I'm really getting tired of all of these threads about how much people hate this group or that group being in Trek Lit, so I've decided to start my own thread so I can that I love the fact that we've got homosexual, muslim, and jewish characters , and female captains in Trek Lit. Diveristy has always been a big part of the franchise, and to be quite honest I think Trek Lit has done a better job of it than any of the later shows did. So to the authors all I can say is that I love what you're doing, and to keep up the good work.
Oh, and one other things that's bugged me is all of the people wanting more white Christian heterosexual male heroes in Trek Lit. I'm sorry, we've already got plenty of those in other franchises, it's time to let other groups get some attention too.
Maybe I don't pay enough attention around here, but is that something people have actively been asking for?
We need a series with a completly alien captain being in charge of the ship. I mean someone who does not look like a human.
I wouldn't say they should get more attention, but I also think that there's no need to take away attention. I think that the TrekLit lines are large enough, with a large enough range of characters, that many different demographics can get their time in the spotlight, white heterosexual Christian males included. I would be nice to have a Star Trek series where the main character isn't another Human.
Very well said Sci! As for the rest, I do agree with the OP. I still can't for the life of me understand how some people claim to be fans of Star Trek, a show that promoted respect and kindness amongst our fellow humans, but then go on raving about hatred towards others. Completely missing the point.
Well, we have had non-human captains - Kira, Dax, Ro, Calhoun, Solok, etc - but you're right that they are all basically humans with a bit of make-up on. We've heard about slightly more alien captains - Benzite, Andorian, Saurian, a few others - but I don't think we've ever really spent all that much time with them. And as for a completely non-humanoid Captain, I can't remember any off hand. I am reminded of that part in The Red King where the Neyel guy says, "Yeah, you've got a ship full of aliens here. But the guys in charge are still either humans or aliens who are basically indistinguishable from humans." .
Hear hear! The all-inclusiveness spirit is what sets Star Trek apart from other science fiction, and a big part of what makes it so special to me.
I seem to remember somebody lobbying for an all-male crew a while back . . . and not for slash purposes!
Heh. One of the many things that I like about Gell Kamemor, apart from her being the first non-megalomaniacal praetor with a likelihood of surviving any length of time in decades, is the fact that her past relationship with another woman is a matter of public knowledge and no one cares. I like.
Why should they be excluded from a society that supposedly embraces ALL diversity? To exclude "traditional values" and WASP characters would be hypocritical.
Nobody said anything about "excluding." The point is that there are already plenty of those included along with everyone else, so there's no sense in claiming they're somehow not represented. Indeed, white heterosexual males are greatly overrepresented in Trek compared to the real demographics of the human race, just as they are in most television series, so it's downright ridiculous to claim that there aren't enough of them.
^Yes, this is what I meant. I don't think we should exclude anyone, I just don't think it's worth complaining about how few of them there are, when a lot of characters, both in Trek and other franchises, are white, hetero males.
My feeling is that in the 24th century UFP race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, etc would be non issues so Trek should show these diverse individuals working together but not call attention to their diferences. Even in TOS, there was no mention of the black, asian, or Russian individuals on the bridge. They were just there and no issue was made of it. When Kirk and Uhura kissed it was shocking to viewers but the race factor was a non-issue to the characters. I didn't like how Sisko made a big deal about race in DS9 because he never knew a world where color was an issue. Sure those visions from 1930s Earth impacted him but I felt they played up the race issue too much afterwards. I love the diversity and unity in Titan; it is one of the best things about that series. However, I do find it odd that the diversity of that crew is so out of the ordinary in that time period. And I would like to add my voice to praising the authors for making Trek characters as diverse as they have. The novels have really captured the spirit of unity and inclusiveness far more than tv ever did or perhaps could. It is refreshing and often makes me re-evaluate my feelings on certain issues.
Especially since we've already got PIke, Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Picard, Riker, O'Brien, Paris, Archer, Trip, and that British guy on Enterprise whose name I just can't come up with right now . . . .