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Queer Guy for the Sci-Fi?
Feb 7, 2004
Science fiction and fantasy television
has been around for fifty years now, ever since Flash Gordon premiered as a television show in 1954. It was
followed first by Dr. Who in 1963,
and then by both Lost in Space and Star Trek in 1965. Various shows aired
over the decades, from several versions of The
Invisible Man to The Incredible Hulk,
three new Star Trek series, and into
the early 1990s, with its plethora of shows including The X-Files (1993), Hercules
(1994), Xena (1995), Sliders (1995), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Angel (1999), Farscape
(1999), Cleopatra 2525 (2000), Firefly (2002), etc. Most of the shows
centered around the adventures of one individual or a small group of
individuals, and their dealings with either the supernatural or
extraterrestrial. These shows also usually contained romantic subplots between
the main protagonist and a character of the opposite sex.
At the same time these
live-action shows were sticking with heterosexual pairings, other forms of the science
fiction / fantasy genre, such as novels, role playing games, anime, comic
books, and especially fan-written fiction (commonly called “fanfic”) were
exploring other modes of sexual orientation and preferences, including same-sex
pairings, transexuality, polygamy, asexuality, androgyny, sadomasochism, and
bondage-domination. One of most prominent examples would be The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K.
LeGuin. In this class sci-fi novel, the protagonist finds himself on an alien
planet, where he becomes involved with the aboriginal people, forming
friendships, and eventually romantic interests. What differentiates this piece
from the works of, say, Edgar Rice Burroughs, is that the native aliens naturally
change sex and gender as part of their breeding cycles. Another example of
same-sex pairings can be found in the works of Mercedes Lackey, especially in The Last Herald-Mage, the story of a
powerful mage, Vanyel, in the fictional kingdom of Valdamer. Much of the
trilogy addresses how his homosexual orientation affects both his personal and
professional lives. Laurel K. Hamilton, author of the wildly popular Anita
Blake books, also often explores alternative lifestyles, including SM/BD and
polygamy in her works. Anime, too, often addresses topics that television shows
won’t, like in The Vision of Escaflowne in which one of the antagonists is revealed as the long-lost,
sex-changed sister of one of the protagonists.
In essence, until the late 1990s, there
were two distinct portrayals of sexual orientation within the sci-fi / fantasy
genre: The world of television remained straight, while other mediums of the
genre were branching out, reflecting the fan-base. Then, two shows began to
change that.
The first show in the genre to begin to
address the idea of same-sex pairings was Xena:
Warrior Princess. The show was an off-shoot of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and produced by the same studio. Viewers
followed the adventures of Xena, a former mercenary, and her side-kick,
Gabriel, as they wandered the ancient Greece countryside, battling gods,
demons, monsters, warlords and generally fought the good fight. After a few seasons, the script writers began
to imply that the women were more than fellow-warriors, and were, in fact,
lovers. The show never actually resolved the question of what the real relationship
between the two women was, but there was a great deal of controversy
surrounding the topic, both in the media and in the world of fandom.
The second same-sex pairing in
the genre came shortly after, when Willow Rosenberg, a supporting character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, came-out as
bisexual, becoming a regular couple with fellow witch, Tara Mclay. The two
remained a regular couple until Tara’s death at the end of the sixth season.
All of this brings us to the
present of science fiction / fantasy television. More same-sex scenarios
continue to emerge, from the dream-sequences of Farscape to the brief interchange between courtesan Inara Serra and
her female client on Firefly. None of
these same-sex pairings are male-male.
One has to question why
television producers have limited their same-sex couples to women-only. Are
they suggesting that women aren’t capable of close friendships with each other
without sex becoming an issue? It is curious that the same studio that raised
all of the questions regarding Xena and Gabriel never questioned the
relationship of Hercules and Eolas. After all, the two teams had similar
adventures, traveled the same way, same world, the only difference being
gender. Hercules and Eolas were just as likely a couple as their female
counter-parts. Or perhaps I’m missing the mark, and lesbians are simply
perceived as more marketable than male couples.
Despite all evidence to the
contrary, the notion prevails that all sci-fi geeks are overweight, socially inept,
obsessive, and above all else, male. We all still live in our parents’
basements, playing role playing games, and, as a friend put it, “Desperately
hoping that Seven-of-Nine will beam naked and willing into the room.” Continuing
with these assumptions, the stereotypical sci-fi fan is also straight. Perhaps
the stereotypical (and mostly fictional) fan dreams of being invited to join in
when two women make-out? If that’s the case, by all means, showing two women
together in a sci-fi setting is sure to raise the ratings!
This might be valid business
logic except for one, simple fact: That stereotype comprises only a very small
part of fandom. Sci-fi fans come in a wide variety of backgrounds, races,
genders, sexes, and sexual preferences. Go a LARP hosted by the local
university, attend an SCA event or a sci-fi convention. Log onto a discussion
group, play some online games, head over to the local games shop. For some of
the most definitive proof that fandom is diverse, and would be willing to see
more romantic variety in its television than what’s currently being offered,
surf over to sites like www.wolverineandrogue.com,
www.tthfanfic.com , or www.fanfiction.net.
It’s time for the producers to get with
it, to realize that what fans want is more than what’s being offered. It’s time
to put the queer guy into the sci-fi. With all the demons, gods,
alternate realities, aliens, advanced technology, and other stretches of the
imagination regularly required to watch sci-fi television series, the producers
and screen writers could manage to conceive of a male-male couple. It’s a
realistic scenario, unlike the idea
that Captain Kirk can make it with alien females galaxy-wide.
Marguerite is a geek extraordinaire who has grown up on HBI, Computers, Gaming, and Science Fiction.
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