Star Trek: There have been sexless aliens since the original series 56 years ago

WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2

Star Trek introduced gender-neutral aliens, the Medusans, in Star Trek: The Original Series 56 years ago. star Trek: The Next Generation brought in another species of sexless aliens 32 years ago. Zero (Angus Imrie), the young Medusa hero of Star Trek: Prodigy, continues this tradition. The cast of Star Trek: The Original Series was a groundbreaking force in television, but the franchise only experienced a major revival with the diverse cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation Characters ushered in the subsequent (and iconic) era of the 1990s Star Trek.

Star Trek: The Next Generation showed a species without a fixed gender binary in the TNG Season 5 episode “The Outcast”, which helped to demonstrate the readiness of Star Trek TV shows on go beyond the time frame of the 1990s. By the time Star Trek: Prodigy came out, it was perfectly positioned to push the franchise forward in terms of alien species that are not based on human societal standards. Finally, Star Trek has had sexless aliens since before the 1990s.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the genderless J’naii

In TNG there was a short-lived romance between William Riker and a sexless alien named Soren

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, “The Outcast,” is about an alien race called J’naii are an androgynous species who find the concept of gender offensive. The crew of the USS Enterprise-D meets Soren (Melinda Culea), a young member of the J’naii. Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) accompanies Soren on a mission to recover a lost J’naii shuttle and the two quickly become close. Soren admits to Riker that they are slowly identifying as women, although it is a social taboo among the J’naii to have only one gender.

Their romance is interrupted when another member of the J’naii reports both Soren and Commander Riker to the J’naii authorities. Soren is arrested for harboring beliefs that could harm their society. Although Soren is one of the best Star Trek Although Soren gives speeches calling for the acceptance of all J’naii of one gender, they are still subjected to psychotectic therapy. This “treatment” removes all traces of a single gender and, as a result, the feelings Soren once had for Commander Riker. With “The Outcast” Star Trek: The Next Generation questioned the human concept of gender identity and portrayed a species whose notion of gender was turned on its head.

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 highlights Zero’s sexless medusa species

Jellyfish are completely outside of gender

In Star Trek: ProdigyZero (Angus Imrie) represents the aliens called Medusans. Like all Medusans, Zero is a telepathic, empathic and non-corporeal life form. Zero is in a suit that protects viewers from going insane when they see her true form. Jellyfish have no body, no gender, and no concept of either.Although Zero has no gender aspirations, he wants to use human senses to experience life like his friends. Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 shows that Zero does have this chance after all. Zero also forms a close friendship with Maj’el (Michaela Dietz), a young Vulcan who could develop into something more.

The Medusans are an alien species that is completely sexless, and they are Star Trek‘s latest exploration of non-human concepts around gender and identity. The J’naii were Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s inclusion of gender-neutral foreigners. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine explored the changing identity of the Trill. Star Trek: Discovery featured openly transsexual characters. Star Trek: Prodigy‘s Zero is a welcome addition to Star Trek‘S diverse roster of genderless or gender diverse characters.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first television series in the Star Trek franchise aimed at children, and one of the few animated series in the series. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the prison colony of Tars Lamora, where they are all being held captive. Together with the help of the holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.

Pour

Rylee Alazraqui, Brett Gray, Kate Mulgrew, Ella Purnell, Dee Bradley Baker, Angus Imrie, Jason Mantzoukas, John Noble

Release date

28 October 2021

Authors

Kevin Hageman

franchise

Star Trek

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the science fiction series and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise. Set around a hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes, exploring crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching storylines that developed over the course of each episode, and four films were released alongside the series to further develop some of these plot elements.

Release date

28 September 1987

Seasons

7