This will be sort of short since I don’t have a whole lot to say on the topic.
I guess the main thing that sort of worried me in TOS is the fact that both Kirk and Spock had women with unrequited crushes on them. Kirk had Rand, while Spock had Chapel. Arguably, Spock also had Uhura (but that was seriously downplayed by the network). Kirk always seemed indifferent to Uhura, and Uhura was generally cheery to everyone.
Anyway, so why does this bug me? It was the 60’s, and unrequited love by women isn’t something unusual. The thing is: what did that bring to the story? Sexual tension? No, of course not. Kirk rebuffed Rand and Spock was too involved in trying to be emotionless than he was to notice Chapel had the hots for him. Kirk still had a lot of respect for Rand, which is obvious when she appears again in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (does anyone else find that title ridiculous?).
I guess this comes back to the fact that women are even weak and at the will of their “silly emotions” in the future. When there is equality, will this be the case? No, of course not. People will realized that women can do math and not everyone wants to push out a kid in their life. Women won’t be expected to be nurturing and they also will not have to deal with waiting forever for a man who won’t love them. Why? Because they will be able to initiate relationships without backlash and also not feel as if they have a biological imperative to fill.
Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve been busy with school. I might make another post tomorrow.
