Seven of Nine: Female Empowerment or Sex Icon?

[Good Will Riker]

Although I found Jeri Ryan to be a capable actress who could hold her own with the rest of the cast, we know the real reason why she was brought onto the show.

That being said, I thought she was a fabulous actress and a hot beauty to look at.

 

[smeos]

She took over the show. If I want boobs, I'll watch porn.

Not a bad character, but just too much of her. So I'll go with neither.

 

[shatastrophic]

Sex icon

 

[Huntingdon]

I'm not quite sure why anyone would say she represented female empowerment?

She became a limited sex icon in the minds of the public, and that's a major part of why she was brought on board. The fact that she was an excellent actress was a lucky chance.

 

[Deckerd]

She was just put there to make us ordinary women feel inadequate.

 

[mr.peany]

^And your avatar is just for show I take it...lol

 

[Deckerd]

It's hunk week. Didn't you know?

 

[Hermiod]

It's hunk week. Didn't you know?

So ?

Us guys can see that Daniel Craig, for instance, wandered around in tiny shorts in Casino Royale for the benefit of the female audience AND still like his version of James Bond.

Why can't Jeri Ryan be a sex symbol and a strong female character at the same time ?

 

[Deckerd]

Do you think my comment was made in earnest? If so, what possible insult could you take from it even then?

 

[Hermiod]

Do you think my comment was made in earnest? If so, what possible insult could you take from it even then?

Your original comment about Jeri Ryan only being cast to make women feel inadequate was meant in jest, then ?

 

[Deckerd]

I can't imagine how it could be construed any other way, frankly.

 

[Hermiod]

I can't imagine how it could be construed any other way, frankly.

It's a view I've seen expressed often on here. Not just about Jeri Ryan but any attractive female cast in a television show.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

I actually read a "Gender Studies" paper on Star Trek once, in which Seven was mentioned as a positive feminist example or something like that... well, "the women of Star Trek: Voyager" (Janeway, B'Elanna, Seven) as a whole were discussed there with this perspective in mind, but since Seven was mentioned as one of them I'll go with the "Both" option here.

Of course, the original intent of casting Jeri Ryan as Seven was the mere creation of a sex symbol. The way the character was written (and the way it was played by Ryan) turned it into a "strong female character".

 

[Deckerd]

I can't imagine how it could be construed any other way, frankly.

It's a view I've seen expressed often on here. Not just about Jeri Ryan but any attractive female cast in a television show.

And it's never in jest? I still don't know why this would upset you, even if it were the case.

 

[Hermiod]

And it's never in jest?

Sometime it is, sometimes it isn't.

I still don't know why this would upset you, even if it were the case.

It doesn't upset me, but when it's reversed nobody complains. Nobody suggests that Jamie Bamber or Tahmoh Penikett can't act and their characters can't be interesting, strong characters just because they're good looking.

 

[Deckerd]

It doesn't upset me, but when it's reversed nobody complains. Nobody suggests that Jamie Bamber or Tahmoh Penikett can't act and their characters can't be interesting, strong characters just because they're good looking.

eh?

 

[Hermiod]

It doesn't upset me, but when it's reversed nobody complains. Nobody suggests that Jamie Bamber or Tahmoh Penikett can't act and their characters can't be interesting, strong characters just because they're good looking.

eh?

Even in jest, you suggested that Jeri Ryan had only been cast because of her looks.

I could counter that many, many male actors, especially in the Science Fiction genre, are now being cast because of theirs. I do not.

 

[Deckerd]

I refer you to the wording of the OP. That's precisely what this thread's about.

 

[Hermiod]

I refer you to the wording of the OP. That's precisely what this thread's about.

And the OP is wrong too.

 

[Deckerd]

What about all the subsequent posters who said 'sex icon'?