Salt Lake City Pride ended a few days ago and I’m still feeling good. It’s been a long three years since our last Pride. I really needed the energy and love that a large crowd of like-minded people creates. It certainly was a crowd of nearly 70,000 people. Each one of us has our own unique story and past, our own reasons to celebrate, and our own reasons to be proud.
But what brings us together is our celebration of diversity. The Vulcan philosophy: infinite diversity in infinite combinations, or IDIC is the perfect slogan for Federation Pride Day. Yes, that day should exist.
Pride is a multi-faceted idea. LGBTQIA+ people have pride in our history. We have pride in the future we’re building. Pride is a celebration, a parade, and an ideal. Our flag has expanded as our community and family have expanded.
A lot of characters embody those colours of pride. I’m excited to share some of those connections I see between the people of Star Trek and Pride.
Pride and Star Trek have a lot in common. But before I begin…
I want to remind you that queer history is full of real people.
People who sacrificed their time, their money, and even their lives to bring queer culture and our hardships to the light.
Star Trek is fictional. The characters and their stories may mirror the experiences of real people, but the comparison can only be superficial. Reality always outweighs fiction.
Pride is a Protest
On June 28th, 1969, the Stonewall Inn became a pivotal point in gay history. Before this, gay activism included peaceful protests and sit-ins. They didn’t have much effect. Fed up with constant harassment and discrimination, the anger of the queer community in New York boiled over.
That night during another raid, drag queens, homeless gay youth, and other queer patrons had had enough. Stones and bottles were thrown at police officers. Soon it was a full riot. Protests continued the rest of the week. The gay movement had begun in earnest. The first Pride was a riot.
The Stonewall Riot spurred the creation of many new gay rights organizations. On the year anniversary, of the riot, people marched through the streets of New York, creating the first American Pride parade. Today Stonewall Inn is a National Historic Landmark.
A plaque on the wall states…
“This uprising catalyzed the LGBTQ civil rights movement, resulting in increased visibility for the community that continues to resonate in the struggle for equality.”
Due to a transporter accident, Benjamin Sisko, Julian Bashir, and Jadzia Dax were sent to San Francisco in 2371 (DS9 – Past Tense). Mistaken for homeless, Sisko and Bashir were taken to a Sanctuary District. The districts were created to house the homeless, the jobless, and other undesirables.
The district they were taken to was overcrowded, with few resources and walled off from the rest of the city. While being mugged, Benjamin was helped by another citizen who was stabbed to death. Reading his identification card, the Commander realized that their benefactor was Gabriel Bell, the leader of the riots.
Their interference had changed a pivotal moment in history. Sisko took on the persona of Bell and tried to keep history consistent. Once the riots had begun, our time-travelling commander acted as the voice of the District citizens.
Dax was able to convince a television channel to broadcast the riots and the people’s stories to America. Riots broke out in districts across the country. America’s opinions of the districts changed. They finally faced their problems and worked for real solutions. Even Starfleet officers, bound by the Prime Directive and Temporal Prime Directive would have joined the Bell Riots to right inequalities.
Pride is Profitable
Rule of Acquisition number 22: A wise man can hear profit in the wind. I have no doubt that Quark would be the second person in line to ratify a Federation Pride Day. (Behind the creator, of course.)
Pride and its merchandise, alcohol, and advertising opportunities would be a huge profit opportunity. I can see Quark’s festooned in rainbow-coloured holograms, Dabo girls and boys making sure every patron is happy and with a drink in hand.
“Rainbow capitalism” as it’s called, is rife with controversy. During June we see rainbow t-shirts and merchandise at our local department chains. Every alcohol brand has a bright rainbow label. When I first noticed this years ago, I was excited. I felt seen and valued.
Now it’s not so thrilling. We want representation year-round. We want corporations that value us and see our problems. But you can be sure, as May becomes June, Ferengi bartenders and other enterprising businesses will take their chances and try to lure us in for a spin at the rainbow Dabo table inside.
Pride is Love
Of all of Pride’s attributes, I think love is the most important. Pride celebrates the ability to love who you love. It’s only very recently that Star Trek has had openly gay, trans, and non-binary characters shown in relationships. Hikaru Sulu and his husband Ben share a moment in Star Trek: Beyond.
Hugh Culber and Paul Stamets show us how husbands can heal one another. There are others, but I want to talk about Seven of Nine and Raffaela Musiker. At the end of season one, we see the two women interlock fingers next to a game of kal-toh. My heart raced at the possibilities. The bad flavour left by the Chakotay-Seven relationship was eliminated almost twenty years later.
During season two (and a year and a half in the show), we find that the two have separated. They seemed uncertain of where the other stood. Their relationship was awkward at best. When Picard and much of his crew were brought to the year 2024, Seven and Raffi were able to put their differences aside and work together.
It was easy to see that they still loved each other, even if perhaps they shouldn’t be together. When Picard’s crew is contemplating life stranded in the twenty-first century, Raffi assures Seven that she won’t have to spend every waking moment with her.
Seven interrupts her with a kiss. I smiled again. 2024 wouldn’t be all bad for a lesbian couple from the future! Maybe, in this case, love could conquer all. I hope that in season three, we can see the two work through their differences as a couple and help each other grow.
Pride is Hope
Hope is a powerful idea. As members of the LGBTQIA+ family, we keep a powerful hope for the future. We want a future where we are accepted and valued members of society. We hope for a future where our rights are enshrined and protected. We hope for a future where the pain we’ve suffered won’t be repeated. For every setback, we hope for two steps forward.
In the episode “The Elysian Kingdom”, hope is what drives Doctor Joseph M’Benga to find a cure for his daughter. Keeping Rukiya alive in the transporter pattern buffer of the medical bay was an act of hope.
The sentient lifeform from the nebula created the Elysian Kingdom on the Enterprise. The doctor and chief engineer were the only two aware of the change. They were searching for a mythical weapon, the Mercury Stone.
They discover that M’Benga’s daughter is that stone. The entity saw her in the pattern buffer and sensed reciprocal loneliness. When her father finds her, she is cured of her terminal disease. But they learn that if she leaves the nebula, the disease will return. Joseph M’Benga must make the impossible decision of letting his daughter lose her corporeal body and the disease or leaving the nebula and returning to sickness.
I can only attribute hope as the reason he allows her to go. But his courage is repaid as she rematerializes as an adult. Rukiya shares with her father that he made the right decision, and she is truly happy. Hope is a powerful force.
STAR TREK HAS ALWAYS PUSHED BOUNDARIES TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE.
Now LGBTQIA+ people are no longer “Strange New Worlds” to be visited and left behind, but we are part of the crew. We’re curious, intelligent, and brave.
We really are part of the Star Trek family. Star Trek embraces Pride with the classic Vulcan salute: Live long and prosper!
