On 9 July, 1997, Robin Gordon wrote:
>BUT, at the same time I can't help but see some changes in the characters
>appearance and actions as an attempt to make her more 'acceptably
>feminine' and more definitively heterosexual. Kira, like Ro Laren, was
>beloved by many lesbians as having a certain familiar feeling. Around
>here we began referring to "Bajor planet of the dykes." The episodes with
>alternatie universe evil Kira were totally sexually charged, talk about
>lesbian narcissism!! Then at the beginning of last season, all of a
>sudden, Kira starts wearing heavy makeup, having more feminine hair,
>subtle wardrobe changes, and a lot more references to her heterosexuality.
>Call me a conspiracy theorist but this
>didn't seem accidental to me.
>
>In a similar vein Dax's relationship with Worf did come not long after she
>had the best lesbian kiss on television. Doomed quick relationship with a
>woman, followed by a long serious one with a very macho main man. And
>what's with this relationship anyways? He's a total neanderthal,
>extremely sexist and emotionally a corpse. Dax in love is cool. Dax in
>love with a man, sure I can take it. But Dax dating WORF seems to run
>counter to her previous character.
The one thing I truly like about both of these characters is that they both
seem to be comfortable with themselves as powerful women. They are two of
the most fully realized female characters I've ever seen on TV. I don't
see Kira's change in physical appearance as a weakening of character, nor
do I see the fact that she's blatantly heterosexual as a feminine weakness.
Kira has had pretty equitable heterosexual relationships without losing her
own sense of herself and her goals, which is what I think is important to
show no matter one's sexual preference. I also don't see Dax's
relationship as anomalous to her character. Sure, Klingons are a bit
Neanderthal. And Dax trips him up with that at every turn. She's a good
influence on him. And he doesn't repress her in any way (the times he's
tried, she's gone on being herself, which is something else important to
show). I admit, I hadn't noticed the timing you pointed out, but I think
it's important for women to note that they can be heterosexual and strong,
making decisions without fear of being condemned as female and experiencing
balanced relationships without losing themselves. These incidents with
Kira and Dax seemed to me to show confident women making choices with which
they were comfortable, without demeaning themselves in the process.
Elizabeth
-- Elizabeth L. Pandolfo/Briggs pandolfo@macbsd.com http://www.macbsd.com/~pandolfo/index.html"Whatever happens, believe that the journey is worth taking..." --Peth, "Seaward"
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:06:24 PDT