• 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!

En-Gay-ify a character.

Arpy

Arpy

Vice Admiral
Admiral
I wish I could say gay/straight-ify a character but Trek's had no gay characters to en-straight-ify.

My initial thought was to pick a character who had little to do so as to save them from their lackluster fate. But then I thought, no, I'll leave that shame on TPTB for not doing a better job with them in the first place. ...A character's sexuality is but one aspect of them, and shame on the writer who leaves a character so underdeveloped.

My choice: Sisko. :eek:, right? But, no, here's why: it's bad enough that the Emissary of the Prophets is a) a non-Bajoran foreigner, and b) a godless Federation heathen, but c) a homosexual too?! Fuggedaboudit.

Yeah, yeah, we don't know how Bajoran feel about homosexuality, but come on, fuggedaboudit. There could have been a whole slew of vedeks calling him the anti-Emissary, or Herald of the Pah-Wraiths. There could have been friction with other contenders for the position of Emissary...a well-meaning vedek, a deranged Tzenkethi, or a slick Cardassian.
 
^ Wasn't the behind the scenes explanation for why there was never a homosexual character on Trek that humanity had evolved above prejudices against people for sexual preference?
 
Orcus said:
"En-Gay-ify a character."? Why...?
Click to expand...

Why not? Just roll with it and pick a character and explain why them. Or move on to another thread.

Uhura and Rand, eh? Maybe Uhura in that yellow uniform she first appeared in and Piper from "The Cage". As Sulu would say, Oh my...

Tasha? Nah, too obvious. She should have gotten it on with Worf in season two or three of TNG if Denise Crosby stayed on the show. They could have power-fu...er...coupled. Then again, neither Riker/Troi nor Picard/Crusher ever did get off the ground during the series run. But, hey, Tasha got it on with Data, so who knows?

...That dress from "The Naked Now" boy... One of the things that was great about TNG was their take on cleavage. Seriously. That was the first time I saw the bottom of a woman's boobs on TV and Lursa and B'tor the first time I saw sides.
 
Last edited:
nx1701g said:
^ Wasn't the behind the scenes explanation for why there was never a homosexual character on Trek that humanity had evolved above prejudices against people for sexual preference?
Click to expand...
...if they had evolved to that point, why were they afraid to show them in public (or private). That sounds like a cop out.
 
Ye've never heard of K/S eh?

other than that; Harry Kim of Voyager - it would add depth to an otherwise underutilized character who I liked and wanted to see more of.
 
oldstredshrtevr said:
Ye've never heard of K/S eh?

other than that; Harry Kim of Voyager - it would add depth to an otherwise underutilized character who I liked and wanted to see more of.
Click to expand...

This is revealing of two things. If homosexuality and heterosexuality are equal in all but the obvious ways, now and in the 24th Century, why would being gay add any more depth to a character than being straight?

Also, it shows to the extent that Kim was a pathetic character. I don't mean that in a hostile way, more a lamenting one. If the only way to make this guy interesting is to have him dig dudes...
 
Matt4511 said:
oldstredshrtevr said:
Ye've never heard of K/S eh?

other than that; Harry Kim of Voyager - it would add depth to an otherwise underutilized character who I liked and wanted to see more of.
Click to expand...

This is revealing of two things. If homosexuality and heterosexuality are equal in all but the obvious ways, now and in the 24th Century, why would being gay add any more depth to a character than being straight?
Click to expand...

It's the forbidden love thing. Engayifying them in slash is not usually about presenting a regular old relationship but about lust given into, friendships crossing boundaries, positions of superiors and subordinates (in the Starfleet sense) taking on a sexual nature that reflects or reverses that position. And on and on.. it's really a whole 'nother ball of wax from just having two gay characters in a relationship.

As to Harry Kim, most slashy ep is The Chute. Best character development ep is Timeless.. they could have done a lot with this character as you can see in Timeless. I'm very fond of him because of all this potential, lol.
 
NickInABox said:
Tasha Yar.

Bull dyke, bar none.
Click to expand...

Well played, sir. No wonder she told Data "it never happened"...

NickInABox said:
Geckothan said:
Uhura :cool:
Click to expand...

And rape my childhood and any dwindling thread of heterosexuality I have left in me?
Naaaaaaw
Click to expand...

And, even I'm straight enough to find Uhura attractive, so I'll agree with Nickinabox on that one too.

NickInABox said:
Now Lursa and B'etor.

I can see some weird sexual energy going on between those two with... anyone.
Click to expand...

Even with each other? Oh wait, this isn't the Ultimates and they aren't Wanda and Pietro. Sorry. :p

The obvious choices are this:

oldstredshrtevr said:
other than that; Harry Kim of Voyager - it would add depth to an otherwise underutilized character who I liked and wanted to see more of.
Click to expand...

...and this:

KingstonTrekker said:
Travis Mayweather....

Anthony Montgomery is one HOT man! :)
Click to expand...

Anyone else remember the rumor that Reed was going to be gay?

I don't think 'en-gay-ifying' an underused character is necessarily the best way to add some diversity and interest on the part of the gay audience, because having a token gay character is almost worse than having none at all, right? I think to a degree the latter couple of series were a little bit guilty of having token characters in this way. I can almost see the production meetings: "Well, the captain's a woman... we need a black character. We haven't had a black Vulcan yet have we? And we haven't had an Asian in a while..."

Come up with an interesting character, who happens to be gay. Then you got something.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top