Summary
TheStar Trekshows on Paramount+ have givenStar Trekcanon a wealth of new LGBTQ+ characters. Led byStar Trek: Discovery, which includedStar Trek’s first gay main characters in Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz),everyStar Trekshow in the modern era has featured at least one character that represents the LGBTQ+ community. EvenStar Trek: Prodigy, aimed at a younger audience, represents diversity with the care that it deserves. Post-Discovery,the ideal future thatStar Trekrepresents is open to everyone, because queerness isn’t a deviation from the norm, but integrated into society fully.
This kind of acceptance permeates most of the LGBTQ+ representation in modernStar Trek.QueerStar Trekcharacters usually don’t need to actually come out; instead, they’re able to just live their lives without question, and rarely meet resistance from others. It’s a fantastic evolution from the Trill social taboo that stood in for 90s attitudes towards same-sex couples inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,season 4, episode 5, “Rejoined”, whenStar Trek’s first same-sex kiss between Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) and Lenara Kahn (Susanna Thompson) was a big deal. Each LGBTQ+ character onStar Trekis interesting on their own, independent of their queerness.
Star Trek: A Queer History Of The Franchise
While the Star Trek franchise has only added explicitly LGBTQ+ characters in the last 4-5 years, it has had ties to queer themes from the beginning.
11Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp)
Star Trek: Discovery
In addition to being one ofStar Trek’s first gay main characters,Commander Paul Stametsis the brilliant astromycologist who invented the USS Discovery’s spore drive inStar Trek: Discovery.Stamets put his own life and career on the line to ensure the spore drive had a reliable navigator, volunteering himself for the role by splicing tardigrade DNA into his own, which gives Stamets an inherent connection to the galactic mycelial network. That connection meant that the memory of Paul’s husband, Dr. Hugh Culber, was alive within the mycelial network after Culber’sStar Trek: Discoveryseason 1 murder, soPaul’s love for Hugh quite literally resurrected Dr. Culber inDiscoveryseason 2.
Stamets' innate curiosity and joyful pursuit of scientific discovery overtakes the general irritability that first characterized Stamets inStar Trek:Discovery’s early seasons, something Stamets himself even points out when pretending to be a younger version of himself inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5, episode 4, “Face the Strange”. Paul’s trend towards kindness evolves over the course ofStar Trek: Discovery,asStamets becomes something of a mentor to 32nd-century Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio), whom Stamets and Culber take in as their own child.
10Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz)
The other half ofStar Trek’s first gay couple, Dr. Hugh Culber is murdered by Lt. Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 1. AfterCulber is revived as one of Stamets' mycelial memories who comes into the physical plane of reality, Dr. Culber begins to evolve as a character. Death and resurrection isn’t new toStar Trek, butStar Trek: Discovery’s serialized nature meant that Culber’s story was a thorough exploration of trauma, grief, confusion, and eventually, spiritual enlightenment.
After the USS Discovery’s crash-landing in the 32nd century, both Culber and Stamets cope with the trauma ofStar Trek: Discovery’s time jumpby committing themselves fully to their jobs, to the point of overworking themselves, which was a trait that most of Discovery’s crew shared. Recognizing this,Hugh Culber takes on the responsibility of becoming the ship’s counselor, hoping to ease the crew’s transition into the future.
Stamets and Culber’s relationship is not without its challenges. After being resurrected, Dr. Culber is uncertain about his own existence, and questions whether his marriage to Paul Stamets is still valid. As Stamets pursues scientific renown inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5, Culber leans into exploring spirituality. The differences between Stamets and Culber make them stronger, however, as both support each other unconditionally.
9Ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio)
Ensign Adira Tal is a 32nd century member of Earth’s United Defense Force who joins Starfleet after encountering the USS Discovery. Adira is alsoStar Trek’s first nonbinary main character. Unlike most other queerStar Trekcharacters,Adira comes out to Paul Stamets inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 3, episode 8, “The Sanctuary”, in which Adira nervously explains that they"never felt like a ‘she’ or a ‘her,'“and requests to be referred to as"they or them”. Stamets’ reaction is easy acceptance, and Stamets' usage of the correct pronouns for Adira effortlessly spreads to the rest of the USS Discovery crew.
Adira Tal is also unique as the first successful permanent joining of a Trill symbiont with a human host. After the death of Adira’s Trill boyfriend, Gray Tal (Ian Alexander), the Tal symbiont needs an emergency host, so Adira volunteers. Rather than reject the symbiont,Tal and Adira bond completely as a joined entity.The Trill community reacts poorly, to say the least, but ultimately accepts that Tal is joined to Adira, once Adira undergoes the rituals to reawaken Tal’s memories inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 3, episode 4, “Forget Me Not”.
InStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 5, episode 17, “The Outcast”, the J’naii are an alien society without gender. One representative, Soren (Melinda Culea), confesses to Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) that she is female, not nonbinary, making Soren one of the first transgender characters onStar Trek.
8Gray Tal (Ian Alexander)
Gray Tal is introduced byStar Trek: Discoveryin a flashback that depicts his life with love interest Adira, joining with Trill symbiont Tal, and accidental death on a generational ship seeking the Federation in the 32nd century. After Adira’s joining with Tal,Gray appears to Adira as a non-corporeal entity that only Adira can perceive, fashioned from the memories of the Tal symbiont. It’s an interesting parallel to Commander Stamets unconsciously preserving his own husband, Hugh Culber, within the mycelial network, so Culber and Stamets are primed to help Gray transition from mere consciousness into a brand-new body.
Gray’s story is a metaphor for the positive power of gender-affirming health care for transgender people. Gray’s new body uses the same technology as thesynthetic body for Admiral Jean-Luc Picard(Patrick Stewart) inStar Trek: Picard, but hasn’t been widely adopted because of its low success rate. That doesn’t deter Culber and Trill Guardian Xi (Andreas Apergis) from attempting the procedure.Gray will be dead without a new body, and very much alive with one, so there is no question but to give Gray his body. After the procedure’s success, Gray is truly seen by everyone as he is meant to be.
InStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 4, episode 23, “The Host”, Trill ambassador Odan (Franc Luz) is temporarily hosted by Commander Riker before ending up with a female host (Nicole Orth-Pallavicini), andStar Trek: Deep Space Nineexpands on Trill lore through Dax’s former lives with male and female hosts, so it’s fitting that Gray and Adira, non-allegorical transgender characters inStar Trek: Discovery,are Trill.
7Commander Jett Reno (Tig Notaro)
The USS Discovery rescuesCommander Jett Reno(Tig Notaro) inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2, episode 1, “Brother”, when the Red Angel’s first signal directs the Discovery to the wreckage of the USS Hiawatha. After sustaining the Hiawatha survivors, Reno joins the crew of the USS Discovery as a senior engineer known for dry wit, out-of-the-box ideas, and a penchant for snack foods. Reno’s generally casual attitude makes her nuggets of wisdom unexpected, but surprisingly valuable, suggesting thatJett Reno does actually care about people, even if Commander Reno might rather have you think she just doesn’t have the patience for idiocy.
Commander Reno wears a wedding ring in memory of her late wife, who died during the Klingon War. Reno explains later that she was desperate to keep one of the USS Hiawatha’s survivors alive, despite the obvious pain they were in, because they reminded Reno far too much of her wife to let them die. Once Reno made the connection, she was able to let the patient go.
6Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan)
Star Trek: Picard
Star Trek: Voyager’s Seven of Ninereturns inStar Trek: Picardseason 1 as a Fenris Ranger, rendering aid where needed after being barred from joining Starfleet due to her Borg past. Seven’s skills are useful to Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and the La Sirena crew; after bonding with Picard over their shared Borg trauma, Seven continues to help Picard’s team. At the end ofStar Trek: Picardseason 1,Seven of Nine’s romance with Raffi Musiker is teasedwith a shot of Seven and Raffi holding hands.
At the start ofStar Trek: Picardseason 2, however,Seven and Raffi are already in a rocky place. Between Seven’s difficulty with human interaction and Raffi’s complicated history, the relationship is bound to be tricky, but in trueStar Trekfashion, communication is the key to harmony. ByStar Trek: Picardseason 3, Seven of Nine is on active duty as a Starfleet officer, and becomescaptain of the USS Enterprise-Gwith Commander Musiker as her First Officer. It’s not clear where Seven and Raffi stand romantically, but that should be apparent ifStar Trek: Legacyhappens.
Seven of Nine’s relationships with men inStar Trek: Voyagerwere mostly forgettable. As Annika Hansen, Seven had a relationship with Axum (Mark Deakins) that lasted for six years in Unimatrix Zero, the Borg dream reality. Seven of Nine’s lackluster relationship with Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) inStar Trek: Voyagerseason 7 didn’t pan out. Seven’s relationship with Raffi isn’t perfect, but it’s clear they’re trying to make it work despite the difficulties.
5Commander Raffaela Musiker (Michelle Hurd)
Life has not been particularly kind to Raffaela Musiker. Standing with Jean-Luc Picard to help the Romulans effectively ended Raffi’s Starfleet career, which precipitated a downward spiral into substance abuse, divorce, and estrangement from Raffi’s adult son, so when Picard comes calling for Musiker’s help inStar Trek: Picard, Raffi isn’t really inclined to join Picard again. Still, Musiker’s options are limited, andanother mission gives Raffi the opportunity to move forward with her life.Commander Musiker’sStar Trek: Picardjourney finds Raffi back in Starfleet’s good graces, and working for Starfleet Intelligence inStar Trek: Picardseason 3.
Raffi’s relationship with Seven of Ninealso represents second chances. Seven is imperfect, but so is Raffi, so the relationship requires effort from both women to avoid the pitfalls of their complicated pasts.No one in Seven and Raffi’s immediate circle comments on their Sapphic relationship as something unexpectedgiven their individual relationship histories with men, proving thatStar Trek’s future accepts the fluidity of human sexuality fairly readily.
4Captain Angel (Jesse James Keitel)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Whether in the guise of Dr. Aspen or as the pirate monarch seizing the USS Enterprise,Captain Angel very clearly walks the line with regard to gender. There’s something delightful in how comfortable Angel villainously chews scenery like a camp queen and slinks around the gender spectrum, subverting the trope of a queer-coded villain by deliberately owning their queerness.
Captain Angel is married to Sybok, Lt. Spock’s (Ethan Peck) older half-brother, who uses the name Xaverius and is held in a Vulcan criminal rehabilitation center.
InStar Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 1, episode 7, “The Serene Squall”, Angel suggests that Spock doesn’t have to commit to being either Vulcan or human, but can instead embrace being"neither". The idea of rejecting societal categorization reflects howAngel’s own balancing act with gender is comparable to Spock’s struggles with being biracial. Those quiet moments with Spock are personal, revealing how Angel’s personal journey influences their perception of the world.
3Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush)
Originally portrayed onStar Trek: The Original Seriesby Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, Jess Bush’s Nurse Christine Chapel inStar Trek: Strange New Worldsis highly skilled, vivacious, and ardently passionate about topics that pique her interest. Romantically,Christine pursues casual, low-stakes relationships with both men and women, but, like inTOS, Chapel always carries a torch for Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck).Strange New Worldssees Spock reciprocating Christine’s otherwise unrequited crush, helped along by Spock’s desire to explore the human side of his half-Vulcan heritage.
Nurse Chapel’s laser-focus on Spock as a romantic interest doesn’t discount Chapel’s previous relationships with women, one of which was revealed whenLieutenant Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) brings up a woman that Christine once datedinStar Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 1, episode 5, “Spock Amok”.
2Zero (Angus Imrie)
Star Trek: Prodigy
Star Trek: Prodigy’s Zero is a Medusan, a telepathic species composed of pure energy, whose true form is capable of driving people mad. Because of this, Zero inhabits a mechanical containment suit in a vaguely humanoid shape in order to interact with the environment. Zero’s brilliance masks their uncertainty in social situations, butthe ragtag young crew of the USS Protostar crew accepts Zero as they are, even after Zero is unwillingly used as a weapon by the Diviner (John Noble).
As a non-corporeal species,Medusans are genderless by nature. The Medusan Ambassador Kollos inStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 3, episode 7, “Is There in Truth No Beauty?”, was referred to with masculine pronouns, but Zero makes it clear that their lack of gender means gender-neutral pronouns are appropriate.
