Transsexuals in Star Trek

[Lord Garth]

10 years ago, I wouldn't have posted a topic about this -- I probably wouldn't have even thought about a topic like this, actually -- but times have changed enough where it's not something I'd be automatically worried that it would have to be closed or punted off to TNZ. Someday, I probably won't feel like I'll have to use a preface like I just did. Anyway...

Due to the Eugenics Wars, Earth / The Federation placed a ban on genetic engineering. Would that also extend to changing gender?

By the 23rd/24th Century, on Star Trek, it would be possible to alter DNA to do so. In this case, a man could become a woman or a woman could become a man and there would never been any sign that they were ever anything else.

If this type of alteration isn't permitted by the Federation, there would still be transitioning and traditional surgical operations.

Which way would transsexuals be portrayed in Star Trek?

 

[Amaris]

I doubt transgender issues being resolved would fall under any kind of Eugenics program. If that were the case, being cured of any kind of illness would be seen as tampering with the human body, and would be forbidden. It is more likely that someone born with gender dysphoria would have it remedied with far greater ease than we do today, and likely without the social stigma, or at least one would hope.

 

[Enterprise1701]

Hmm. It never occurred to me that technology in Star Trek could be used for sex changes by DNA. Is that even how such things work?

 

[Kilana2]

10 years ago, I wouldn't have posted a topic about this -- I probably wouldn't have even thought about a topic like this, actually -- but times have changed enough where it's not something I'd be automatically worried that it would have to be closed or punted off to TNZ. Someday, I probably won't feel like I'll have to use a preface like I just did. Anyway...

Due to the Eugenics Wars, Earth / The Federation placed a ban on genetic engineering. Would that also extend to changing gender?

By the 23rd/24th Century, on Star Trek, it would be possible to alter DNA to do so. In this case, a man could become a woman or a woman could become a man and there would never been any sign that they were ever anything else.

If this type of alteration isn't permitted by the Federation, there would still be transitioning and traditional surgical operations.

Which way would transsexuals be portrayed in Star Trek?

We have already discussed a similar topic in the Literature Forum. Christopher Bennett says, banning genetical engineering might do more harm than good, because it invites to do it anyway and illegally without proper oversight and ethical standards. I think that changing gender will be possible via conventional methods: invasive surgery and hormone therapy.

But: illegal alterations regarding to sex change could have been carried out outside federation territory. Think about nowadays, where people leave their country to circumvent national laws.

According to established and sanctioned regulations, transsexuals would be portrayed conservatively.

 

[Christopher]

Due to the Eugenics Wars, Earth / The Federation placed a ban on genetic engineering. Would that also extend to changing gender?

The way it's usually portrayed, it's not an absolute ban on all genetic therapies, just a ban on superhuman augmentations. Genetic therapy for treating crippling or life-threatening medical conditions would be okay, just so long as you don't try to make yourself a superior being and take over the world. Sex changes have long since been recognized as important for mental health, so I'm sure there'd be no restriction on them.

Anyway, there are simpler options for gender reassignment than genetic engineering. Surgical and hormonal treatments seem to work fine, so even if there were a ban on gene-level gender reassignment, there would still be other methods.

 

[T'Girl]

No doubt given the medical science we've seen, the actual Sex Reassignment Surgery will be considerably easier, with fewer dangers/complications.

The hormone therapy itself shouldn't (imo) be a single hypospray affair, there being advantages to a more gradual transition. Allowing the individual time to make the psychological adjustment to the changes to their bodies.

Being able to sit across from a Betazed for sorting out the inevitable confusion would be a plus as well.

 

[Amaris]

No doubt given the medical science we've seen, the actual Sex Reassignment Surgery will be considerably easier, with fewer dangers/complications.

The hormone therapy itself shouldn't (imo) be a single hypospray affair, there being advantages to a more gradual transition. Allowing the individual time to make the psychological adjustment to the changes to their bodies.

Being able to sit across from a Betazed for sorting out the inevitable confusion would be a plus as well.

If anything, it sounds like 24th century medicine would be a godsend for a transgendered person.

 

[borgboy]

It's an interesting question. I'd think that genetic changes for a trans person would be as acceptable as any other medical procedure such as curing a genetic disorder. That's a far cry for making superhumans. Would 24th century technology be so advanced that a post genetic changed person be able to reproduce?
I would wonder how different alien cultures would deal with trans issues - surely all cultures wouldn't be uniform in their treatment of trans people, especially when you're dealing with non-Federation worlds. We just don't have much information to form opinions beyond speculation. I can't imagine that in the Federation being trans would have any stigma to it at all. I'd think it would be no more shocking or controversial than having corrective eye surgery.
The Ferengi for example have a very sexist society with extremely limited rights for females, so a gender change would be a huge shift in that person's social status. I could see it being illegal or at least very controversial. Trill society seems very neutral with how gender is treated so I can't imagine there would be any stigma there. Clearly joined Trill could be seen as a metaphor for trans people since the host has memories of the past lives of the symbiote which includes both male and female hosts.
It would be interesting if we learned an established character had been trans all along. If the genetic changes - or even surgery and hormones - were as good as they should be in Trek's future, we wouldn't know.

 

[Christopher]

^Of course, we know exactly how Ferengi respond to gender reassignment, because we've actually seen it happen. Unfortunately, it happened in "Profit and Lace," so most of us have tried our best to forget it.

 

[Kilana2]

^Of course, we know exactly how Ferengi respond to gender reassignment, because we've actually seen it happen. Unfortunately, it happened in "Profit and Lace," so most of us have tried our best to forget it.

Armin Shimerman obviously not . I remember him complaining about the drag he was put into.

 

[eyeresist]

I presume that, in the utopia of the Federation, gender distinctions will be considered so unimportant that no-one would bother.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Who says they would need to change your DNA to allow you to reproduce as the opposite gender? Maybe they have a way to synthesize a working reproductive system. All you'd have to do is, if you switched from male to female, make sure none of your eggs carried a Y chromosome.

Also, I wonder, if a man and a woman both wanted to change genders, could they pay a Vulcan to mindmeld them into each others' bodies?

 

[Lord Garth]

^ Sort of like Fal Tor Pan but not?

I know three transsexuals and they all want to be themselves, they just wanted to be a more accurate version of themselves than what they were born as. So, while I can't speak for them, I'm going to say that they wouldn't want their minds transferred into someone else's body and physically be a 100% different person.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

True.

It also depends if genetics behave like they do in the real world or not. If they do, changing your genes wouldn't immediately make you grow the genitals appropriate to that gene, so genetic therapy wouldn't be an effective sex change either. (Maybe if they introduce the genes mid-transport?)

I find it far more likely they just have organ cloning technology they can use to grow the gender specific organs you would have been born with and transplant them into you. And all they'd have to do is make sure your ovaries' eggs can only carry X chromosomes to prevent YY from happening.

And anyway don't Dax and Worf's plans prove that genetic resequencing is considered acceptable for reproductive purposes? If a Trill is allowed to have her genes changed to have a baby with a Klingon, shouldn't a guy be allowed to have his genes changed to have a baby with a guy?

 

[kirkfan]

Hmm. It never occurred to me that technology in Star Trek could be used for sex changes by DNA. Is that even how such things work?

If people can be altered to seem Klingon then why not another gender.


Plus there's Quark who was made a female for a short while. So, it's even reversible.

 

[Timo]

Gender change would appear to involve three main elements:

1) Change in legal status. This would have precious little to do with biology; a statue, a street or a carrot could be assigned a desired gender by the court if need be.
2) Change in lifestyle. This might or might not involve things like boob jobs, genital swaps, hair growth regulation and whatnot. It might be as simple as deciding "I'm female/male/neuter/double-boksadatokipik/whatever from now on", with no other change anywhere, not in biology, not in clothing, not in behavior.
3) Change in biology. This might help with both lifestyle change and getting the desired legal status, although it might not be necessary for either. Adjustments might be minor and aesthetic (jaw remodeling, hair removal or addition), medium and functional (genital changes, addition/removal of lactating breasts), or profound and possibly even complete by the traditional definitions (chromosome change, complete swap of procreative machinery).

I don't see the Trek society creating obstacles at any of the above stages. There would be people asking "Are you sure?" and "Are you crazy?", but once you said "I'm sure and I'm crazy enough", the required services would be provided, probably even free of expenses in the UFP case.

The way it's usually portrayed, it's not an absolute ban on all genetic therapies, just a ban on superhuman augmentations.

And even then, the government can experiment on the latter as it pleases ("Unnatural Selection"). There seems to be a bit of public phobia on the subject, but it probably was much more severe right after the Age of Khan and now is seldom brought up even in connection with discussions on gene therapy.

"Dr. Bashir, I Presume?" describes the exact type of operation that the Bashirs went through. For all we know, this exact type is the only one outlawed in the Federation - and even when exposed, it carries minimal consequences. The criminals are allowed to profit from their crime to the fullest, nobody need give or receive financial or biological compensation, and a single person ancillary to the crime serves an antiquated punishment of freedom-deprivation torture, possibly a relic from pre-"Dagger of the Mind" days that has been overlooked because the law in question has had zero practical applications as of late.

I'd think a gender change would be well within the means of any character seen, then. And if it happened before we met these characters, there'd probably be no way to tell it had. (Well, Dax had a sex change of sorts, and Ben Sisko gave it away with his constant "Old Man" quips, but since this didn't raise any eyebrows, I gather it would not be a big deal either way: people could refer to a character's gender swap or then not, and neither approach would result in social repercussions.)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[T'Girl]

I presume that, in the utopia of the Federation, gender distinctions will be considered so unimportant that no-one would bother.

From what we've seen, there are still defined gender distinctions. There are males and females The traditional sexual roles in terms of occupations do appear to be muted.

SRS has to do with making your appearance and your hormones match you pre-existing sexual psychological identity.

 

[SPCTRE]

^Of course, we know exactly how Ferengi respond to gender reassignment, because we've actually seen it happen. Unfortunately, it happened in "Profit and Lace," so most of us have tried our best to forget it.

 

[kirkfan]

What about Data's cat?

 

[Orphalesion]

Interesting topic, Yes, with the Federation being the highly tolerant, individualist "be who/what you wanna be" utopia I can see no obstacle to someone wanting to change their gender. I actually think the surgery might be the easier method in a future were "reconstructive surgery" is something causal that happens off-screen between scenes and with no negative repercussions for the person involved.
I'm also fairly certain they'd allow people to alter their DNA to get rid of birth defects "you have a genetic predisposition for cancer... I can fix that with this hypo spray!"

They would probably be less tolerant, however, if a person wants to become something considered "super human" or "transhuman" like getting a telepathic node installed in your brain or augmenting your body with technology is most likely prohibited, same with becoming immortal or uploading your brain into a machine.
Star Trek is very "Golden Age SciFi" in that manner, which, in a way, is one of the reason I love it.

I wonder however how they would react to somebody becoming a different species. Like say some guy in the 24th century says he wants to become an Andorian, would they allow it? Would there be a stigma associated with a desire like that? What would the Andorians say about that?

This topic actually made me think if any of the Star Trek characters we have seen so far was born a different gender... was Elizabeth Shelby born as Edmund Shelby? Was Nick Locarno born Nicole Locarno? Could all be.