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Geek Girl Authority
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
T4TNG: The Accidentally Trans STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Episode
Continuing our Pride Month Star Trek coverage, we're turning towards a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode that 'no homo'd' so hard, it accidentally became a prescient transgender allegory. For this week's Trek Tuesday , we're considering The Next Generation Season 5's 'The Outcast.' 'The Outcast' The seventeenth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, 'The Outcast,' was originally broadcast on March 26, 1992. The U.S.S. Enterprise-D is assisting a species called the J'naii. What makes this species remarkable is that they are androgynous. As explained over the course of the episode, the majority of the species view binary gender as something they collectively evolved beyond in the past. In addition to an androgynous gender presentation, the J'naii no longer have biological gender diversity. When it comes to reproduction, both partners inject their DNA into an external womb. Furthermore, the J'naii do have a gender-neutral pronoun. However, it is stated that there is no direct translation for these pronouns. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Jennifer 'Jen' Sh'reyan In the episode, William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) meets a particular member of the J'naii species: Soren (Melinda Culea). Soren and Riker and assigned to work together closely on the project with which the Enterprise is assisting the J'naii. From the outset, Soren displays a particular interest in the human approach to binary gender. Eventually, she explains to Riker that some members of her species possess binary gender. Soren is one of them. But then she tells Riker a heartbreaking story about what happens to these gendered J'naii. In addition to ridicule, 'psychotectic therapy' is utilized. This stand-in for conversion therapy brainwashes these gendered individuals into believing they are androgynous. Afterwards, they are reintegrated into J'naii society. At the conclusion of the episode, Soren is identified as a 'gender deviant,' and after a bogus trial, she is placed into psychotectic therapy. When Riker reunites with her in the final scenes, she has been fundamentally altered. The Soren he knew is gone. The Final Front-queer Written by Jeri Taylor and directed by Robert Scheerer, 'The Outcast' is a standout episode of The Next Generation. Today, with the oppressive American regime targeting the trans community specifically, it is difficult to read the episode as anything besides an allegory about trans acceptance. But part of why the episode works so well with this reading is because punches were pulled regarding the original intention of the story. When 'The Outcast' aired in the early 1990s, the broader discourse regarding the LGBTQ+ community was centered on gay people. Just as the weapon of conversion therapy can be aimed towards trans people, it can be aimed at gay people, too. In order to ensure that the episode wasn't too 'controversial,' a woman was hired to play Soren rather than a man. RELATED: The Premise and How Star Trek Fans Created Fanfic As We Know It Decades later, Frakes expressed his regret at the shift in casting. He expressed this sentiment in a 2021 episode of After Trek centering on the Star Trek: Discovery episode 'Vaulting Ambition.' In that episode of After Trek , he stated: 'Clearly, the character who […] fell in love with Riker or vice versa should have been played by a man, and the people at the studio didn't have the guts to cast a man.' This wasn't the first time that The Next Generation approached gay representation. David Gerrold, who famously wrote the script for the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode 'The Trouble with Tribbles,' wrote a script for The Next Generation that was never made into an actual episode. In 'Blood and Fire,' two characters were alluded to be gay, and the episode at large dealt with the AIDS crisis. The Trans Read Casting a woman as Soren may have been a decision made in order to make the romance between her and Riker seem less controversial. However, thirty-three years later, this makes the episode seem more like a trans allegory. Part of the Star Trek approach is to address real-world social concerns through the lens of science fiction. This allows for the show to include discussion and analysis of themes that might be otherwise considered outside of the purview of 'television entertainment.' There are many examples of this tactic throughout the history of the Franchise. One of the earliest and most frequently cited episodes to utilize the approach is The Original Series Season 3's 'Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.' RELATED: Star Trek : The Trans Trill, Explained There is a reason that an episode that was written with gay people in mind can today be viewed as a trans allegory. This is because the social and legal pressures that were applied to gay people in the 1990s are so similar to the social and legal pressures that are being applied to trans people today. While conservative extremists may have trans people on the top of their target list, they are prejudiced against the whole LGBTQ+ community. They do not see any part of our community as people. Or at best, they perceive us to be people who are 'broken,' and need to be fixed with conversion therapy. Soren Nevertheless, it is remarkable how many of Soren's statements could be straight out of a contemporary trans person's mouth. In the climactic scene, she states, 'I am tired of lies. I am female.' She continues that she was 'born this way.' She says, 'It is not unnatural. I am not sick because I feel this way; I do not need to be helped; I do not need to be cured. What I need, and what all of those who are like me need, is your understanding and your compassion.' Later in her monologue, she states that people like her are 'called misfits and deviants and criminals.' It is not hard to see how these statements could apply in response to the prejudice that trans people face today. For example, it was recently falsely claimed on The Benny Show that the trans community 'is per capita the most violent domestic terror threat if not in America, probably the entire world.' This is a lie. We are not misfits, deviants or criminals. We are Americans who simply wish to live our lives. RELATED: Star Trek : Tracing the Holodeck's History Soren's entire climactic speech is equally as relevant as these excerpts. In order to fully appreciate it, please watch (or rewatch) the episode for yourself. However, Soren's speech is not enough to sway her fellow J'naii. As mentioned above, the episode concludes with her having undergone psychotectic therapy. Drained of the passion she once possessed, she is no longer the same person she was. Ad Astra Per Aspera For some, the decision to conclude the episode with Soren's identity having been eradicated by psychotectic therapy is controversial. However, I would argue the ending is necessary. Furthermore, it is clear from the powerful final shot that the experience weighs heavily on Riker. This is not meant to be a stable ending. This is meant to be an ending that forces the viewer to consider their own worldview and ask themselves some very difficult questions. RELATED: Star Trek Episode Trilogy: Revisiting 'Unification' Today, the spectre of forced conversion therapy is once again becoming more mainstream. For this reason, 'The Outcast' is more relevant than ever. To look the other way from the immoral forces pushing for conversion therapy is to allow innocent people to be subjected to this barbaric abuse. To borrow a tagline from 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still, 'The Outcast' is a warning… and an ultimatum. Will you heed its moral? Star Trek: The Next Generation's 'The Outcast' is currently available for streaming on Paramount+. STAR TREK: 5 Alternate Lives Avery Kaplan is the author of several books and the Features Editor at Comics Beat. She was honored to serve as a judge for the 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize Award and the 2021 Prism Awards. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her partner and a pile of cats, and her favorite place to visit is the cemetery. You can also find her writing on Comics Bookcase, NeoText, Shelfdust, the Mary Sue, in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
Geek Girl Authority
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
STAR TREK: The Trans Trill, Explained
For decades, many Trekkies have considered the Trill alien species on Star Trek to be a trans allegory. How long has this interpretation been popular? And how has the Franchise leaned into this trans representation? For this week's second Pride Month Trek Tuesday, we're examining the read that connects the trill with trans representation. Star Trek: The Next Generation The Trill were originally introduced on Star Trek: The Next Generation. In The Next Generation Season 4's 'The Host,' a Trill ambassador visits the U.S.S. Enterprise-D in order to take part in some sensitive negotiations on Peliar Zel II. This Trill symbiont, 'Odan,' was originally joined to a male host (Franc Luz). The Trill species is comprised of two kinds of life forms. There is the symbiont, a worm-like entity. These long-lived symbionts can inhabit a humanoid 'host' body. Once this has transpired, the 'joined Trill' will possess a new personality. This is the synthesis of the personalities of the symbiont and the host. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Beverly Crusher In 'The Host,' Odan's male host and Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) became romantically entangled. However, Odan's earlier host was subsequently killed. In order to preserve the life of the symbiont, Dr. Crusher performed a procedure that transferred Odan from the original host into the body of William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes). This complicated the romantic relationship between Odan and Crusher. This was because she considered Riker to be akin to a brother to her. At the conclusion of the episode, the Odan symbiont is transferred to a new host: a woman, Kareel (Nicole Orth-Pallavicini). There is a taboo among the Trill regarding continuing a romantic relationship across different hosts. Nevertheless, Odan was willing to disregard this and continue the romance with Crusher. However, Crusher felt that the repeated changes in hosts were too much, and declined to continue the relationship. This parallels the way that a relationship will sometimes conclude when one partner transitions. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine After being introduced in The Next Generation's 'The Host,' the Trill played a major part in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This was thanks to the fact that one of the command crew members was a Trill: Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell). Sporting a new design (for both the host and the Trill), Jadzia introduced viewers to many facets of the Trill that were not explored in 'The Host.' Among other details, this included the fact that unjoined Trill symbionts swim in cave pools on the planet Trill. However, one aspect of the Trill that was introduced in The Next Generation was obviously and immediately continued in Deep Space Nine. This was the idea of a Trill symbiont moving from a male host to a female host. This was because Jadzia was a new host for the Dax symbiont. However, the previous host for the Dax symbiont was the late Curzon, a male who was the friend of Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). RELATED: Star Trek: Tracing the Holodeck's History In an early Season 1 episode of Deep Space Nine, 'A Man Alone,' Sisko and Jadzia discuss Dax's 'transition.' In that scene, Jadzia notes that sometimes Trill friendships with other species 'don't survive the change.' Sisko says that it will be different for them, but that things are 'uncomfortable' at the moment. Jadzia suggests to Sisko that he learn to 'comfortable with his discomfort.' She continues that 'Time will do the rest.' Ultimately, Sisko's friendship with Jadzia does survive 'the change.' However, Sisko does continue to use the nickname 'Old Man' when speaking to Jadzia. While misgendering a trans person is not recommended, it's clear that this nickname is a sign of Sisko's affection for Jadzia. A Trans Allegory? There are many other scenes featuring Jadzia that are held in high regard by those Trekkies who perceive the character as a trans allegory. To cite just one more out of many examples, we can turn to the Deep Space Nine Season 2 episode 'Blood Oath.' In that episode, Jadzia reunites with a friend, Kor the Klingon (John Colicos), whom she knew decades earlier as Curzon. Initially, Kor refers to Jadzia as 'Curzon, [his] beloved old friend.' However, she corrects him by stating, 'I'm Jadzia now.' Kor immediately amends his statement: 'Jadzia, [his] beloved old friend.' For the rest of the episode, Kor refers to her as 'Jadzia' and uses her correct pronouns. These days, the scene has become something of a popular meme. It is frequently posted as evidence that even Klingons can adapt to a trans person's changing names and pronouns. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: T'Pol Furthermore, interpreting Jadzia as trans is not something that is a recent development. For proof, check out the Summer 1997 issue of Transgender Tapestry magazine. Jadzia is the featured model for the cover of Transgender Tapestry #76. The cover states: 'Star Trek, Transgender & the Final Frontier: Gene Roddenberry's Bold Journey Where No Trans Had Gone Before.' While the issue was released 28 years ago, the discussion around Jadzia remains unchanged. Sadly, and in one of the most controversial plot beats of the series, Jadzia is killed in the penultimate season of Deep Space Nine. The Dax symbiont is subsequently transferred to a new host, Ezri (Nicole de Boer). However, it is easy to speculate how any aspect of this transition might have been handled differently, especially if the series were released today. Trans Like Me Photo Cr: Paramount+ © 2021 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved. When it comes to the Trill on The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, we have a trans allegory. While certain elements of the Trill stories align with the contemporary trans experience, other elements do not. However, the Franchise eventually bridged this gap thanks to Star Trek: Discovery. In the Discovery Season 3 episode 'Forget Me Not,' we're introduced to Gray Tal (Ian Alexander). Like the other joined Trill in this article, Gray has both a host and a symbiont. However, his story is somewhat complicated. When we first meet Gray, his host body is dead. The Tal symbiont has been transferred to a human, Gray's partner, human Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio). Because Adira is human, they do not join with the symbiont in the same way a Trill host would. However, Adira does continue to see visions of Gray. RELATED: 5 Star Trek Meme Source Episodes Eventually, the problem is solved by removing the Tal symbiont from Adira and transferring it to a synthetic 'golem' using the Soong method. This can easily be seen as an allegory for contemporary gender affirming procedures. However, unlike previous Trill, Gray is also textually trans. This is thanks to the fact that the humanoid Trill host is a trans man. Before joining with the Tal symbiont (and before his death), Gray had already transitioned. While trans allegory is good, making Gray textually trans (while maintaining allegorical elements) allows us to have our replicated cake and eat it too. We Get to the Future Together Hopefully, the Star Trek Franchise will continue to offer textual trans representation moving forward. As Great Bird of the Galaxy Gene Roddenberry said: 'Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms.' RELATED: Star Trek Episode Trilogy: Revisiting 'Unification' Roddenberry continued, 'If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences, to take a positive delight in those small differences between our own kind, here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and meet the diversity that is almost certainly out there.' These episodes of Star Trek are currently available for streaming on Paramount+. The Premise and How STAR TREK Fans Created Fanfic as We Know It Avery Kaplan is the author of several books and the Features Editor at Comics Beat. She was honored to serve as a judge for the 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize Award and the 2021 Prism Awards. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her partner and a pile of cats, and her favorite place to visit is the cemetery. You can also find her writing on Comics Bookcase, NeoText, Shelfdust, the Mary Sue, in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
CX Annual Symposium 2025: From proximity to personalisation
Brands today are closer to their customers than ever before—quite literally, in their pockets, via smartphones. With apps, notifications and constant digital presence, brands now have unprecedented access to consumers. But this proximity can quickly turn into intrusion if overused. Endless pings, generic messages and irrelevant offers risk pushing customers away instead of drawing them in. What brands need is not just presence, but purposeful, well-timed, and meaningful engagement. At the ET CX Annual Symposium, industry leaders shared how they're navigating this fine line—using data, platforms and technology to connect with customers in ways that are relevant, respectful and results-driven. For Udit Malhotra, head of marketing , JSW MG Motors, short-form video platforms and more in-depth content ecosystems are the key drivers of recency marketing. These platforms allow brands to remain top-of-mind and deliver messages that are both immediate and compelling. Marketers today have access to vast volumes of data, but the real challenge lies in prompting timely customer action. So, what strategies do brands use to drive conversions within critical windows of opportunity? Arjun Bhatia, CMO, Bharat Matrimony, highlighted the continued dominance of word of mouth in their category. 'Word of mouth remains the largest influence in our category,' he noted, 'but there are a few things we do to control the narrative. One of these is influencer marketing , where we deliberately avoid macro-influencers. Instead, we adopt a localised approach using nano and micro-influencers who can tell the right stories about our product.' Trust and credibility are vital currency in today's fragmented digital space. But how can marketers systematise or even 'productise' trust and word of mouth? Shubhranshu Singh, CMO, Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles, shared, 'Influencers have been highly effective for us. Since the BS VI transition, we have grown from five to around 600 influencers, creating nearly 7,000 videos with 33 crore views and 1.5 crore active engagements. About 20–25% of our sales are now digitally sourced. To build trust, brands need a hybrid model that blends compelling content and digital engagement with physical touchpoints before closing the deal.' As the discussion moved deeper into customer experience , another question emerged: in this new paradigm, what do customers expect, and what kind of experiences should brands aim to deliver? Cyril Mohapatra, SVP and head of digital – SDG, IndusInd Bank, outlined four pillars of a good customer experience: 'First, understand the problem you're solving. Second, offer a seamless front-end interface. Third, ensure robust back-end systems to manage scale. And fourth, make sure the product is secure.' Giving an example from banking, Mohapatra said, 'If a customer is using a banking app for transactions, they should clearly understand the benefits. Most banks today integrate transaction data and app usage into an Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW), allowing them to analyse customer needs. With India Stack Authentication and CIBIL data, banks can pre-approve loans based on customer profiles. If the customer clicks 'yes,' the journey must be frictionless—otherwise, they'll drop off.' Brands are increasingly embracing two-way communication—sharing relevant information while also listening. But this raises another question: should every brand do this, and how do they avoid overwhelming the customer? Anuj Malhotra, VP – India Business, CleverTap, emphasised that marketing automation can help strike the right balance. 'By leveraging past customer behaviour, interests and language preferences, brands can personalise communication to nudge users at the right moment, through the right channel,' he explained. When asked how brands respond to campaigns that don't convert due to neutral or poor customer experiences, Mohapatra admitted, 'Sometimes, campaigns fail to generate interest, or customers simply don't like your brand. For instance, in our online savings account journey, we see a 20–30% drop-off each month. We use diagnostic tools to map the customer journey, identify bottlenecks, and then launch personalised campaigns—including co-browsing calls—to help customers complete the process and ensure they're onboarded.' Today's brands are no longer operating in reactive mode. They are proactively reaching out to customers through intelligent, hyper-personalised campaign management systems—leveraging the best of technology, data, and storytelling to create stronger, trust-led relationships.
