The Surprisg Controversy Behd The New Gay "Star Trek" Character

Contents:

• SULU IS GAY IN 'STAR TREK BEYOND,' MAKG FRANCHISE HISTORY
• ‘STAR TREK BEYOND’ NFIRMS THAT HIKA SULU IS GAY
• FOR PRI MONTH, WE CELEBRATE STAR TREK’S GAYT MOMENTS
• GEE TAKEI LLS 'STAR TREK BEYOND' GAY SULU SCENE 'A WHISPER'
• ‘STAR TREK BEYOND’ BRGS GAY CHARACTER ONBOARD
• THE SURPRISG CONTROVERSY BEHD THE NEW GAY "STAR TREK" CHARACTER
• GAY 'STAR TREK' CHARACTER PROVOK POLARIZG RPONSE

SULU IS GAY IN 'STAR TREK BEYOND,' MAKG FRANCHISE HISTORY

In 1991, Gene Rodnberry ma a statement on his plans to clu gay characters Star Trek: The Next Generatn, but followg his ath shortly afterwards, the productn team were slow to follow up on his promis.

Throughout the 1990s, fans were engaged letter-wrg mpaigns askg for gay characters, some of which were endorsed by actors appearg the anchise, but the rponse om Paramount was at bt dismissive and at worst outright hostile. The episo gets plenty wrong – nflatg havg no genr wh asexualy, g a character who is sentially transgenr as a metaphor for gay people whout really realizg that was what they were dog, and assumg that androgyno people would tomatilly wear drab clothg and have bad haircuts (a quick Google Imag search of “nonbary style” will show you how far off the mark that is).

The ill-fated AIDS-allegory episo Blood And Fire, wrten by David Gerrold, would have featured actual human gay characters, but was shot down at the script stage. Deep Space Ne did do a ltle better than s sister shows terms of sual background queerns – Jadzia isn’t thrown by the ia of gay Ferengi, Bashir and O’Brien happily plan a baby shower for a pregnant male lleague, several characters the Mirror Universe are queer – but they missed jt as many opportuni as The Next Generatn and Voyager. Litenant Hawk, a mor on-screen character Star Trek: First Contact, was wrten as a gay man, but referenc to were removed om later versns of the script.

‘STAR TREK BEYOND’ NFIRMS THAT HIKA SULU IS GAY

Jeri Taylor’s Pathways, which explor the life stori of the crew of Voyager, featur a background gay uple and a gay Starfleet Amy roommate for Harry Kim.

The Starfleet Corps of Engeers novels feature a gay uple, and the DS9 relnch books feature a lbian uple.

One gay ma character would have been phg the envelope for The Next Generatn, but now, well to the twenty-first century and wh queer characters creasgly visible film and televisn (egreg mortaly rat notwhstandg), if Star Trek wants to mata s reputatn of beg ahead of the curve on social issu, needs to do better than that. Fans are hopeful that Bryan Fuller, the shownner of the new Star Trek seri set to land early 2017, who is gay himself, unrstands that and is ready to explore the full range of possibili. We don’t jt want one gay character.

FOR PRI MONTH, WE CELEBRATE STAR TREK’S GAYT MOMENTS

We want to see well-round gay, lbian and bisexual characters who have more gog on than their sexualy.

One of the “Star Trek” universe’s most beloved characters is revealed to be gay the latt stallment of the inic anchise. “I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thg out , which is where I hope we are gog as a speci, to not policize one’s personal orientatns, ” he and Pegg’s cisn to pict Sulu as a gay man was a nod to Gee Takei, who played the role the origal 1960s “Star Trek” televisn seri and six subsequent films, Cho said.

GEE TAKEI LLS 'STAR TREK BEYOND' GAY SULU SCENE 'A WHISPER'

Takei, 79, me out as gay 2005, and has sce gone on to bee an outspoken advote for LGBT rights. UPDATE: After news of this story broke, Takei lled the cisn to pict Sulu as a gay man “really unfortunate” a Hollywood Reporter terview. On Thursday, the Herald Sun announced that the character Hika Sulu will be revealed to be gay Star Trek Beyond, which hs theaters July 22.

‘STAR TREK BEYOND’ BRGS GAY CHARACTER ONBOARD

Gee Takei, who played Sulu the origal show and who has been a proment LGBT activist sce g out as gay jt over a ago, told the Hollywood Reporter that he has been agast revealg the character as gay sce he first heard was unr nsiratn last year. “I’m lighted that there’s a gay character, ” Takei told THR. He believed ma more sense to create a new character who has always been gay, rather than brgg Sulu out of a prumed closet.

THE SURPRISG CONTROVERSY BEHD THE NEW GAY "STAR TREK" CHARACTER

” But he also exprsed a ncern, which he discsed wh L and -wrer Doug Jung, that a new gay character may have been perceived by the dience as a token gay character, “primarily fed by their sexualy. ” Pegg believ Rodnberry’s cisn not to velop a gay character earlier was a product of his time, not of his visn.

” Based on the movie’s timele, the cisn to make Sulu gay do not necsate his havg been the closet, Pegg explas, and prum that there has been an LGBT prence sce the begng of the anchise’s universe. In a tribute to his ongog legacy as an in of the Star Trek anchise, wrer Simon Pegg and director Jt L cid make Sulu nonilly gay the upg movie.

GAY 'STAR TREK' CHARACTER PROVOK POLARIZG RPONSE

While Hollywood still has a long way to go terms of queer reprentatn, feels appropriate for Star Trek to be the first big sci-fi anchise to clu a gay character s ma st. More than halfway through Pri Month, the LBGT+ staff here at TrekMovie thought the perfect time to brg a ltle gayns to your life.

And what better way to unwd durg the tough tim than wh a gay Star Trek marathon? But, spe Trek not havg any openly gay characters for s first five s, there’s a lot of LGBT+ love to go around. This isn’t exactly a “rah rah we love the gays” moment, but ’s too funny not to clu.

Jadzia Normaliz Gay Romance DS9’s “Rul of Acquisn”. While you uld argue that this isn’t a gay Trek moment ( lerally isn’t—that’s the pot of the scene), ’s still a msage about the general acceptance of LGBT+ people the 24th century.