Racism/Sexism in Star Trek?

[cmdrFelix]

Someone pointed this out to me and I though it was funny.

5 star trek shows, the 3 white, male captains get the pride of the fleet, the Enterprise.

The one Black Captain (who wasn't even a captain for half the show) gets a run down piece of crap station (the Ghetto? ) on the edge of a warzone.

The one female captain gets a dinky little ship and gets flung across the galaxy to Borg territory.

Also I noticed something with the Romulans and Klingons. All romulans are White, smart, and arrogant, where all klingons are black, pretty dumb, and mindlessly violent. And both of the groups hate each other.

The question is, Coincidence?

[lionhead]

The vulcans from TOS where a bit more oriental then white.

also yuo must not forget that in every series at least 1 black, 1 white, 1 asian and 1 alien got a mayor part on the ship. Sometimes combinations where made.

Its definitly not coincidence, its deliberately made as non-racist as possible

[Lynx]

Oh, come on! If there's any show which isn't racist in any way, then it is Star Trek.

The show itself preaches tolerance, understanding and cooperation between all living species.

And we have seen all the different races and peole in different roles in the series.

Please don't call the Kligons dumb. They are a proud people.

As for the captains, the female captain and the black captain definitely had the most different tasks of them all and they did an excellent work. Maybe they were put where they were because of skill?

[Theresa]

Compared to the Romulans, Vulcans, etc..., I could see how the Klingons, especially in TOS, could come across as dumb.
And since CmdrFelix was talking about the primary characters, not guests, he does have a valid point. Whether or not it's correct, however, is another story. Besides, he didn't even say it was his theory.
Prozac is fun.

[TrekkieMage]

I think Trek did a great job of making a great attempt at *not* being racist. The problem is that racism runs very deep, and especially in the 60s and 70s it would have been virtually impossible to elimate all racism from the show.

[La Forge]

Well, I'll admit, TOS certainly seemed...sexist, at times, however, it was the '60s. Remember the short skirts and the countless women throwing themselves at Kirk's feet?

However, TOS broke down some racial and sexist barriers, as well. Uhura, a black woman, was an important officer on the Enterprise.

TNG and the rest were fine, in my opinion. DS9 addressed the issue of racism on several occasions, including the excellent episode "Far Beyond the Stars".

While I can see where you are coming from with the whole Romulan/Klingon thing, however, I don't think that is an allegory for anything. Perhaps in TOS you got that vibe, however, in the later Treks, things changed. The Klingons were depicted in a more prominent roles in the other STs, particularly TNG and DS9. It showed what the Klingons were really about, which weren't blood-thirsty idiots. Also, it depicted the Romulans as treacherous. In any case, I suppose it is a matter of perspective.

Anyways, that's my two cents.

[robbiewebster]

I don't think that anything about Star Trek was intentionally racist. You could probably say the same thing about anything if you analyze it enough.

[Puck]

If you cherry pick stats, you can make anything look however you want. It's not racist or sexist though. A Native American was given a high command position. A woman was captain and then went to admiral. A woman controls the borg. African Americans play high ranking positions. A white man, Tom Paris, has a criminal background. Looks diverse enough to me.

[JupiterPrime]

someone once made a joke with regards to how Trek was the best in the attempt to abolish racism, when they said...

"In Gene's attempt to show that we eventually get beyond racism, he decided to let an oriental drive a spaceship carrying over 400 people"

[Arellia]

We never had a mexican guy though. Makes me sad. It would've been fun. Did have some minor mexicans around though, didn't we?

I think considering the time period of TOS, it was a huge step to going against racism. As shows go, Star Trek is one of the most accepting of races, sexes and cultures.

[GMalenko]

Actually, if you were to look at the Next Generation you can defintly see racism there. Fir example, look at the Klingons. They are portrayed as the the race of people who would always jump into a fight without thinking. They are also primarily black actors (there have been a few exceptions). The Federation is about abolishing racism, but you can see underlying tones throughout the show.

[StarfleetCommand74656]

I see the sexism bit of it.
Alot of the female characters all have to wear short skirts/ catsuits, etc.. Great for us to look at, but just a little bit sexist, I think.

[JupiterPrime]

This....



...must have been a prelude

[Andi McDougal]

Another one of my coworkers pointed this one out to me:

They finally make a Star Trek with a female captain, but give her ship the name of a mini-van.

Does that make Janeyway a soccer mom or is that sexist? lol

[Republican_Man]

[La Forge]

Hey, good one, RM. Now that I think about it "U.S.S. Odyssey" would've been a far better name for the VOY. Y'know...with Homer's "Odyssey" and everything. But, that's a different subject entirely and I doubt that had anything with what you were trying to say.

[Andi McDougal]

I think I'd still be asking that question. lol

[squiggy]

I've got a really good question!!
Isn't it sad that all of us have nothing better to do then try to find racism in a clearly non-racist television show((Perhaps one of two..maybe three out there))?

[Lord Borg]

Well....this disturbs me, not the topic, but that people are looking at ship names and saying such things like "VOyager is the name of a Minivan! Sexist!". Well, think in terms of the shows idea, a Voyage home....right, works for me.... Not to mention, the name Odyssey was already used by the writers of DS9.

As for racism and sexism? Sure, I'm sure it exsist somplaces, but not as evident or as clear as many people seem to be pointing out. (The ship name for instance).

As for women in mini skirts/catsuits? Well, maybe you could be right there, I'd doubt it though, again I'd say your reading to much into this sort of thing. women wear those things, how often do men do?

As for the Klingons...they are a warrior race, since the days of TOS, what they have done, and what to do, is fight.

[Valathous]

Did it ever occur to you that an "Intrepid" or "Enterprise" are also car names? Enterprise is also a car rental place. Do Jean Luc and Kirk need to return them after a week? Do they come with insurance?

It would seem your argument is... illogical.

Are they calling Romans paranoid and backstabbing ( Well... Poor Julius Caesar. Silly Brutus) because the aliens that take the names of the founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus? Follows your same pattern of thought, really.

[La Forge]

I wasn't agreeing with the mini-van thing. I'm just saying that "Odyssey" would've been a cooler name for "Voyager" but "Voyager" works just as well.

On topic, no, I don't think Star Trek was racist/sexist. However, the topic material should have dealt with those matters. Rival science-fiction show Babylon 5 dealt with those types of issues on a regular basis. The show wasn't racist/sexist. It dealt with those themes. I don't think Star Trek is racist/sexist. I think that it should've dealt with those themes more often (one that comes to mind is the fantastic episode of DS9 "Far Beyond the Stars").

One problem that I and many other people have with the ST universe is the fact that humans are all goody two-shoes. Riiiiight. I believe in evolution, but, humans are never going to become all good like that. I just don't believe it. There will always be that one guy who is bad. Always. DS9 worked in themes of corruption and bad within the Federation a few times, but, besides DS9 and an episode or two of TNG/ENT, you don't really see it again. B5, on the other hand, CONSTANTLY dealt with the issues, and I'm only talking about the first season here. Home Guard (an anti-alien group similar to the KKK), assassinations, seedy organizations, HUMAN crime syndacites, etc, etc. etc. The list goes on. I recently watched an interview with the creator of B5 who said that the humans of the future will not be so unlike us and will have the same kinds of problems. Whether we like it or not, racism/sexism will never go away. I don't think it will. Yes, both are bad. I don't support either. But, there will always be ignorant and bigoted people who will.

Back to the shows themselves actually being racist/sexist, no, I don't that either. With the mini-skirts and stuff from TOS. It was the style at the time. Crazy wild '60s or so I hear. The Klingons? That's not a racial thing. Yeah. A lot of the Klingons were black actors. So? Yes, in TOS, the Klingons were enemies. That doesn't make it racist. In TNG/DS9/VOY, you have Klingons as regular characters. Worf, for example, was a wonderfully developed character and was clearly a "good guy".

My final answer, Regis, is no on the racism/sexism. The ST shows were not racist/sexist, but, I say again, should have dealt with those themes more often in the shows context. Those problems are never going away. Not even in 2370.

[Omok]

[Founder]

Alright, let's be honest here....anyone that thinks Star Trek is racist/sexist is...not the brightest star in the galaxy. This show was controversial in the past because it BROKE racial boundaries. It defied a nation and had a white man and black woman kiss on tv. It had a Russian, during the era of the Cold War, as a bridge officer. A Japanese man helming the ship, during a time period when some were still bitter towards the Japanese because of Pearl Harbor(Even though it occured like 20 years earlier). Trek was always about equality and being PC.

I believe Whoopi Goldberg(Guinan) once said, as she watched an episode of TOS, "Look mom, there's a black woman on TV and she ain't no maid."

Martin Luther King Jr. asked the actress that played Uhura to stay on the show, while she was thinking of leaving, because of how POSITIVE it was towars racial equality!

As for those who say the series should have shown racism and sexism, well, I agree and disagree. I agree that you can never erase that out of the Human gene pool. However, in a world where Humans have everything they want (replicators) and live in paradise (Earth), it's not hard to believe that they'd act civilized and not act like they do today(it does make for a boring group of Humans though). I mean compare neighborhoods in upper class societys with neighborhoods in lower class societys. You'll find both groups of people act different when one has all they need and want and the other doesn't. When you don't have money and power as a driving force, then you have no real ambition to do anything to propel yoursel forward. Before anyone starts yelling at me how Star Trek proves the erasing of wealth is a good thing and this proves Communism is great, spare me that dribble. Because of this "communist state" of Earth, the civilian population acts like mindless drones that do nothing but work for the beauty of the "state". It's sickening, IMO. There were only a few Human civilians that were remotely interesting and that was because they didn't want to obey the state. For example, Joseph Sisko, Benjamin Sisko's father. He was a funny and uplifiting civilian, but would not submit to random blood tests because the almighty Starfleet ordered it. The only Humans that are remotely interesting in the show are the Starfleet Humans and the trouble making Humans. Ironically, they're interesting because they don't act like the perfect zombies back on Earth. I digress, anyways. My point is that it's not far fetched to see Humans act the way they do in Trek, because when you erase all ambition, they fall in line and do nothing. Quark perfectly explained it to Nog when he said that Humans can be as barbaric as the lowliest of Klingons if you take away their replicators, sonic showers, and luxury starships. He's right.

As for the claim of Janeway being given the tiny pansy ship Voyager, thus proving that Star Trek hates women...

The only thing I can ask is "What the hell?"

Let's put things into perspective from within the Star Trek universe. Now, you may think that an Intrepid class starship is a pathetic piece of scrap metal and that's why Starfleet gave it to the "evil woman" captain. Uh, hello? I'd imagine that ANY starship, no matter how big or small, is very important and being given the honor of COMMANDING one is a big deal. Especially in a world where people constructs the starships for FREE. I'd imagine that being given a shuttle is a big deal because it is still a piece of sophisticated technology and not something you toss away for no reason. Not to mention, she was given the task of safeguarding a 100+ people on her starship. Would you not say that's a big responsibility, entrusted to those with only the brightest and most logical of minds(I'd argue Janeway does not fit that criterion, but that's not the topic)? On top of all of that, at the time, the Intrepid class was the new big thing. The latest in science ships and Janeway was given command of it. So, let's go back. She is given an entire starship, an advanced one (at the time of launching), and tasked with protecting over a 100 people. Yeah, how SEXIST of them to give her responsibility! She should have been given the flagship for all the stuff she....well....yeah....

The show is NOT sexist because of what they did with Janeway. She was simply a bad captain. What more could be said about that?

Are we also forgetting that captain Garret, a woman, was given command of the Federation flagship?

As for those who say it's sexist because of the TOS uniforms and the cat suits, give me a break. Grow up. In this day and age, SEX SELLS. That's reality. It's not Trek's way of dominating women, but Trek's way of getting viewers, plain and simple. Why don't women ever complain about those scenes that show all the men on ENT rubbing lotion on each other in that sex room on the ship(whatever that room was supposed to be. )? Double standard much?

As for those races/ethnic groups/sexual orientations not seen as a senior staff (Hispanic, Indian(from India), Muslim, Gay, etc), that's not discrimentation either. That's simply too many groups on the planet and they can't jam pack all of them into one bridge. That's reality. I'm Hispanic but I don't care that there has never been a Hispanic senior staff officer (BTW? Chakotay and Torres don't count). It's not racist to me and doesn't bother me. This show isn't about "Which race will they pick next!?!?" "ME ME ME ME ME ME!!!!" No...it's about Humanity exploring the stars. Each show has a new ethnic group shown all the time. Eventually, they'll be a Hispanic and a Gay person on the bridge, but have some patience and stop writing the show off as oppressive.

Hell, I'd even argue that religion is not discriminated against in Trek either. We've seen examples of present day religions existing in Trek. The only reason they don't flat out show it is because they don't want to go throug the same thing they're going through with race. Got a Catholic captain? Then people will ask where the Jewish, Muslim, and Athiests captains are. As you can ALREADY see, Trek has a massive quota to meet with popping in other groups. You think they can afford more? Nope.

So in closing, Trek is the least racist/sexist show on television. Well...maybe not the least, but certainly up there. It prides itself on it's PC nature. It always have and as long as it does, accusations will never fly.

[Lord Borg]

For the Hispanic character, while not a main character and also only seen once, I'd like to point out Intrepid's Commanding Officer (No, not the Intrepid-Class that Voyager is a part of, Intrepid the Starship in ENT), Captain Carlos Ramirez. Guess what his job was? Patroling Sol and protecting it from evil doers (Before anyone says it was racial that he didnt prevent the Xindi attack, watch the episde ). I think Founder pointed it out well when you could (And theres no real right way to say this) only place in so much diversity in one setting, particuarly a show about space travel and meeting new races almost every episode.

I can also said what Andy mentioned about Nichelle Nichols, it's one of the most comon mentioned events of her life (The meeting with M.L. King JR) in interviews, Biographies etc... She was amazing in her role.

Sexism? Please, I can't even really figure out what to say, other then what Andy said, T'Pol is in a Tank Top and the producers are trying to "sex the show up" Trip spends several episodes in season III alone topless and its no big deal? Right.... I don't think I'll even really go on in this...

Yeah, Andy and Dan both mentioned that calling the show sexist due to the name of the class is a bit...much, I really fail to see the sexisim because Voyager is the ship name, and it's an Intrepid class

As for Gay's not being openly in the show? Look at the controversy they get in real life? The rage that I've seen spoken by many people by a kiss between two female characters within the Mirror Universe on a Deep Space Nine episodes. With that kind of reaction, why would the producers want to make a main character gay? Don't get me wrong, it'd be interesting, but it has to make sense so to speak, it can't be a fodder to simply apease a group of people....

With religions, again, I'll agree with Andy here, it's not the easiest to do, because you show one, and everyones like "Where's the (Religion here) person!?" Also, to avoid that...fight, this is why Roddenberry moved away from religion, but look at DS9. The Bajorans were religious, so it's been worked in there before.

Also, for the clothing? Remember the decades these shows were made, in TOS, that kind of...dress, was seen? Indeed, perhaps not to such an everyday extent, but it was there,. Again, woment in real life dress in short skirts/catsuit types/dresses etc... so...right, whats the problem with showing that on screen? Yet people complain about humans not being "Humans"....

LOL about Janeway a bad Captain, Andy

[JupiterPrime]

Hindu India in command of a starship on ST IV

Captain Hernandez (female) in command of NX-02 in ENT

Several women in command positions and political control in a highly Xenophobic race (Romulans) including high level positions in the intelligence organization.

Several woman in ligh level brass positions (Admiral) throughout Starfleet

Episodes based on Matriarchial societies.

A Queen Hive collective for one of the most feared races in the entire Trek domain

Religion and Prophecy as the primary premise for an ENTIRE series of Trek (DS9) not to mention a female-like characterization as the figurehead for a powerful unrelenting and highly structured and organized enemy

Some people will always find fault with something because "people" are just wired that way, and while the above is certainly not a complete list, it certainly is decent enough example to show how racially, religiously, and sexually tolerant a genre like Trek went out of its way to be, even while doing what it had to do to reamin alive. I for one wish we still had an ongoing show at present.