Re: 'Sigh'...A feminist review of Star Trek XII
I don't understand why the mini-skirt is a sticking point. Yes, it prevents the wearer from doing high kicks if she's hung up on not flashing her underwear (unless she's wearing cheerleader pants under it, which isn't that improbable). And this Uhura didn't seem at all bothered by appearing in her skivvies in front of someone, so I doubt that she would hesitate to do anything necessary just because "Oh my gawd, someone might see my underwear!" I just don't see this Uhura as a generic high-kicking action girl anyway (and the writers would have to be retarded to make her one just for fanservice or placating "feminists").
Frankly, for shipboard duty there's no truly practical style of uniform. If you wear an armored hardsuit to protect you from the exploding instrumentation or decompression, it's uncomfortable, confining, and limits mobility far more than a miniskirt ever could. If you wear anything other than an armored hardsuit, you risk all sorts of painful bodily harm (burns, shrapnel, lacerations) when the shit hits the fan every other episode. A pair of pants is not going to protect you from hot flying metal -- and they may make the situation worse by catching fire or melting into the wound.
The uniforms were purely a throwback to the originals and they work because there's no good answer to the problem. If a starship can be thrust into combat with no warning, then there's nothing you can do except either wear armor 24/7 or make sure your crew compartments are suitably hardened and wear whatever's comfortable and looks good otherwise.
I don't understand why the mini-skirt is a sticking point. Yes, it prevents the wearer from doing high kicks if she's hung up on not flashing her underwear (unless she's wearing cheerleader pants under it, which isn't that improbable). And this Uhura didn't seem at all bothered by appearing in her skivvies in front of someone, so I doubt that she would hesitate to do anything necessary just because "Oh my gawd, someone might see my underwear!" I just don't see this Uhura as a generic high-kicking action girl anyway (and the writers would have to be retarded to make her one just for fanservice or placating "feminists").
Frankly, for shipboard duty there's no truly practical style of uniform. If you wear an armored hardsuit to protect you from the exploding instrumentation or decompression, it's uncomfortable, confining, and limits mobility far more than a miniskirt ever could. If you wear anything other than an armored hardsuit, you risk all sorts of painful bodily harm (burns, shrapnel, lacerations) when the shit hits the fan every other episode. A pair of pants is not going to protect you from hot flying metal -- and they may make the situation worse by catching fire or melting into the wound.
The uniforms were purely a throwback to the originals and they work because there's no good answer to the problem. If a starship can be thrust into combat with no warning, then there's nothing you can do except either wear armor 24/7 or make sure your crew compartments are suitably hardened and wear whatever's comfortable and looks good otherwise.
-- even though you like that sort of thing...that will still be your punishment! 
