• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Pre-2009 Star Trek and LGBTQI+ representation: simple disinterest or active hostility?

Status
Not open for further replies.
… or when one of them is actively working to introduce legislature that curtails the rights of a group, makes it easier to discriminate against them, stoking public hatred and fear about them or is just changing the world so that the group doesn’t exist anymore. Then we definitely can’t be tolerant of that. To be tolerant of that, out of a desire to reach an ideal of “true tolerance”, would simply be foolish.


You’re speaking of “forcing another to abide by their preferred pronouns”, which is certainly nothing I ever observed in the real world. “Preferred pronouns” are just that, the pronouns someone prefers. It’s certainly impolite to not respect someone enough as to refer to them the way they are telling you they like to be referred to. (And I admit, in most cases where people are arguing they should be able to do so, I wonder why it’s so damn important to them to not simply respect someone’s wishes, especially considering how easy it is to do.) But beyond being told it’s impolite or ignorant or uncool, I have never personally observed how someone is “forced” to use a specific pronoun. How would that even work? People can be impolite and will have to live with the consequences, of course. Like if, for example, you misbehave in a restaurant; should they be tolerant of your misbehavior or should they be able to ask you to leave? But that’s not “forcing you to behave”. That’s just asking you to be a decent human being.

The issue I think always comes down to just how toxic the internet can be. One thing I notice is trolls who exist both on the right and left love to virtue single to their tribe when trying to own the other. Also to get clicks and attention. As much as right people love to roam the internet looking to anything they can call woke you do have those on the left always looking for racism and bigotry as well. The internet has turned lots of people into narcissistic assholes.

In the real world I think people still get along better and do still have tolerance towards each other. Maybe not in Washington DC but I think most people still show respect to each other even if they don't agree. And if someone makes a mistake few people don't get angry and start hurling insults. You more likely to have someone say 'Sorry about that. My bad" and the other person be like 'That's cool. simple mistake. No big deal." But on the internet people can act like assholes because they aren't interacting with the person so much as responding to someones written opinions.
 
My only "issue" so to speak with Seven/Raffi was that it just kind of came out of nowhere? Not necessarily within the show itself... yeah it's established/hinted that both had same sex relationships, and that worked fine for Raffi since she was a new character but it felt off for Seven as we have background on her and it was never hinted at before.
Well, yeah, it did come out of nowhere in that Seven and Raffi's relationship was literally thought up by Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd the day the final scene of the S1 finale was filmed. Likewise, Seven being a bisexual in Picard was all Jeri Ryan's idea as it was her idea earlier in the season to play her scenes with Bjayzal as though Seven and her were romantically involved in the past.
 
Going back to Star Trek, while doing research for this post I found a couple of interesting trivia pieces:
Every TNG characters was hardcoded in such strong heteronormative way (the females where so feminine, the males were so virile) that every time someone distanced themselves from these stereotypes some of the fans wondered "Are they gay then???".
For example reading the Wikipedia I found that Tasha was considered by many a closeted lesbian and, although not in similar numbers to Tasha, some initially thought La Forge was gay.

Now, with modern eyes, there aren't all these signs in these characters that should indicate a sexual orientation other than heterosexuality in these characters. The only thing about Tasha that could be indicative was her short hair (which was the actress's hairstyle in real life). For the rest she was certainly not a stereotypical butch (for example, already from the second episode we saw that she could also be very feminine if she wanted).


Of course, she did a job that could perhaps be considered a male prerogative, but already in the 80s there were many policewomen and they certainly weren't all lesbians. As for Geordi, the only thing was that he wasn't as aggressively virile and assertive as the other male characters. It's interesting how the perception of what must be "naturally" masculine and feminine has changed and the concept that if someone strays from these paths then their sexual orientation must also be different from the norm.

The other things I found is in a newspaper gay and lesbian characters were announced for TNG - Season 5 (1991)

'Star Trek' Is on Another Bold Journey

This season, gays and lesbians will appear unobtrusively aboard the Enterprise in the 24th Century. They weren't "outed," they won't be outcasts; apparently they'll be neither objects of pity nor melodramatic attention. Their sexual orientation will be a matter of indifference to the rest of the crew.

It was published in the Los Angeles Times, a newspaper I think is quite reliable. In 1991 someone thought that LBGTQI+ characters might appear in TNG, and the world didn't explode.
 
I know some people got upset with seeing Troi's foot get massaged in "The Price" so I am thinking their would be some public outrage. I don't think that would be the case if we saw some gay characters on DS9 or Voyager around 1996 or later. The 1990's didn't really start until Clinton won in 1992. 1990 and 1991 was still basically the 80's.
 
That’s a very different argument than “I have the right not to call someone by their preferred pronoun.” That’s deliberately being cruel to a person who is already vulnerable and/or marginalized.

Not down with that.

That's the point of tolerance. It's ok. You don't have to be down with that.

But... you need to tolerate it.

I'm not down with it either. I see it as civility. I'll call you whatever you want. I'll also support anyone who decides its against their beliefs to do so. Ones beliefs are not more important than anothers. That's the issue.

If someone is truly, deeply against using your pronouns... that's entirely their right and they're beliefs are no better or worse, no more important or less, than yours.

That's quite literally "tolerance".

I have a non-binary coworker who goes by "they". I have known them for a long time and I often say "she". It's not out of disrespect, I just forget. I've known them for 10 years as "she" and to my old eyes they appear to be a "she" so I just... forget. They are super cool though and it really doesn't bother them at all.

But the point is, I do it because I want to, because I believe I should... not because I *HAVE* to. If I decided no, I don't agree with that, I don't support it... I couldn't make them stop using the pronouns, but I would also be under no obligation to use them or support it. We can tolerate each other's opinions by essentially agreeing to disagree.

Tolerance is NOT "i'm right so you need to do what I believe". Exact opposite, actually.
 
If someone is truly, deeply against using your pronouns... that's entirely their right and they're beliefs are no better or worse, no more important or less, than yours.
It might be their right but it also makes them an asshole. And no, not all beliefs are equal, some are objectively worse than others. Is believing white people are superior to other ethnicities equal to believing they're not? Of course not. So why is intentionally misgendering people?

I have a non-binary coworker who goes by "they". I have known them for a long time and I often say "she". It's not out of disrespect, I just forget. I've known them for 10 years as "she" and to my old eyes they appear to be a "she" so I just... forget. They are super cool though and it really doesn't bother them at all.
But forgetting is very different from not wanting to. No none is perfect, and misgendering someone by accident is not great but also not malicious. And if it doesn't bother your coworker then there's no problem.

But the point is, I do it because I want to, because I believe I should... not because I *HAVE* to. If I decided no, I don't agree with that, I don't support it... I couldn't make them stop using the pronouns, but I would also be under no obligation to use them or support it. We can tolerate each other's opinions by essentially agreeing to disagree.
No, there is no agree to disagree when it comes to being respectful of people's identities. Not doing that is being intolerant and that is not acceptable.

Intolerance must not be tolerated.
 
I have to say there is a certain grammatical logic to this approach, since pronouns were "invented" for the convenience of everyone else, and thus the job of selection of appropriate pronouns falls to the other person. Even when speaking of yourself in the third person you usually use your actual name.



Some of the "thought police" rulings coming out of the UK seem to be trending this way, but I don't know if it's gotten to that point yet. Surely someone has been fired over it by now, somewhere.



That reminds me, everyone is concerned about putting subjective and objective pronouns in their signatures, but no one thinks to list their preferred honorifics. How do you start a formal letter to someone with they/them pronowns? There is no avenue to ask for clarification.

What "thought police" rulings? You mean the Tories clamping down on any protests that go against their beliefs?

There haven't been any rulings of the sort lad
 
It might be their right but it also makes them an asshole. And no, not all beliefs are equal, some are objectively worse than others. Is believing white people are superior to other ethnicities equal to believing they're not? Of course not. So why is intentionally misgendering people?

You use "objectively" confidently there, but I don't think what you're saying is actually "objective".

I agree with you with your ideology. I don't agree that its objectively correct.

No, there is no agree to disagree when it comes to being respectful of people's identities. Not doing that is being intolerant and that is not acceptable.

Intolerance must not be tolerated.

I would have to say there is no agree to disagree when it comes to being respectful to ones deeply held beliefs. That is being intolerant and that is not acceptable.


I also 100% agree with that.

The path of divergence may be that I think we also need to be tolerant of "assholes". They have a different opinion and perspective from us. We see them as being "assholes", but they don't. I respect their right to be an "asshole" from my perspective.

Once again, and I think i've reached the end of this as it's just getting repetitive, "tolerance" is NOT "My opinion is right, yours is wrong, so you need to agree with me."...

If you disagree with me on all of this... that's ok! I can tolerate that.
 
There haven't been any rulings of the sort lad

good, glad to hear it. I was getting the impression that people were getting negative consequences for believing stuff, rather than doing stuff, but I wasn't paying super close attention to the matter.
 
good, glad to hear it. I was getting the impression that people were getting negative consequences for believing stuff, rather than doing stuff, but I wasn't paying super close attention to the matter.

Socially people are getting shunned for saying things which are transphobic/potentially transphobic which is societies right to do but legally it is actually falling in favour of those who have lost opportunities due to their beliefs

University of Essex apologises to professor over trans-rights cancellation - BBC News

The Tories and their supporters continue to claim that the Liberal Trans Gay Mafia of Wokedom (now including BAME people because the Tories will never give up a chance to be racist) are forcing people to no longer be able to say what is on their mind and are impacting laws etc whilst ignoring that the Tories have had a parliamentary majority for most of their 14 years in power so doesn't stack up
 
I think the difference between tolerance and acceptance is that acceptance is the best option but for some people your best option is going to be tolerance. It's about embracing the pragmatic reality of a situation. Plus tolerance over time often evolves into acceptance, since most change tends to be gradual.

I feel most humans have a duality when it comes to change. People do have a desire for the world to always keep improving and the desire for more human rights is generally what most people want society to be all about. But people at the same time wants the world to always feel safe and familiar as well. Change can be scary if they feel like they don't recognize the world they are now living in. Thus you having contrasting desires that run into each other.

Thus most change comes gradual and over time the change no longer feels like change but instead as the new normal and the young people born post-change never really know about the old world before things changed. So you for example today will have young people who never lived and experienced some of the bigotry that existed even into the 80's and 90's.
 
Last edited:
I'm an absolute believer of the 1st Amendment as it is in the US. And yes, that means some people have the right to say hateful and insensitive things.

But my 2 counters to that is first...others have the right to use their own free speech to counter what they are saying. And second, I want to know who those people are. It's a bit short sighted IMO to curtail that right because you push hateful people into the shadows and you won't know who they are. Let them speak their minds freely so you know exactly who they are.

I get disturbed when some suggest hate speech should be legislated, banned, etc. Ironically that only gives it more power. And in general the noose only gets tighter. It can go from banning hate speech to banning speech you just disagree with, to banning any speech at all.

Personally I want to know who the hateful people are so I know not to hang out with them. And I'm a right of center conservative. I have no place for hateful or disrespectful people, on either/any side.
 
I get disturbed when some suggest hate speech should be legislated, banned, etc. Ironically that only gives it more power. And in general the noose only gets tighter. It can go from banning hate speech to banning speech you just disagree with, to banning any speech at all.

I think it's absolutely insane to "ban" "hate speech". I look at how things can be abused, not necessarily what the intent is. Criminalizing "hate speech" is outrageously dangerous because you've now set a precedent of criminalizing speech... who decides what "hate speech" is? And what stops the government from deciding other things are "hate speech"? What happens when criticism of the government is deemed "hate" speech?

Congratulations, you've turned "it can't happen here" into "it IS happening here".

Good intentions and all that...
 
I think the difference between tolerance and acceptance is that acceptance is the best option but for some people your best option is going to be tolerance. It's about embracing the pragmatic reality of a situation. Plus tolerance over time often evolves into acceptance, since most change tends to be gradual.

I feel most humans have a duality when it comes to change. People do have a desire for the world to always keep improving and the desire for more human rights is generally what most people want society to be all about. But people at the same time wants the world to always feel safe and familiar as well Change can be scary if they feel like they don't recognize the world they are now living in. Thus you having contrasting desires that run into each other.

Thus most change comes gradual and over time the change no longer feels like change but instead as the new normal and the young people born post-change never really know about the old world before things changed. So you for example today will have young people who never lived and experienced some of the bigotry that existed even into the 80's and 90's.

Sometimes tolerance is the best you can hope for. After all we're all human beings with our own minds and own opinions. You'll never get complete agreement on any topic. Sometimes that's a good thing. I'm deeply saddened that compromise seems no longer acceptable in public discourse these days. Some of the best ideas/laws/legislation has come from compromise. I find usually the extremes on both sides are rarely totally right. It's when there's give an take that the best ideas are forged.

And you're right, eventually tolerance usually moves to acceptance. Everything takes time.
 
I'm an absolute believer of the 1st Amendment as it is in the US. And yes, that means some people have the right to say hateful and insensitive things.

But my 2 counters to that is first...others have the right to use their own free speech to counter what they are saying. And second, I want to know who those people are. It's a bit short sighted IMO to curtail that right because you push hateful people into the shadows and you won't know who they are. Let them speak their minds freely so you know exactly who they are.

I get disturbed when some suggest hate speech should be legislated, banned, etc. Ironically that only gives it more power. And in general the noose only gets tighter. It can go from banning hate speech to banning speech you just disagree with, to banning any speech at all.

Personally I want to know who the hateful people are so I know not to hang out with them. And I'm a right of center conservative. I have no place for hateful or disrespectful people, on either/any side.

I worry about that as well. I know I say it a lot but free speech is more than just a law but also a kind of way of life. You want a world that values free expression, even if things people say are things you don't like. What you don't want is people embracing censorship by working around the rules to still stay legal but also still be something that goes against the spirit of the law. Loophole censorship is not a good way to have a society were people overcome their differences and try and work together to get things done.
 
I think it's absolutely insane to "ban" "hate speech". I look at how things can be abused, not necessarily what the intent is. Criminalizing "hate speech" is outrageously dangerous because you've now set a precedent of criminalizing speech... who decides what "hate speech" is? And what stops the government from deciding other things are "hate speech"? What happens when criticism of the government is deemed "hate" speech?

Congratulations, you've turned "it can't happen here" into "it IS happening here".

Good intentions and all that...

Yeah. Some issues are more nebulous. It starts off with obvious hate speech. Things most people would agree is hateful. But the definition of what is hateful becomes wider and wider.

And like I said, I want people to spew their hate. I want to know who they are.
 
I think it's absolutely insane to "ban" "hate speech". I look at how things can be abused, not necessarily what the intent is. Criminalizing "hate speech" is outrageously dangerous because you've now set a precedent of criminalizing speech... who decides what "hate speech" is? And what stops the government from deciding other things are "hate speech"? What happens when criticism of the government is deemed "hate" speech?

Congratulations, you've turned "it can't happen here" into "it IS happening here".

Good intentions and all that...

Free speech will never be banned in America. What is disturbing though is if future generations don't value it then it won't matter. Sometimes ideas and laws exist only on paper and not in the real world if the people don't like them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top