Race isn’t the only thing that makes this new version of Star Trek squeamish. As I have argued throughout this book, one of the most affecting themes in Trek is the tender love between Kirk and Spock, which has over the decades lent itself to intense speculation, most notably in the form of slash fiction, in which voluminous versions of Kirk/Spock romances have appeared […].
Yet, the film’s representation of Kirk and Spock as, initially and for most of the film, rivals who are deeply contemptuous of each other is revealing. […] I see the antagonism between them as another, and the most significant, betrayal of the original spirit of Trek, which valorized male-male love as ardently as did the Iliad in its depiction of the love between Achilles and Patroclus. Here, the war established between Kirk and Spock has, to my mind, a covert purpose: to obscure and transcend the established homoeroticism in this famous bond and to blunt, if not together obviate, the emotional power of male friendship. Or to put it another way: whereas the original series and its subsequent film versions established Kirk and Spock’s friendship as a loving one, this film transmutes love and mutual respect between men into violence […].
This conventional male brutality and the anxieties that fuel it have, as ever, negative implications for the female characters. The Uhura of this film, though wonderfully played by the intelligent and sensual Zoe Saldana, is ultimately a more retrograde portrait of a woman professional than the original Uhura. Nichelle Nichols’ considerable strenghts and appeal as an actor transcended the limitations of role, but those limitations are now starkly apparent. The new Uhura may be a fancier-sounding expert in xenolinguistics, but, unlike Nichols’ original version, she is cast in the typical role of long-suffering girlfriend, this time to Spock. This is, in my view, another effort to squelch the attendant homoeroticism of the Kirk/Spock relationship. It also makes him [Spock] a normatively heterosexual figure by reassuring us of his interest in the opposite sex and, perhaps even more importantly, the opposite sex’s interest in him.
“…there must have been something we did in the series that provokes all these questions…In terms of your questions–what you saw was what we did. That’s the best answer I can give you.” Leonard Nimoy on slash fiction
Did Kirk have any relationships with aliens during TOS? “Only one, but it was continuous.” William Shatner at a convention
“Certainly we all thought the affection was sufficient for that, if that were the particular style of the 23rd century.” Gene Roddenberry on whether Kirk and Spock could have been lovers
“T’hy’la–brother, friend or lover.” The infamous footnote about how Spock sees Kirk, on p22 of Roddenberry’s movie novelization.
honestly? kirk and spock got together after amok time and spock told amanda who told sarek… it’s why sarek came OUT OF RETIREMENT for this dumb vote, cuz he needed a Logical reason to come aboard the enterprise and size up spock’s new boyfriend. it’s why he was having heart trouble that he refused to tell amanda about even though Logically his uh DAMN WIFE should probably know about his medical conditions. he heard about spock’s new boyfriend and immediately realized how stupid their feud was and that he was missing out on his son’s life and that his heart trouble was only going to get worse unless he ended this dumb feud and went to see spock and meet his boyfriend and see how well he was doing in starfleet and how much everybody respects him. spock in turn has to open himself up, quite literally, so that sarek’s heart trouble can be treated
Today my sister and I were talking about how Kirk is hugely mischaracterized by most media and we came to the realization that Kirk is way less like Zapp Branigan and INFINITELY more like Mabel Pines
Cecil. She/her. During the day I sit in libraries staring at books. During the night I write queer fanfiction with a historical slant.
Some not-so-random facts: Gay space lizards are the best lizards. Star Trek is my life. I have too many DS9 ships. Classic Who and the Eighth Doctor Adventures make me grin stupidly. Kelas Parmak is the best. I will defend historically accurate portrayals of Alan Turing to the last drop of blood. Likes and asks end up in the name of @apolesens-otheraccount, because Tumblr doesn't have a way of changing which blog is your primary one. Nothing happens over there - this is the one to follow.
