Star Trek Uses A Vulcan To Lecture Fans On Gender Pronouns, Controversy Erupts
An issue of the Star Trek comic book has a Vulcan saying the gender binary terms when referring to a ship are illogical.
This article is more than 2 years old
Star Trek is no stranger to taking on hot-button topics or taking a progressive stance. Sometimes, this can lead to controversy and some hardcore fan pushback, and the new comic issue Star Trek (2022) #1 has the Internet in quite a tizzy. As you can see in the panel above, the comic features a Vulcan referring to the U.S.S. Theseus (a ship) as a “they” rather than a “she/her.”
The exchange prompts another crewmember to say that ships are girls to which the Vulcan replies “the gender binary is illogical and we both know it.” Star Trek fans on Twitter were not too happy with the ship being called a nonbinary pronoun and they made sure to let the Internet know about it. Here are a few of their reactions:
This Star Trek fan went as far as to say that the franchise is ruined because of this comic. Still, other users were quick to point out that the series has been progressive for a while. One user posted a screenshot of Data talking about how he let his child choose their sex:
Clearly, as with anything remotely political, Star Trek fans are divided on the comic. Some fans appreciate it while others are pretty upset by it. It seems unlikely that anything will actually come of it, but the Internet rage is real at this point.
Meanwhile, Star Trek as a franchise is going as strong as ever. Star Trek found a successful TV reboot in the form of 2017’s Star Trek: Discovery, and since then there have been multiple new series with more planned for the future. Most fans who have been waiting for more of the franchise since Enterprise ended in 2005 have been pretty happy.
Star Trek: Discovery is just one of multiple shows that are still ongoing. Along with Discovery, fans also have Patrick Stewart reprising one of his best roles in Picard which is heading into its final season, giving a proper goodbye to the character. There’s also the newest live-action show Strange New Worlds, which is a prequel to The Original Series.
Fans of animation even have a couple of Star Trek shows to choose from, with Lower Decks and Prodigy. Prodigy is the first series in the franchise specifically targeted at kids and younger audiences. It also rewards older viewers or viewers introducing their kids to the franchise, as it brings back fan-favorite characters like Kate Mulgrew’s Janeway.
Star Trek: Lower Decks, meanwhile, is a comedy, following the support crew of one of Starfleet’s least important ships. The franchise pretty much has something for everyone at this point, including potential plans for another movie in the Kelvin timeline, which was kicked off in 2009 by J.J. Abrams. Needless to say, the Star Trek franchise isn’t always going to be able to please everyone and they’re bound to attract some more vitriol from Twitter users at some point, but at least people have plenty of options when it comes to available shows.
