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.
Showing posts with label hetfic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hetfic. Show all posts
9/25/09
Appropriating GLBTQQAI Issues For Your Ship
Can I just say this is the hugest NONONO I’ve ever said in my whole life?
Please don’t try to make anything canon. Even though I love Sukov (Chekov/Sulu), I’m not going to send letters and ask they make that canon. Or Bones/Kirk.
These characters are assumed straight, and that’s how the writers will probably keep them. Until we, as a society, decide to stop being so heteronormative, there probably won’t be any legit same-sex canon couples for a long time in sci-fi (not counting Jack/Ianto in Torchwood :3). Not saying that they couldn’t come sooner, but it makes it more difficult to reach a wide audience if we’re still treating GLBTQQAI people as strange and disgusting. There needs to be a strong, confident character that represents that character and doesn’t get killed in the series (not even if they pull a resurrection like they did with Spock in the TOS films). I would be BEYOND thrilled if we had a trans character as well (actually, I’d probably have a heart attack that someone thought that transpeople exist in the future, too).
GLBTQQAI (yes, I use all the letters) issues are for them to stop being seen as the other. Just as women are the other compared to men (though XX is actually the biological default), gay and lesbian people are just trying to be seen as just that. People!
So, using the advocacy cause of “visibility in mainstream culture and not as a stereotype” to try and push any agenda in a sci-fi film with supposedly straight characters isn’t going to help anyone (not to mention the Unfortunate Implications of Spock leaving Uhura for Kirk [knocking her back to the loveless background character she was in TOS, and I feel a lot of people don’t understand HOW this is important]).
I do talk a lot about K/S, but truthfully, I don’t really care about if you ship them or not. The point I keep trying to make is the backlash against S/U (and Uhura in particular) is highly unwelcome and as a Black woman, I feel as if I have to defend a character I identify with greatly. If I had a kid, I’d want her to be just as brilliant and awesome as Uhura (either universe version). And obviously, I have no issues with gay or lesbian relationships (and I try to be active in the community and support it whenever possible as a responsible feminist).
The reason I bring up K/S is that they are the Vocal Minority. I haven’t heard about anyone trying to make the other ships I mentioned (and if they were, I’d discourage them equally). There’s a whole other group of people who love S/U, don’t really care but see the point, and people who see these characters as straight and would raise an even larger stink if any of the characters in a homosexual relationship were made canon.
Please don’t try to make anything canon. Even though I love Sukov (Chekov/Sulu), I’m not going to send letters and ask they make that canon. Or Bones/Kirk.
These characters are assumed straight, and that’s how the writers will probably keep them. Until we, as a society, decide to stop being so heteronormative, there probably won’t be any legit same-sex canon couples for a long time in sci-fi (not counting Jack/Ianto in Torchwood :3). Not saying that they couldn’t come sooner, but it makes it more difficult to reach a wide audience if we’re still treating GLBTQQAI people as strange and disgusting. There needs to be a strong, confident character that represents that character and doesn’t get killed in the series (not even if they pull a resurrection like they did with Spock in the TOS films). I would be BEYOND thrilled if we had a trans character as well (actually, I’d probably have a heart attack that someone thought that transpeople exist in the future, too).
GLBTQQAI (yes, I use all the letters) issues are for them to stop being seen as the other. Just as women are the other compared to men (though XX is actually the biological default), gay and lesbian people are just trying to be seen as just that. People!
So, using the advocacy cause of “visibility in mainstream culture and not as a stereotype” to try and push any agenda in a sci-fi film with supposedly straight characters isn’t going to help anyone (not to mention the Unfortunate Implications of Spock leaving Uhura for Kirk [knocking her back to the loveless background character she was in TOS, and I feel a lot of people don’t understand HOW this is important]).
I do talk a lot about K/S, but truthfully, I don’t really care about if you ship them or not. The point I keep trying to make is the backlash against S/U (and Uhura in particular) is highly unwelcome and as a Black woman, I feel as if I have to defend a character I identify with greatly. If I had a kid, I’d want her to be just as brilliant and awesome as Uhura (either universe version). And obviously, I have no issues with gay or lesbian relationships (and I try to be active in the community and support it whenever possible as a responsible feminist).
The reason I bring up K/S is that they are the Vocal Minority. I haven’t heard about anyone trying to make the other ships I mentioned (and if they were, I’d discourage them equally). There’s a whole other group of people who love S/U, don’t really care but see the point, and people who see these characters as straight and would raise an even larger stink if any of the characters in a homosexual relationship were made canon.
9/6/09
Spock/Uhura: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Part 1: The Good)
Spock/Uhura: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Part 1: The Good.
As you’ve noticed, I am kind of an S/U shipper and unabashedly so. To be honest, I don’t care too much about fanon breakups and whatever one needs to make Kirk/Spock (or Kirk/Uhura or McCoy/Spock) to happen. Hell, I've written McCoy/Uhura, so I have no room to speak (I must admit it's because I haven't gotten my head around Spock as a character yet). I should clarify that my only beef with K/S is in regard to it being made canon in the Reboot universe, because it epically bugged me with the tension between the two and how big of a screw-up they would likely have trying to explain how Uhura deals with it.
Anyway.
I like S/U because, though student/teacher, it isn’t “ick nast” like many others are. It’s pretty obvious that they see each other as intellectual equals and they enjoy each others company. And the way Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto play the two has chemistry all over the place (if you see any premiere pics of them together, this is soooo obvious). The kisses in the film weren’t wooden, and “I’ll be monitoring your frequency” became a pretty heartfelt line.
I guess we can start with that as the beginning of The Good. However surprising that was (though if you thought it was surprising I’m surprised at you) for you, it was nice to see Nyota Uhura have someone appreciate how awesome she is. And being the equally awesome Mr. Spock is really something.
If you are unfamiliar, Spock/Uhura was what people in TOS wanted to make actual canon, but it was the 60’s and there was no way anyone was trying to do an interracial couple then. There’s a few cute stories about it floating around the intertubes, but I won’t be using them for this.
Continuing with the good, there’s been plenty of good fan response (I’ll get to the bad fan response later). Especially with women of color and well…some women in general. To be honest, I don’t hang around a lot of circles with ST fanboys. I’m sure they don’t really care. I was of course happy because…
Excuse my capslock…
OH MY GOD THERE’S A BLACK WOMAN IN A MOVIE DATING SOMEONE WHO ISN’T BLACK AND THERE ISN’T AN “OMG GUURRRLLLL YOU’RE DATING THAT WHITE BOY” SUBTEXT.
Praise the Lord (Raptor Jesus, Cthulu, whathaveyou).
I consider this a pretty big step, especially since Uhura is A: From Africa (Kenya, to clarify) and B: Not a “racially ambiguous” character. Yes, she has bone straight hair, but who knows what kind of hair treatments are available in the 23rd century. Zoe is about my complexion as well, so there’s also that sort of “YAY” moment about it. There are very few minorities in sci-fi, and when one is portrayed in a way that doesn’t make the populace gouge their eyes out, I think we’ve made some progress.
So, the good?
-Uhura isn’t just someone who sits and hails frequency, also bagged the finest Vulcan in Starfleet (yeah he’s the only one, but he’s still smoking)
-Spock is given a love interest that won’t die (she better not |:<)
-A Black female character is portrayed in a non-stereotypical way (though the miniskirt is a bit of a peeve)
…there’s more but I can’t put it in neat little bullet points.
The next part of this will be The Bad, in which we delve a little in S/U backlash before we go deep into the quicksand with The Ugly, where the racism and sexism of fandom shows itself quite happily.
Thanks for reading!
Part 1: The Good.
As you’ve noticed, I am kind of an S/U shipper and unabashedly so. To be honest, I don’t care too much about fanon breakups and whatever one needs to make Kirk/Spock (or Kirk/Uhura or McCoy/Spock) to happen. Hell, I've written McCoy/Uhura, so I have no room to speak (I must admit it's because I haven't gotten my head around Spock as a character yet). I should clarify that my only beef with K/S is in regard to it being made canon in the Reboot universe, because it epically bugged me with the tension between the two and how big of a screw-up they would likely have trying to explain how Uhura deals with it.
Anyway.
I like S/U because, though student/teacher, it isn’t “ick nast” like many others are. It’s pretty obvious that they see each other as intellectual equals and they enjoy each others company. And the way Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto play the two has chemistry all over the place (if you see any premiere pics of them together, this is soooo obvious). The kisses in the film weren’t wooden, and “I’ll be monitoring your frequency” became a pretty heartfelt line.
I guess we can start with that as the beginning of The Good. However surprising that was (though if you thought it was surprising I’m surprised at you) for you, it was nice to see Nyota Uhura have someone appreciate how awesome she is. And being the equally awesome Mr. Spock is really something.
If you are unfamiliar, Spock/Uhura was what people in TOS wanted to make actual canon, but it was the 60’s and there was no way anyone was trying to do an interracial couple then. There’s a few cute stories about it floating around the intertubes, but I won’t be using them for this.
Continuing with the good, there’s been plenty of good fan response (I’ll get to the bad fan response later). Especially with women of color and well…some women in general. To be honest, I don’t hang around a lot of circles with ST fanboys. I’m sure they don’t really care. I was of course happy because…
Excuse my capslock…
OH MY GOD THERE’S A BLACK WOMAN IN A MOVIE DATING SOMEONE WHO ISN’T BLACK AND THERE ISN’T AN “OMG GUURRRLLLL YOU’RE DATING THAT WHITE BOY” SUBTEXT.
Praise the Lord (Raptor Jesus, Cthulu, whathaveyou).
I consider this a pretty big step, especially since Uhura is A: From Africa (Kenya, to clarify) and B: Not a “racially ambiguous” character. Yes, she has bone straight hair, but who knows what kind of hair treatments are available in the 23rd century. Zoe is about my complexion as well, so there’s also that sort of “YAY” moment about it. There are very few minorities in sci-fi, and when one is portrayed in a way that doesn’t make the populace gouge their eyes out, I think we’ve made some progress.
So, the good?
-Uhura isn’t just someone who sits and hails frequency, also bagged the finest Vulcan in Starfleet (yeah he’s the only one, but he’s still smoking)
-Spock is given a love interest that won’t die (she better not |:<)
-A Black female character is portrayed in a non-stereotypical way (though the miniskirt is a bit of a peeve)
…there’s more but I can’t put it in neat little bullet points.
The next part of this will be The Bad, in which we delve a little in S/U backlash before we go deep into the quicksand with The Ugly, where the racism and sexism of fandom shows itself quite happily.
Thanks for reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)