A Study by Jessica R. Levine
Department of Sociology
Brandeis University
To my friend Josh Breindel, who sat with me for two hours, until I finally found my focus, and to my friend Erica Schultz, who helped me develop my focus into a paper.
To my friend Spock (not to be confused with Mr. Spock) who "tutored me" and helped turn a mere Star Trek fan into a true Trekkie.
To Jason, Steve and Kira, who helped me with the technical aspects of this project.
To all my suitemates, who put up with my wavering states of mind throughout this semester.
To my friend Erika Karnell, who understands what all of this really means to me.
And finally, to Gates McFadden and Marina Sirtis, who haven given me, as characters and as actors, something to look up to, and much to look forward to.
Gene saw humanity as an evolving species that was going
to keep getting better and better. He believed that the
future was something to look forward to....His vision of
tolerance and cooperation among all beings gave a sense
of hope to a lot of people.
An essential part of this optimistic future was the portrayal of women.
Two of the seven main characters on TNG were women, and they personified
precisely what women in the twentieth century strive for: equality and
respect among men in a work-related atmosphere.
Through the close scrutiny of some of the episodes that I feel are
pertinent to this issue, in addition to the opinions of the actors
themselves (via several interviews), I believe we can extract an answer to
the question of how much, and in what ways, according to TNG's
interpretation of the future, the position of women in society and in the
workplace has changed by the twenty-fourth century.
having a new quality of conditioned-body beauty, a fire
in her eyes and muscularly well developed and very female
body, but keeping in mind that much of her strength
comes from attitude.
(Nemecek p. 13)
As Security Chief, Yar was the only female character to serve in what would
be considered in the twentieth century a "man's job". Appropriate to this,
she was portrayed as tough, constantly suggesting force and almost
obsessively protecting her superior officers. Throughout the season, we saw
very little of Tasha outside of her command position -- she did not seem to
acknowledge her femininity in the same way that Deanna and Beverly did. We
rarely see Tasha in a sexual context; could it be that she, as a character,
felt she had to tone down her sexuality in order to succeed in a role
traditionally held by men? Perhaps.
Shortly before the close of the first season of TNG, Denise Crosby "asked
to bow out [of the series] on friendly terms" (Nemecek p. 54), citing
dissatisfaction with the way in which her character was developing as the
explanation for wanting to leave. Although it was never directly stated,
one could infer that the reason the character of Tasha did not develop well
was that the creative team was simply trying too hard to refute the feminine
stereotype, as it could have been seen in the other female characters, who
occupied more "traditional" roles. Comments Marina Sirtis on this issue:
the...writers have been handicapped by the fact that both
of our women...are in caretaking professions. That's why
I was sad when Denise Crosby left the show. As security
chief, she was doing a man's job -- if you want to put it
in sexist terms -- and when we lost her, we lost a lot.
(TV Guide p. 20)
Gates McFadden, as Dr. Crusher, also ran into problems with her
character's development early in the series. She was replaced for the
second season by Diana Muldaur, who was "created somewhat In the image of
[the original Star Trek's Chief Medical Officer] McCoy, as crusty and
transporter-wary..." (Nemecek p. 64). Dr. Pulaski, like Tasha Yar, seemed
not to embrace much of her feminine side, instead she was a rather
straight-laced, unsympathetic character. Muldaur's Dr. Pulaski was a virtual
polar opposite of Beverly Crusher, and fans of the show were not pleased
with the change. The cast replacement launched a massive letter-writing
campaign to bring McFadden back, and when she was asked to return to the
series, she did so without question. McFadden was "very surprised" (Gutman
p. 43) by the decision to let her go, and was "surprised and delighted"
(Gutman p. 43) when she was asked to return for the third season. By the
time the series ended, Beverly Crusher was a strong-willed, independent
woman, unafraid to assert her authority, or even to risk it when she deemed
necessary.
As if it were an epidemic among the women characters of TNG, Marina Sirtis
also came very close to being written out of the series. The writers of the
show claimed that the character of Counselor Deanna Troi was the hardest to
write for, and it seemed to take several seasons before she was lifted from
delivering "emotional soliloquies even the actress cringed over" (Nemecek p.
27), to truly emerging as a well-rounded, believable member of the
Enterprise crew. Deanna is a member of an empathic species of humanoids,
meaning that she is capable of sensing peoples' emotional states. While
this proved to be a credit to her character, it took the writers quite some
time before they wrote that Deanna would contribute comments other than "I
sense [insert blindingly obvious emotion]", and this delayed her credibility
as a character on the show. Once the writers got away from their earlier
habits, Deanna became a true asset to the crew, and an integral part of the
overall quality of the show.
Through all of the metamorphoses the women of TNG underwent over the show's
seven years, Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi seem to have emerged as
well-developed as ever. The actors must be credited for that. Said McFadden:
Over the years I was always making phone calls to say
'Gee, couldn't we make Crusher a little stronger on
page 23?' or 'All the men get to say things in the last
scene -- what happened to the women?'
(TV Guide p. 18)
The fact that the actors were so vehement about the portrayal of
their characters no doubt had an effect on the writers, assuring that they
adhered to the idealistic views of the show's philosophy. The fact that so
many women, myself included, look up to Deanna Troi and Beverly Crusher as
professionals, is a testament to the entire creative process that has
existed behind TNG.
Women as Mothers
Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi have both gone through the experience of
being mothers on the Enterprise. The experiences, however, were quite
different from each other. Beverly came aboard the Enterprise with her then
fifteen year-old son, Wesley, a brilliant adolescent going through many of
the typical pubescent physical and emotional changes. The mother-son
relationship was dealt with sporadically through the first four seasons of
TNG, during which Wesley, played by Wil Wheaton, was a regular character.
Adapting to life on a starship took much effort on the part of both mother
and son, who had developed a very close relationship beforehand. Wesley's
father died when Wesley was five, leaving Beverly a widow at the age of
thirty. The lack of an adult male role model was something that Wesley and
Beverly both sought to amend on the Enterprise, as Wesley looked to the
ship's Captain and First Officer for guidance.
According to Gates McFadden, the mother-son relationship was not always
realistically portrayed:
We always seem so understanding with each other. I
think a little conflict would be good. The more human
we show them, the better. You can't have everybody
on the ship being wise all the time.
(Madsen p. 4)
The reality aspect of this relationship also suffered from a lack of
development, for the TNG writers would often have Wesley go to one of the
male crew members for advice, which, although necessary at times, took away
from the growth of his connection with his mother. When Gates McFadden
returned to TNG for season three, she stated that she "felt that the
relationship had been given very short shrift" (TV Guide p. 19). Then, when
Wil Wheaton left the series at the end of the fourth season, her status as a
mother took a back burner to other things.
It was almost always obvious that Beverly cherished the fact that she was a
mother. When her character was written out for season two, to take another
posting, Wesley considered joining her, but, after careful thought, decided
that he would rather remain on the Enterprise. Upon Beverly's return, she
was very concerned about what her absence had meant to Wesley. In the third
season opener, "Evolution", Beverly grilled Captain Picard, a close friend
of hers, about how Wes had been doing while she was away.
Of particular relevance to the subject of motherhood is the sequence of
events in the third-season episode "The High Ground", in which Beverly is
kidnapped and used by a terrorist for her medical expertise. She refused to
speak for hours after her capture, and when she did finally break her
silence, she said "I have a son". Throughout the episode, she reminds her
captor of this, and it was a major contributing factor of her safe return to
the Enterprise.
Wil Wheaton returned in the seventh season, for his final appearance on
TNG. In this episode, entitled "Journey's End", Wesley realizes his true
destiny -- he leaves the Academy, where he was a fourth year cadet, to join
the Traveler, a being capable of crossing the boundaries of universes, in
his pursuit of knowledge, and, in the process, violates several Federation
laws. Beverly first tries to persuade him not to abandon his career, but
ultimately stands by his decision when no one else does. This shows that
although she is a committed Starfleet officer, and thus obligated to support
certain policies, she acknowledges that Wesley is capable of making his own
decisions, and stands by him as such.
Deanna Troi, on the other hand, was a mother for just over two days. Her
"son" was an alien entity that took human form in order to learn about
humanity, in an episode called "The Child" from the second season of TNG.
She was impregnated by the entity, and within thirty-six hours, gave birth
to a healthy baby boy. Within two days, the child grew to the intellectual
and physical equivalent of a sentient eight year-old.
It is important to note Deanna's actions throughout this episode. Once she
learns she is pregnant, the other members of the senior staff, gauging the
potential dangers of the pregnancy, try to influence her, suggesting at
first that she abort the fetus. This is a very powerful scene, culminating
when Deanna states firmly: "Do whatever is necessary to protect the ship,
but know this: I'm going to have this baby."
Once the baby is born, Deanna assumes a maternal role that surprises
everyone -- she seems to know exactly what to do, and does not appear at all
surprised at the child's astonishing rate of growth. When the child
announces that it must die, Deanna reacts as if she has truly known the
child for its eight years worth of development, and is stricken as such by
his death.
Both Deanna's and Beverly's maternal instincts are constantly apparent as
they perform their duties. Watching Deanna counseling a patient, or Beverly
mending a wound, we can see that their compassion as mother figures is a
help to them at work. Motherhood, and all of the personal qualities it
involves, are clearly and often visible in these two characters.
Women as Sexual Beings
It would seem that, by the twenty-fourth century, women have achieved a
level of equality in most societies (some have even achieved levels beyond
equality, as will be discussed later). By examining the ways in which
Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi handled romantic/sexual situations on TNG,
we can come to some conclusions about how much women have changed in four
hundred years.
In the series, sexual situations are often laced with humorous overtones.
It would seem that the humor, as perceived by twentieth-century viewers,
stems from the fact that, in many instances, the reigns of control in sexual
situations have shifted. The best example of this is with a species called
the Klingons, a warrior race. Aboard the Enterprise, a Klingon, named Worf,
serves as Chief of Security. In season two, in an episode called "The
Dauphin", Wesley seeks out several of the male crew members in search of
advice about love. He approaches Worf first, and Worf tells the unexpecting
Wes about what is known as the Klingon Mating Ritual, in which the women
roar, and hurl heavy objects at the men. The men, while this is happening,
read love poetry -- and "they duck a lot." Imagining this scenario brings
much laughter to fans, for it is difficult to imagine the proverbial tables
being turned in such a manner.
In more conventional, humanoid romantic relationships, the women of TNG
seem to assert much more control over sexual situations than women do today.
One of the best examples of this shift in power appears in a third-season
episode called "The Price". Deanna has met a humanoid man, and when he
leans over to kiss her, she pulls away. He says "Am I moving too fast for
you?", to which Deanna replies "No, I'm moving too fast for me." I believe
this shows that women are not afraid to assert themselves with men, and they
can do so without much negative response from them.
Unfortunately, the fact remains that this twenty-fourth century scenario
was written in the twentieth century, so the sexism that is still existent
now often shone through on the series, especially in the earlier seasons.
As the only unranked crew member among the main characters on TNG, Deanna
did not wear the regulation uniform until the sixth season of the show.
Instead, she wore skin-tight, cleavage-revealing bodysuits, which many
believe damaged her credibility. After all, who could imagine sitting in a
counseling session with the counselor dressed like that? It was not until
the sixth season, in the episode called "Chain of Command", that this was
dealt with on the show. In this episode, a new captain assumes command of
the Enterprise, and he calls Deanna into his office to speak with her. In
the spirit of "formality on the bridge", he requests that she wear a
standard duty uniform. This can be taken in several ways, depending how we
interpret the necessity of uniforms. Do they serve to create unity among
the crew? Yes, that is one aspect. But by "unifying" the crew, do they
also serve to mute one's gender? Is that what this new captain was
implying? Perhaps. After Captain Picard resumed command of the ship, we
see Deanna shuffling between the duty uniform and the bodysuits until the
seventh season, when she becomes a full commander, and wears the standard
duty uniform for the remainder of the season.
It would seem that men have attained a new level of awareness by the
twenty-fourth century, as is apparent in several instances. On several
occasions, we see Beverly and Deanna together, discussing their latest
romantic dealings with one another. In one episode from the seventh season,
"Sub Rosa", Beverly is taken with a ghost that has enchanted the women in
her family for several generations. Describing one encounter with the
ghost, she tells Deanna "He knew exactly how I liked to be touched...." We
can extract from this situation. as well as from several others, that many
of the men on the series seem to have a heightened awareness of what women
want, and what they like. Combined with the fact that women seem to have
more control over sexual situations, it would seem that we have made a lot
of progress in four hundred years.
This heightened awareness is a hopeful observation as seen from the present
day, where many men don't seem to know what women want, and with the lack of
communication between men and women today, we don't seem to be making much
progress. Although the position of women in TNG as sexual beings is not yet
ideal, it seems to be a lot closer to that ideal than where we stand today.