In the wake of having canonically gay Sulu and Simon Pegg saying any/all of the Enterprise crew are/can be LGBT+, I’ve seen so much hate tossed around by homophobic people in comment sections on various websites. It’s disgusting.
It doesn’t help that it’s not only so-called “fans” who have railed against the news. Takei made a claim that Roddenberry’s vision involved hetero characters. Admittedly, this is a separate issue entirely with George. His feelings on the topic are definitely valid and I believe they stem from a very difficult life of oppression. I’m mentioning his comment only because people are using his words for their own purpose of enforcing the idea that hetereosexuality is “default”. They don’t care about what George went through or why he has such an opinion. They’ll use anything they can to stomp down and invalidate diversity.
Additionally, David Gerrold took the topic of Sulu’s sexuality as an opportunity to bash anyone who sees a romantic side to K/S. Gerrold has bad blood with the K/S fandom because two fanatics cornered him at a con in the 70′s and were overbearing, homophobic, and rude. That’s unfortunate and I’m sorry it happened to him; however, it’s given him a grudge that he’s carried with him for 40 years. As with George, people take Gerrold’s comments, twist them, and use them in the same way.
All of this negativity can really get to someone. People who have plenty of representation and characters who resemble them in media can’t put themselves in the shoes of those who don’t. They have no idea what it’s like to have no one to relate to and no one who looks like them. They don’t understand why representation is so important. In my experience, they’re also the ones who are the most intolerant to diversity and quickest to lash out with hate.
I just want you all to know that despite all of this gross pushback, Star Trek is something that belongs to everyone. It’s become so much more than just a cult show by inspiring generations of people to be and do better, to follow their dreams, and to have hope for humanity. It’s evolved into its own culture, imprinted values and optimism on people, and reached well beyond its intended audience. It’s a 50 year old phenomenon and while the commercial side is split between two corporations, the spirit of Star Trek belongs to everyone.
You are free to interpret characters as you wish. You are free to relate to them and love them and have them be who you need for validation of your own identity.
Roddenberry believed in the power and beauty of diversity, and he gave it to us in his creation. He was also appreciative and supportive of fanwork. I truly believe that he would agree that characters are always up for individual interpretation and that no interpretation is wrong. What’s wrong is people pushing their own interpretations and views on others, and instead of having intelligent conversation about why they see a character a certain way, they outright slam the door on anyone else who sees that character differently. They use their own opinions to belittle others, to tell them their differences make them wrong or bad, and to completely invalidate their identities.
That’s not what Star Trek is about. And I know it’s hard to believe, but I have faith that it’s not where humanity is going.
If you’re the kind of fan who takes comfort in Sulu being gay, in Jim being pansexual, in Spock being asexual, in Uhura being a lesbian, in poly or strictly platonic relationships, or any other interpretation…if you don’t attack other fans for seeing them differently, I believe you are exactly who Gene wanted as a Trek fan. He would’ve never condoned all this senseless hate. He believed people could and would be better than that.
So, please. I know it’s very hurtful, but don’t let any of this negativity make you think that you’re reading too deeply into something that isn’t there. The show and movies exist for you to interpret as you see them, and anyone who thinks they have the right to police how you can and cannot view them has not only entirely missed the whole point of Star Trek but doesn’t understand Gene’s beautiful vision.
Feeling doubtful? Read these quotes:
source for above, as the original fb post was deleted: [x]
“I think if I had given Kirk and the others what I suspect 23rd century values and morals may actually be, they would have either angered or scared the pants off the average viewer.” - Gene Roddenberry [x]
“Yes, there’s certainly some of that—certainly with love overtones. Deep love. The only difference being, the Greek ideal—we never suggested in the series—physical love between the two. But it’s the—we certainly had the feeling that the affection was sufficient for that, if that were the particular style of the 23rd century.“ - Gene Roddenberry [x]
“If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life’s exciting variety, not something to fear.” - Gene Roddenberry [x]
“Everybody’s welcome. That was the genius of Star Trek for me growing up, was Gene Roddenberry. I was and still am a huge science fiction fan. In Gene’s vision there was a place for me and that meant a lot.” - LeVar Burton [x]
“The point was the diversity of this planet is the strength of this planet. By getting the best of that diversity and working in concert as a team, you can boldly go where no one has gone before.” - George Takei [x]
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