Yes, actually. The networks at the time didn't help, but Roddenberry for all his trying for race and gender was something of a homophobe, which was something that a lot of people working with him sometimes took issue with. And I remember that episode; it's problematic because the NORM is this gender-neutral homosexualish planet, and the fact that one of them wants to be a woman and get with Riker causes BAD THINGS. OMG THE EVIL GENDERQUEER PLANET, essentially.
It approached the issue all backwards, essentially, and played with a sort of hetero paranoia of androgyny and sexuality. It's like fictional Amazonian Matriarchies--they don't exist to show a healthy society run by women, they exist to show men's fears about women-ruled societies.
Alright, I may have written some articles in college about the technological and societal issues of Star Trek, not gonna lie. XD I wish I still had some of them. I've read so much Trek meta it's not even funny. >.>
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Date: 2011-07-07 01:29 am (UTC)Yes, actually. The networks at the time didn't help, but Roddenberry for all his trying for race and gender was something of a homophobe, which was something that a lot of people working with him sometimes took issue with. And I remember that episode; it's problematic because the NORM is this gender-neutral homosexualish planet, and the fact that one of them wants to be a woman and get with Riker causes BAD THINGS. OMG THE EVIL GENDERQUEER PLANET, essentially.
It approached the issue all backwards, essentially, and played with a sort of hetero paranoia of androgyny and sexuality. It's like fictional Amazonian Matriarchies--they don't exist to show a healthy society run by women, they exist to show men's fears about women-ruled societies.
Alright, I may have written some articles in college about the technological and societal issues of Star Trek, not gonna lie. XD I wish I still had some of them. I've read so much Trek meta it's not even funny. >.>