Was Captain Kirk bisexual?

[Cheapjack]

My apologies. I meant queer as in strange.

In addition to the make up, Spock did pull a few expressions that could be misinterpreted, especially in Mudd's Women!

Perhaps people assumed in the 60's, that if you weren't obviously interested in women, or couldn't be manipulated by them, that you must be gay?

It must have been swirling around in the 70's, before the TMP novelisation. Has anyone else seen the blooper reel, where McCoy gives Kirk a peck on the cheek?

 

[T'Girl]

The PTB's failure to firmly establish characters' sexualities except via implication (at least in most cases) leaves viewers free to draw their own conclusions.

Just this. Being bi-sexual isn't just the sex you're having, it also what's going on in your head, both the big one and the little one. Now was Kirk attracted to men in general? Putting Spock briefly to the side, I can't remember anything on screen to support this. Sure you could say that Kirk was using women as a mask, a public social cover to conceal parts of his private life. We're continuing to move towards a sexually accepting society (not there yet), but Human society has moved back and forth on this. Just because the future two and a half centuries from now has advanced technology doesn't mean they're advanced across the board. Kirk's era might be a time of, once again, gay suppression. We did not see the bi part of Kirk perhaps because he doesn't let anyone see it.

If by bi you mean both human and alien women...

As we move out to space and first start having sex with aliens we might have to come up with several new terms.

Nobody here wants to be the first to have alien sex? No one. Okay I'll do it (God why is it always me?)
.

 

[DevilEyes]

I like the bit in ST3, where Kirk says, 'We were seperated, he couldn't touch me'

It's not at all queer, but it's a good line. Very moving.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you meant "queer" as in "strange", and were not using it in a derogatory manner.

The term queer is used in the LGBT community and in gender studies to denote not just homosexuality, but any sexual orientation or gender identity that does not conform to heteronormativity.There is Queer theory and Queer studies.

http://www.queertheory.com/

http://www.google.com/search?q=quee...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...la:en-US:official&q=queer+theory&start=0&sa=N

http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/lgbtqprogs.html

http://www.uic.edu/depts/quic/resources/lgbt_studies.html

 

[Cheapjack]

I didn't mean to cause offence.

It's just such a good line.

_________________

'I take it, the odds are against us, and the situation looks grim?'

'Something like that'

'Sounds like fun!!'

 

[Alidar Jarok]

When asked about Captain Kirk and Mister Spock's relationship, Dr. McCoy replied: "From my observations, it seems they're bisexual, reproducing at will. And, brother, have they got a lot of will."

Damnit, beat me to it.

Guys, please don't take this thread seriously. That can only lead to bad things.

 

[barnaclelapse]

No, although the way Star Trek works (especially the early stuff) I suppose it's possible to interpret certain character motivations and actions any way you want.

 

[SpyOne]

I believe the origin of such notions can be traced to slash fiction.

I recall seeing an interview where a man talked about the reasons for the popularity of certain types of slash fiction (it may have been in the movie Trekkies), and he said that basically women who are attracted to a (male) fictional character may feel threatened by seeing that character paired with a woman. They compare themselves to the female character, and worry that said character offers something they cannot.
However, if that male character is paired with a male character, they realize both that said character offers something they can't AND that they offer something he cannot.
Add to that the bonus of selling to fans of either male character involved, and you get gay slash fiction being more popular than straight slash fiction. And Kirk/Spock being one of the most popular couples in Star Trek.

 

[Misfit Toy]

I like the bit in ST3, where Kirk says, 'We were seperated, he couldn't touch me'

It's not at all queer, but it's a good line. Very moving.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you meant "queer" as in "strange", and were not using it in a derogatory manner.

The term queer is used in the LGBT community and in gender studies to denote not just homosexuality, but any sexual orientation or gender identity that does not conform to heteronormativity.There is Queer theory and Queer studies.

http://www.queertheory.com/

http://www.google.com/search?q=quee...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...la:en-US:official&q=queer+theory&start=0&sa=N

http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/lgbtqprogs.html

http://www.uic.edu/depts/quic/resources/lgbt_studies.html

All that is fine - however, if it is used in a derogatory manner, it will be warned. Cheapjack has indicated that he did not intend it as such, and that settles it as far as I am concerned.

 

[Vonstadt]

*chuckles* Yes, there is no evidence of it at all. Leaves it up to the imagination of Fluff and Slash writers I would guess. Just fans having fun and being imaginative.

In my opinion its a no however.

Vons

 

[doubleohfive]

Man! Nine years later and this place is *still* chock-full of closed-minded nerds. Way to curb the stereotype!

Personally, I never considered the possibility of Kirk being bisexual, but considering Gene Roddenberry's extraordinarily liberal views on sex and sexuality, I suppose it wouldn't surprise me if Kirk were.

Here's a more racy question, one probably a lot of you won't answer honestly: would it really make *that* big of a difference to you if Kirk were, in fact, bisexual?

 

[DonIago]

It would be a lot of fun for me and my friends if it was depicted (please oh please let it be Pine and not Shatner!), but otherwise...no.

 

[T'Girl]

Leaves it up to the imagination of Fluff and Slash writers ...

Know what slash is of course, but what is "Fluff" please?

Here's a more racy question, one probably a lot of you won't answer honestly: would it really make *that* big of a difference to you if Kirk were, in fact, bisexual?

Yes, it would add a new level of nuance to the character and if he is bi-sexual like me it would allow me to more closely identify with my favorite captain.

 

[DonIago]

Hm. Actually, if they did it via new material, then I agree with the above regarding closer identification with the character (and I wouldn't mind seeing just how close I could get (waggles eyebrows)).
If it was just a sudden "Oh, it turns out Kirk was bi all along," then it wouldn't really change anything for me. Kind of like finding out Dumbledore was gay -after- reading all of the books. "Too little, too late" isn't entirely accurate, but it's in the ballpark.
Put another way, show, don't tell.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Man! Nine years later and this place is *still* chock-full of closed-minded nerds. Way to curb the stereotype!

Personally, I never considered the possibility of Kirk being bisexual, but considering Gene Roddenberry's extraordinarily liberal views on sex and sexuality, I suppose it wouldn't surprise me if Kirk were.

Here's a more racy question, one probably a lot of you won't answer honestly: would it really make *that* big of a difference to you if Kirk were, in fact, bisexual?

Depends on context. If he were reimagined to be bisexual, it would bother me. If he was shown to unambiguously be bisexual in the original show, it would obviously be historically noteworthy. If he were a new character that was bisexual, it wouldn't bother me. Jack Harkness from Torchwood is bisexual and that doesn't bother me at all. In many ways, I see similarities between the two characters even if the circumstances are entirely different.

 

[DonIago]

I just saw a couple of episodes of Torchwood for the first time (the two James Marsters eps) and Harkness seemed like a British Malcolm Reynolds to me.

 

[doubleohfive]

^ I'm sure that has nothing to do with his wardrobe or weapon of choice.

 

[Cheapjack]

What about McCoy, with his eye-liner, in Galileo Seven?

Did they have a threesome?

 

[22 Stars]

I hate when people say there is no evidence 'either way'. That's just wrong, there are an abundance of examples (not just evidence) that he was a straight, heterosexual man, and zero examples of him being bisexual.

Friends, that equals NO examples and 'evidence' of him being bisexual.

A character like Capt. Jack Harkness is written and portrayed as being omni-sexual. The same cannot be said for Kirk, he is a straight male character who has always been written and portrayed as such.

 

[DonIago]

That we don't have evidence of him being bisexual doesn't mean he wasn't bisexual.

Now, if you could cite even one example of a man hitting on him and Kirk turning the guy down (particularly if he said something to the effect of, "Thanks, but I don't swing that way.") that would greatly strengthen your case.

Really, how can anyone here claim they -know- someone else's orientation anyway? The most credible evidence you'd have would be someone claiming "I'm bisexual", and even then, they could be lying (heck, they could even be lying to themselves).

I just don't understand what thought process leads people to make these kinds of assumptions.

Let's look at another question-
Was Doctor Bashir genetically engineered?
Well, no, he wasn't, obviously...I mean, look at how inept he was with women, how he couldn't win at darts, how clumsy he was...
...oh wait...

Evidence is not and should never be confused with proof.

 

[doubleohfive]

I think it would be a fascinating experiment to simply re-watch the original series through the critical prism that Kirk was in fact bisexual. What kinds of new and interesting interpretations of the character would we come to? Would they be any different from the perceptions we have of the character now? How would he 'change,' as a character and as an icon?