Movies - TV
Why Star Trek: TNG’s LGBT Episode Disappointed Jonathan Frakes
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
The "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Outcast" introduces the J'naii, a species claiming to have evolved past gender identity and criminalizes gendered sexual contact.
A J'naii pilot named Soren reveals that she feels female and is attracted to Riker. When this reaches the other J'naii, she is threatened with the equivalent of a conversion camp.
By today's politics, "The Outcast" feels clumsy in its attempts to discuss gender, but it can be commended for attempting to tell a trans story in a mainstream context in 1992.
"The Outcast" was a response to a concern that "Star Trek" didn't feature many explicitly queer stories, but Riker’s actor Johnathan Frakes felt that it wasn't nearly queer enough.
Soren was played by a cis female actor, so there's no true queer kiss on camera. Frakes felt that the episode would have been stronger if Soren had been played by a cis male actor.
A cis female actor played Soren, so there's no true queer kiss on camera. Frakes felt the episode would have been stronger if a cis male actor had played Soren.