Dovetailing into my thoughts from earlier on Star Trek and if race matters in movies like this, I thought I would also like to discuss gender, specifically, Kirk’s gender. If Gene Roddenberry had originally decided that Kirk should be a woman, how would she have been received? If only Kirk’s gender (and OK, the sexuality, let’s leave Kirk het for the moment) had been different, and all the behaviors associated w/ Kirk were to remain the same, would she still have been seen as “a true hero”? If she had indulged in the same volume and manner of sexual conquests would she have still been held up by fans as admirable? Would Riverside, Iowa still have a monument to the “Future Birthplace” of Captain Kirk, if she had been Jane T. Kirk and not James?
What if Kirk, in either gender presentation, had been queer?
Does gender make a difference in the people we iconize? Does the acceptance of a characters perceived promiscuity change if they are no longer a straight, white man?
Would Jane Kirk be held up as a role model of leadership the same as James has?
Well, I think if Nichelle Nichols reception gives us anything to judge by, Jane T. Kirk would never have gotten on the air.
I totally agree. I mean how long was it before the Enterprise had a woman Captain?
You have to do a lot of mind bending to consider it, that’s for sure.
It’d be fun though, to have a totally new re-imagining, feminist and antiracist preferably, just like Roddenberry wanted.
Have you seen the interviews about those days with Nichols? I followed a link from BlackAmazon’s blog and watched something and it was rather mind-blowing how shitty the exec’s were to her. Like she’d have a meaty part and they’d cut everything out except “hailing frequencies open, sir”. Wtf.
Actually no, I haven’t, but given the time I can imagine how that shit kind of went down.