Given the nature of Joining, I think that it's at least likely that any joined Trill is bisexual/pansexual positive, even if they mostly favour either hetero or gay/lesbian (the Jadzia/Lenara suggests that Jadzia is at least open to lesbian relationships, even if she leans hetero most of the time).
Trill and Sexual Orientation in Star Trek
- Thread starter Too Much Fun
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My wife and I actually watched "REJOINED" last night, by coincidence. I suppose in Trill society, there may not even BE a concept of hetero or homosexuality, given their joined nature.
Personally, I thought it was a much more believable love story for Dax than "MERIDIAN"... no surprise, considering Rene Echevarria and Ronald D. Moore did 'REJOINED".
Speaking as a straight man, I thought they tackled the issue at least decently, with the dialogue of Kira being the subtle mouthpiece, with her lines about "If two people are in love, why does it matter to anyone else?"
Given the era it was produced, I think they addressed the issue as best they could. Things are a lot more open now in this day and age, and I sometimes think people, as a whole, are too critical of shows and movies from past decades. I try to look at the surrounding things that go on before I judge a show.
I use the Joker character in the BATMAN movies as an example. Jack Nicholson... I think he played as dark as he was allowed to, given the era it was made. Heath Ledger's performance obviously set an extremely high bar for any future ones... like with the upcoming JOKER with Joaquin Phoenix in the role... but when THE DARK KNIGHT came out, the world was a much darker and scarier place than 1989. 9/11 helped with that in a big way. Because as a society we see dark things happening so much on a daily basis, Heath got to be as he was in that movie, with everyone calling it the best Joker performance ever. I am not really disagreeing with that statement, but I think if things were as dark in 1989, Jack would have played him VERY dark and different, which is why I think it is unfair to judge between Jack and Heath. And the trailer I just saw of JOKER, it looks like Phoenix is going even darker than Ledger. And in these last 10 years, things have gotten even darker, so audiences are more ready for it.
Sorry for the lengthy thought, but my point being is that when DS9 was in production, the general audience may not have been acclimated or ready enough to go full tilt with what I'm sure Ira and the team were trying to do. Not saying it's right, but I am a bit more forgiving of them because of the era.
Personally, I thought it was a much more believable love story for Dax than "MERIDIAN"... no surprise, considering Rene Echevarria and Ronald D. Moore did 'REJOINED".
Speaking as a straight man, I thought they tackled the issue at least decently, with the dialogue of Kira being the subtle mouthpiece, with her lines about "If two people are in love, why does it matter to anyone else?"
Given the era it was produced, I think they addressed the issue as best they could. Things are a lot more open now in this day and age, and I sometimes think people, as a whole, are too critical of shows and movies from past decades. I try to look at the surrounding things that go on before I judge a show.
I use the Joker character in the BATMAN movies as an example. Jack Nicholson... I think he played as dark as he was allowed to, given the era it was made. Heath Ledger's performance obviously set an extremely high bar for any future ones... like with the upcoming JOKER with Joaquin Phoenix in the role... but when THE DARK KNIGHT came out, the world was a much darker and scarier place than 1989. 9/11 helped with that in a big way. Because as a society we see dark things happening so much on a daily basis, Heath got to be as he was in that movie, with everyone calling it the best Joker performance ever. I am not really disagreeing with that statement, but I think if things were as dark in 1989, Jack would have played him VERY dark and different, which is why I think it is unfair to judge between Jack and Heath. And the trailer I just saw of JOKER, it looks like Phoenix is going even darker than Ledger. And in these last 10 years, things have gotten even darker, so audiences are more ready for it.
Sorry for the lengthy thought, but my point being is that when DS9 was in production, the general audience may not have been acclimated or ready enough to go full tilt with what I'm sure Ira and the team were trying to do. Not saying it's right, but I am a bit more forgiving of them because of the era.
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The trill themselves could have started out as a smaller invasive species that developed characteristics that benefited the host over time.
Well I've always imagined the actual symbiot to be without a sex and they reproduce in some other way. For the Trill who bond with them I can only imagine all sense of gender goes out the window. Though the Trill do have gender, Jadzia even seems to especially enjoy switching between being a man and a woman. From her and other Trill's behaviour I think it's clear that men and women are considered different but equal.
But it seems to be that Jadzia especially is performing her gender. This is getting into, like, Judith Butler territory but- she does not seem innately female, but she is aware of her sex and acts as her expected gender accordingly. She is biologically female for now, but internally she identifies with the experiences of men and women. She performs being a woman because it's fun for her, and it's probably what's expected. But I imagine in Trill society, being biologically one gender and acting and living as the opposite gender (or some other form of gender/no gender) is not particularly taboo or unexpected because biological sex is not neccessarily permanently fixed.
How this translates to sexuality? That is so complicated, I don't know.
I would say that Trill feel the sexual orientation of the host body and go with that. But perhaps their different ideas about the nature of sex and gender change this. Maybe they go about their lives without a gendered aspect to their attraction to other people. Maybe the Trill are just attracted to good looking people. I would lean towards some kind of pan/bisexuality being the norm
But it seems to be that Jadzia especially is performing her gender. This is getting into, like, Judith Butler territory but- she does not seem innately female, but she is aware of her sex and acts as her expected gender accordingly. She is biologically female for now, but internally she identifies with the experiences of men and women. She performs being a woman because it's fun for her, and it's probably what's expected. But I imagine in Trill society, being biologically one gender and acting and living as the opposite gender (or some other form of gender/no gender) is not particularly taboo or unexpected because biological sex is not neccessarily permanently fixed.
How this translates to sexuality? That is so complicated, I don't know.
I would say that Trill feel the sexual orientation of the host body and go with that. But perhaps their different ideas about the nature of sex and gender change this. Maybe they go about their lives without a gendered aspect to their attraction to other people. Maybe the Trill are just attracted to good looking people. I would lean towards some kind of pan/bisexuality being the norm
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