Countless examples exist. I'm sure you have a favorite. One of mine: After Yeoman Rand brings Kirk his meal in "The Corbomite Maneuver" Kirk vows to give the person at headquarters who assigned him a female yeoman hell to which McCoy slimily replies "What's the matter Jim? Don't you trust yourself?"
Yuck.
I wouldn't call that rank sexism, there was no implication that Kirk would misuse his position, or that Rand was in any way inferior to male yeomen. If Kirk was tempted, well, he actually did keep his hands off the women under his command.
Not that I'd call Trek a model of equality between the sexes, not when 90% of the women in Starfleet are 20-year old hotties with low-ranking jobs. No, 90% of the Galaxy was populated by hot babes who only existed to fall madly in love with Kirk. And that's why Uhura is still so beloved, she may have been a hot babe but she was someone you could take seriously, and she never fell madly in love with a superior officer.
So what?
shareThank God we didn't have SJWs in the 60s.
shareIs that all you know how to post?
Gene Roddenberry was an SJW of his time. The Cage was considered too cerebral and he was told to make a new pilot or Star Trek would have never been made. He then slipped in a first black/white, anti-war, anti-racism story lines cloaked with science fiction to get them on air. Can you imagine showing anyone an episode of Discovery back in the 60s!!!
shareJanice Rand could be my Yeoman any time! I'd spank that a$$!
shareIt's hard (or unfair) to view the past by the lens of today.
ST was remarkably level (re: sex and race), for the day. Some sexist/racist stuff slipped in, but that was just a product of the times.
Yeah it's depressing to me that people get offended so easily nowadays
shareWhile that's true . . . image you were an individual in a marginalized group back then (woman, black, gay, etc). You might have thought "That's just life," but you might have also thought, "That's not right, but there's nothing I can do about it."
Also, today people are pussies.
Yeah it's depressing to me that people get offended so easily nowadays
shareThe women's uniforms. Absurd that they had such short skirts and pantyhose in the military. Thank God they made this in the 60's! If only they had been just a little more sexist and made them wear heels instead of the boots.
It is true that the show was loaded with sexism but there was a strange good-natured approach to the sexism that gives it a comfy feeling. Like they didn't know any better at the time and thought they were being respectful. Not making excuses for them. Just noting that it lacked mean spirited intent so it doesn't needle me in the nostalgia drawer it so comfortable rests in.
The fact that the women wore the same comfortable, practical, boots as the men is the only saving grace of the uniforms. Because face it, neither the men's or women's uniforms were attractive, they didn't look impressive or institutional, and the women's uniforms were seriously impractical.
And yeah, there was a certain good-nature about the sexism and sexiness, which is actually one of the things that makes TOS more fun than TNG. TNG tried to be frank about sex, but they just ended up making it dull.
"neither the men's or women's uniforms were attractive"
Don't get me wrong. I may have said absurd but by no means did I want to indicate that I didn't love their uniforms. I wish they still honored the pantyhose tradition from TOS. The practical boots were the only flaw in the uniform from the perspective of my ID. Blessed be the impracticality. I merely recognize the ridiculous lack of realism ...
Thank you for clarifying that point.
But if you look at the uniforms rationally, rather than id-ly, they aren't plausible. They're institutional uniforms, and all institutional uniforms are designed to not just eliminate individuality, but to deliberately dampen the id! And in some institutions, such as those where healthcare is provided, the lab coats and scrubs also serve to eliminate any distinction between the sexes.
Personally, I always thought that James T. Kirk bullshitted his way onto the Starfleet uniform design committee.
Absolutely agree.
shareTo call the female uniforms sexist today is to ignore the social times that the show was made in. In the 50's and the 60's there was great pressure for women to be demure. Displaying sexuality in any form of dress was taboo for a long, long time. This show was made in 1966, just the start of a kind of social revolution about sexual attitudes. The short skirts was a rebellion of sorts to this 'ladies are demure' attitude that was common for 40 some years.
Uhura explains this in an interview.
Think 'Barbarella' 1968 starring Jane Fonda...major films like this just weren't made before, this was the sexual revolution of the time.
Viva la revolucion!
shareThere is no show called "TOS" or "The Original Series". it was called "Star Trek".
shareThat was fashion, little has really changed. Women in the public eye talk tough but still dress sexy ... tight dresses, plunging necklines, high heels. Even female news anchors tend to be very attractive, have big boobs, and wear revealing outfits. Look at awards shows or Hollywood parties, the women are barely dressed, and then talk about conquering sexism. The only thing that changed are young men are terrified because with a few insinuations to her friends or on twitter, a woman can ruin his life; and will in a heartbeat without any repercussions.
shareWhat I found interesting about the women's uniforms, was that not all of them wore miniskirts. In fact, there are two different times (including the original pilot) where the female crew members were wearing shirts and pants like the men, and nobody seemed to have issues with it. Nobody yelled at them, or told them they were "dressing in drag," they just went around doing business as usual.
shareTrue. That original pilot had the ladies in pants. Their uniforms were cool. Maybe too much like the Lost in Space costumes though.
Spock was cranky and shouty in that episode. Apparently maximum allowed leg exposure is what is needed to keep Spock calm. I, personally, have always found watching old TOS episodes calming. hmm
I actually thought that the actresses looked good in those uniforms (I do have a bit of a weakness for women wearing pantyhose/tights!). What I did like was that although they dressed what I thought was very femininely, they were treated, at least by the standards of the day, as equals. You had a lot of women playing the parts of specialists. I remember on one episode, Scottie did not seem to be running the engine room, it was a woman. She seemed to be doing it very well (rather than coming out with excuses like Scottie!). Although having a few more women in more senior positions would not have gone amiss. I always thought that they could have made more of Lieutenant Uhura's character.
oh, the boots were hot.
shareDid you really cringe? When was this?
share