’t air that; our ratings plummeted,” Takei continued. “It was the lowest-rated episode that we had. And [Roddenberry] said, ‘I’m treading a fine tight wire here. I’m dealing with issues of the time. I’m dealing with the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and I need to be able to make that statement by staying on the air.’ He said, ‘If I dealt with that issue I wouldn’t be able to deal with any issue because I would be canceled.’”

Roddenberry succeeded in bringing diversity to the program in other ways. For example, Takei went into detail on how his character got the name of Sulu. As he described, the crew of the Enterprise was meant to embody the various cultures of the world, and Takei’s character represented Asia.

“The problem [Roddenberry] had was to find a name for this Asian character from the 23rd century because every Asian surname is nationally specific,” said Takei. “Tanaka is Japanese. Wong is Chinese. Kim is Korean. And 20th century Asia was turbulent with warfare, colonization, rebellion, and he didn’t want to suggest that.”

As Takei described, “He had a map of Asia pinned on the wall and he was staring at it trying to get some inspiration for the Asian character. And he found, off the coast of the Philippines, the Sulu Sea. And he thought, ‘Ah, the waters of the sea touch all shores, embracing all of Asia. And that’s how my character came to have the name Sulu.”

Watch more from Big Think’s video with Takei below.

This article originally appeared on EW.com

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‘The Acolyte’ Joins ‘Andor’ as Another ‘Star Wars’ Success on Disney+: TV Review

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Yet “The Acolyte” is quick to explain the relationship between Stenberg’s two characters, both to the audience and Osha’s investigators. The show, it turns out, has more interesting topics to turn to, like the relationship between Osha and her onetime mentor Sol (“Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae). Along with Indara, Sol was once stationed on Osha’s home planet, where a fire took the lives of her entire family — including, or so she thought, her twin sister, Mae. A then eight-year-old Osha went to Coruscant with Sol, who retains a guilt-inflected soft spot for his erstwhile student, while Mae trained with an anonymous master. No one says the words “dark side” or “Sith,” but the red lightsaber speaks for itself.

There are obvious echoes of Luke and Leia in the story of twins separated as young children, and Darth Vader in a villain who wears a mask and speaks with a distorted voice. But later episodes contain revelations that subvert, and even threaten to upend, our notions of the Jedi and binary conception of the Force.

The Jedi’s fallibility has long been one of the most interesting, and underexplored, “Star Wars” themes. In their pursuit of a chosen one, the warrior monks inadvertently planted the seeds of their own destruction; Luke Skywalker grew so disillusioned with his life’s work that he vowed the order would die with him. “Star Wars” has always, on some level, been a Greek tragedy disguised as a children’s blockbuster. But while a slew of spinoffs can dilute a brand’s cachet, as they have for corporate sibling Marvel, they can also allow for a narrow focus. When not forced to share (literal) space with armies and outlaws, the Jedi have never been as centered, nor as scrutinized, as they are in “The Acolyte.”

Lee’s Sol emerges as the empathetic face of this ambivalence. Viewers familiar with the actor’s work in South Korea won’t be surprised to see him as an action hero with a heart, but to Americans who know him solely from the Netflix sensation, the role is a show of range on one of the biggest stages in English-language media. Stenberg, of course, gets to embrace her dual role, developing Mae and Osha’s physicalities as well as their differing points of view on the Jedi. (Though it says something that even defender Osha chose not to join their ranks because she couldn’t let go of emotion in her unprocessed grief.) Manny Jacinto plays Mae’s accomplice, a performance that recalls his bumbling, goofy “The Good Place” character with more sinister undertones, and Dafne Keen of “His Dark Materials” conveys her sharply inquisitive young Padawan from under a mountain of makeup and CGI. Together, the ensemble riffs on established “Star Wars” types while making marks of their own.

The first two episodes of “The Acolyte” will launch on Disney+ on June 4 at 6 p.m. PT, with remaining episodes streaming weekly on Tuesdays.

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