This is the TOS board so the vision of Vulcans is that from TOS - not the revisionist Vulcans that appeared after the series ended, no doubt due to many of the writers (usually female) who focus on feelings when they write.
In another thread I've stated my opinion and backed it up with literature of the era that Vulcans in TOS were not these "highly emotional, feminine, deep feeling creatures keeping it all inside". That was a revisionist view probably resulting from the ST novel era when many writers simply could not do anything but describe a character's feelings.
Reply #147, 148 and 149 under this thread:
http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=118209&page=10
TOS Vulcans had supposed evolved beyond their passions into LESS passionate and emotional creatures that humans were. TOS Vulcans were cold, mysterious and logical. They didn't have to "struggle for control" - it was in their nature to be highly rational and logical, with little emotional input to their behavior. That was the beauty of Spock. Because he had a human mother, he had inherited emotions of human -- more powerful than those of his pure-bred Vulcan father and entire race. So, when he chose to follow the Vulcan way over the emotional human way, it was a dramatic, tough struggle for him, and it effected the audience in a powerful, unique fashion. Spock was alone with his struggle - the entire planet of Vulcans were NOT dysfunctional, nor could they relate to Human emotions. Pure bred Vulcans were really logical and rational by nature - not just faking their unemotionality.
Spock chose the Vulcan route because he thinks it is the best way and strives to be like the pure-bred Vulcans (notice his mother also thinks the Vulcan way is better). He is ashamed that his humans half has given him human'like emotions and fights this, denies the emotions, deludes himself and others - it's a fascinating struggle in the TOS era. He views behavior influenced by emotions as bad. He doesn't want to resolve the conflict - he wants to be emotionless. He respects the Vulcan way and wishes he could be more like one.
Many seem to want emotional-repressed Vulcans and romantic Vulcans. They do not appeal to me, because their "differentness" from the rest of the species we see in Trek has been lost. If we do not like nuTrek and the romancing of Spock.. it is not because we don't see it in the TOS episodes. It is because it violates the characterization of TOS Spock - and with it much of the cerebralness and the emotionless, logical perspective he brought to it.
Which writers are these? I would like a list, please. I am very curious to know why you chose to emphasize the writers' gender, of all things. I don't know which female writers are those supposed to be, but what I do know is that the writer who was crucial in writing Spock and Vulcans in TOS was female (D.C. Fontana). It's interesting that you don't mention that fact. So, does she fall into your despised group of female writers who are too emotional? But she wrote for TOS, so that would go against your claim that Vulcans were not written as emotional in TOS?
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