I guess doing a guy doing an “it” is more acceptable than doing another guy. But The Next Generation lightly touched on the subject when Riker fell in love with a member of an androgynous race. It might have caused mass panic, or just riots and protests and a cancelled show.
God forbid American citizens see someone different from themselves in the 60’s. The original Star Trek came too early for such experimentation. In fact, I can recall only a few shallow instances in which the sexuality of characters was explored. Not knowing what gay meant, I didn’t know to look for its absence. Having grown up with Star Trek as a child, I never thought about it. On the issue of gays in space, Star Trek was considerably quieter. Luckily Gene Roddenberry isn’t a pushover. At the time that was so earth shattering that it nearly didn’t happen. Did you know that Star Trek is the first show that did an inter-racial kiss on TELEVISION!? Well now you do. It’s a great series, and groundbreaking in some ways too. You’re reading my blog, so do what I say. Are any of you big Star Trek fans? I know I am.
