Season 1: Ep. 1 Pilot: The Cage -- or -- Dammit, Jim! I'm a gentleman, not a cavalier!

Oh dear. This is a doozy.

What IS she wearing?!

It's the first pilot episode (as in, there were two) of Star Trek: The Original Series submitted and rejected by NBC, and let me tell you... 

If this episode had been my first exposure to Star Trek as an adult, I'd probably not lovingly consider myself an honorary Trekkie.

I'm just... so... ashamed.

First, let me say that for its time it was incredibly advanced and forward thinking when it came to the equality and competency of women in the workplace; however, I cringed at modern-day implications of several statements and inferences. The officer known only as "Number One" or "Lieutenant" is a woman: tall, brunette, blue eyes, portrayed as smart and competent, but still a woman.

There is one unnamed female officer with no dialogue who has only a short time on the screen on the bridge,

and a young, female Yeoman (Colt) joins them on the bridge briefly, but notably.

I say notably because of this summation by Captain Pike:

Captain Pike: She does a good job, all right [referring to Yeoman Colt]. It's just that I can't get used to having a woman on the bridge. No offence, Lieutenant [referring to Number One]. You're different, of course.

The blatant misogyny of the era can be well-documented in this episode:

Give us SEXY!

Star Fleet officer pouty face.

I got here by daydreaming my way out of problems.

Well, I heard about those creatures on Talos V... best manicure in the galaxy.

I mention this because my son and niece are starting to discover difference (perceived or observed) between the genders. "Girl stuff" and "boy stuff" is a legitimate division to them. The idea that everyone should fit into one neat category or the other is not new for our species, but it's nevertheless outdated. My goal is not to indoctrinate the children into the campaign for total gender equality (read: gender sameness) that some people have experienced since the 60s, but to empower them to celebrate their differences AND revel in their similarities. Women and men ARE different if you look at whole populations. But there is far more variance WITHIN the genders than between them. I'm encouraged now more than ever about the direction I see my society heading. Take the "Throw Like a Girl" or the Dove Real Beauty commercials along with a plethora of other articles and posts from empowered women on Facebook and Twitter.

The climate for a gender worldview update is now. I'm proud to bear a torch for humanity, not just women or children or elderly, but all the disenfranchised. Today we fight the good fight for a change in perception, a change in attitude. I see the seeds of that throughout the Star Trek series, even though we view it through a filter of male-dominated storytelling. While a majority of the characters in the original series were caucasians, the entire series' foundational theme rests of the discovery of "new worlds and new civilizations," unknown beings, and inherently different ways of life to bring peace and unity to the galaxy. Instead of being angry at the show for it's period treatment of women (because: puns HA!), I choose to appreciate the step it took at a crucial time in history that set us on a path where women today are more supported in their attempts to break from the narrow mold of womanhood into leading lives more completely and fully, even *gasp* those deciding never to have children.

If taken at modern-day face value, this episode would be incredibly offensive. I still advise watching it to appreciate the distance we have come from those oppressive and pervasive presumptions that women are not capable of the clear thought and presence of mind that men are depicted as mastering. The struggle for this equality "carrot" we all chase will be the journey that gives and our progeny the foundation needed to take us up into the stars as a unified species just as Star Trek predicts.