So if you read io9, or scour the internet like an insane fiend, you might have seen this article. It’s about Zoe Saldana’s Uhura character in the upcoming Start Trek: 2 Fast 2 Furious sequel and the rest of the female crew mates finally getting long sleeves on their uniforms to match the Original Series costuming. Also, apparently, we needed to know how “sexist” the movies and shows were (and are) because of their miniskirts.
Yeah, the reboot movies were actually more sexist in their uniforms than the show from the ‘60s was. Shocking. Now, if only the length made any sort of practical sense.
Besides how unbelievably thin-skinned my generation seems to be about every annoying little thing, this little jab bothers me for a myriad of other reasons. Let’s begin.
Star Trek was, and still is, the most forward-thinking television show that ever existed. It foresaw pretty much every new piece of technology that has since become part of our culture. I’m making a personal list myself, and here are a few:
* Replicator (3D printers)
* Communicator (smart phones)
* Hypospray (needle-less injections)
* Tricorder (wireless portable health scanners)
* Space Station
* Transporter (we’ve successfully performed experiments on a quantum level)
* Video Conferencing (Skype, FaceTime)
* Universal Translator (Skype)
* Computer speech recognition (Siri, Hound)
* Portable memory cards (SD cards, flash drives)
* Cloaking (successful implementation)
* Transparent aluminum (it’s a thing!)
* Holograms (Coachella)
* Physical implants (still pretty gross)
It’s actually amazing how right Roddenbury was about the future, from all the way back in the 60’s. Women also played an incredibly-important role for their time. Military personnel didn’t include women back then, and no one ever thought they would. It’s also the first TV show to feature an interracial kiss, and Kirk regularly made it with females from alien species (a big deal in a culture still recovering from Jim Crow laws).
After the Original Series, Star Trek: Next Generation explored what it means to be human (Data the android was constantly curious), what it means to be mortal (Q constantly put their lives in danger for morality pop-quizzes), and what it means to be caught in a time loop (how many times did the holodeck malfunction?). The diverse cast and 7 seasons meant the writers could experiment with every character and every social dilemma America experienced during that time. Again, constantly forward-thinking.
The following shows (Deep Space Nine and Voyager) took it to new levels. DS9 had a black captain and dealt with more racial plots, and Voyager had captain Janeway and delved into the lives of the female crew members and their roles among a still male-dominant society.
Even Enterprise, the Jonathan Archer series with massive amounts of (purposeful) current racial and sexist ideals still had an episode about the physical rights of a specific non-specific gender, and how we should interact with them. Mind you, this was before “transgender”, “confused”, “curious”, and “I identify as a potato-salad” became known cultural issues.
Star Trek has always been forward-thinking, relevant, and eager to break the mold before anyone else. It was never a safe show (okay, NextGen kinda was), and it’s why we still discuss its values after 50 years.
So why on earth (or the universe) would Katharine write an article about the women’s uniforms, and then throw in some snarky remarks about sexism?
I’ll tell you: Because she’s going after women readers.
Which, besides being sexist in itself, is also self-defeating. If women want to read the articles, they will, because they’re interesting or relevant. Putting crap like this into every article about women makes women sound annoying. It’s also off-putting: I’m not sexist, but now I have to believe I am for liking the uniforms, because a girl told me they’re sexist.
How about this: back in the first half of the 1900’s, it was freeing for women to wear short clothing, because sexist men had made them cover everything in long dresses. Hell, a woman invented the miniskirt! Why would Katharine say that a 60’s fad and cultural turning point for women everywhere was sexist? Shouldn’t we be celebrating for them?
No, because apparently, nobody reads or understands history anymore.
If every culture in the world held the exact same principles and beliefs of equality that we currently strive for, we would literally be living in Star Trek, because that’s the premise of the show. Anyone who has watched and enjoyed Star Trek actually cares about civil rights, because the shows constantly taught us to. I would want to raise my own children with the same beliefs that Star Trek taught me.
So Katharine, while I appreciate your keen eye on current events, your enjoyment of the latest Star Trek movie news and behind the scenes photos from cast members, and the news and opinions of website you write for, please remember that your readers aren’t babies. We don’t want drivel and thoughtless pandering. If you’re going to write an article about something, keep it on point. There’s a place on Gizmodo for you insert your opinions, and I’m not reading that section for a reason.
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