The Next Generation's Feminism

Imagine that you are an officer on the greatest starship in the galaxy. Your home is the flagship of the united federation of the planets. It took a lot to get here; this post is one that every other person in your profession dreams of holding. That’s right, you are an officer on the Starship Enterprise 1701-D. Your superior officers inspire the respect of the entire crew, a population of over 1000 different people.

Obviously it takes a significant amount of hard work, dedication, and just pure talent to obtain such an important and respected position. Looking at them, you see professionals, people you would want to have at your helm in a standoff against the Romulons or the Borg. Well, at least most of them. That one woman there at the end, the one without the regulation uniform, the deep V-neck and the long flowing hair, what’s her problem? You’re pretty sure you’ve never seen her actually being useful. What was her contribution to the action at Farpoint? Getting a headache and muttering vague uselessness about pain, that’s what.magine that you are an officer on the greatest starship in the galaxy. Your home is the flagship of the united federation of the planets. It took a lot to get here; this post is one that every other person in your profession dreams of holding. That’s right, you are an officer on the Starship Enterprise 1701-D. Your superior officers inspire the respect of the entire crew, a population of over 1000 different people.

Deanna Troi. She had such potential to be a strong, independent female character. Her other female counterparts did well for themselves: Beverly Crusher portrayed not only an impressive medical professional but also a single mother that was always there for her son, even if the entire galaxy found him annoying; Lieutenant Yar, while short lived, was always the first crew member to intercept an opponent and let them know who was boss, while still being feminine enough to steal the otherwise cold heart of an android incapable of feeling.

As I said, Troi had potential. As a half Betazoid, Deanna was able to sense the emotions of almost any creature in the galaxy. For a starship with the sole mission of seeking out new life forms and making peace with the universe, having such a skill could have been invaluable. Unfortunately, things never seemed to work out so that Deanna’s ability was actually helpful. She would sit at Picard’s left-hand, but all she could contribute to a briefing on why was going to were things like “I feel such pain, suffering…” or “They are masking their thoughts, I can’t be sure.” She’s the head counselor of the greatest starship of her time, but you take away her special power and suddenly she can’t use her psychology degree?

For whatever reason, any episode that focused mainly on Troi quickly turned into a glimpse into a short lived romance. Either that or she would be the damsel in distress, waiting in the thick of things while countless redshirts (and the previously mentioned Yar) give up their lives to save her.

Could it be that Deanna’s character is just a tribute of sorts to the original show, where every woman within a 100 yard radius was supposed to fall head over heels for Captain Kirk? When the uniforms were tight and awkwardly revealing, but it didn’t matter because none of the women were truly in positions of power anyways? Because that’s what it comes down to, Troi wears a jumpsuit that does nothing to diminish her already curvy figure, so she isn’t allowed to be taken seriously.

You scoff? You shouldn’t. Because, while in the first 5 or 6 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation Troi is sort of a joke, eventually she does have to put on a uniform. The episode this happens could also be known as the one where Deanna becomes a 3 dimensional character. As Marina Sirtis, the actress who played Troi so aptly put it in an interview, “I was thrilled when I got my regulation Star Fleet uniform, or the regulation space suit, as we call it. First of all, it covered up my cleavage and, consequently, I got all my brains back, because when you have a cleavage you can't have brains in Hollywood. So I got all my brains back and I was allowed to do things that I hadn't been allowed to do for five or six years. I went on away teams, I was in charge of staff, I had my pips back, I had phasers, I had all the equipment again, and it was fabulous.”

Almost as soon as Troi puts on her uniform again, she develops not only a mind, but an ambition. In the final season, Deanna Troi successfully passes the test to become a Starfleet commander, an idea she did not even consider while she was wearing more revealing clothing. So she did eventually live up to her potential as a strong female, it just took 6 seasons and many different skin-tight outfits to get there.

Female Objectification In The Music Industry

WNBA Female Warriors

Female athletes have experienced inequities for their participation in sports for generations. Up until Title IX, the groundbreaking ruling passed to level the playing fields in the NCAA for women and men, only men’s sport programs would even be considered for sponsorship, or in some cases, creation. Now, with Title IX in effect, for colleges to build new men’s sport programs they must provide equivalent opportunities for their female student body as well. Even with all of the progressive laws and movements society has fueled towards gender equality, sports tend to still show themselves as masculine events, or male dominated. Even though the dynamics of sports do not create a gender barrier, our society continues to view sports in traditional ways that they belong in the masculine realm. This can be easily observed in many sports, but perhaps one of the greatest differences we see is the difference between women’s professional basketball and men’s professional basketball.

Ever since the foundation of the WNBA, we have seen the female athletes who compete be mistreated. These women give their all game after game, practice after practice, yet continue to be viewed as insignificant compared to men’s basketball. In the NBA, popular athletes are widely celebrated throughout the country. Their names are generally identifiable in many locales and regions, and their jerseys make large numbers of sales. Comparatively, I personally could not tell you of a time I have ever seen anybody wearing a WNBA jersey. The NBA also shows men like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade making $14.5 million and $14 million in one season, respectively. This is completely blown out of proportion, because women who perform the same job and entertainment service make only a small fraction of that. Professional women’s basketball players make an average of $46,000 to $60,000. The average salary for females is the equivalent to what Shaquille O’Neal made in about 12 minutes of game time. However, the differences in earnings does not stop there- female basketball players are given salary caps, compared to the minimum salaries their male counterparts are promised. WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson was told that she can make a maximum of $87,000, where Shawn Bradley, considered to be an NBA disappointment, was guaranteed a minimum of $1.1 million. The inequality in compensation for the same entertainment service that male and female professional basketball players provide is a huge disappointment.

How many women’s basketball games have you watched or even seen being played on major sports channels? Now compare that to the amount of NBA games that are broadcast during basketball season. Men’s sports make up 90% of sports media coverage. Media companies would argue that women’s sports receive lower ratings. How would they know this when they have never displayed even coverage of both genders’ sport events? Some of the highest ratings for covered events come from Wimbledon and women’s World Cup Finals, proving that women do have the capability of attracting large audiences and fan support. Now compare the stereotypical sport audience for games broadcasted on television to the Olympics, where almost 50% of athletes are females, and over 50% of the spectators are female. Women’s basketball is an Olympic event where we see a majority of watchers are women; why do companies not air more WNBA games? The latest broadcasting contract for the WNBA has ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2 air a minimum of 18 games each season, compared to the NBA, which has no need for television contracts due to existing beliefs that everybody wants to see a male-centered, male-dominated sporting world.

Clearly, with the underrepresentation on media networks alongside the unfairly low amounts of pay that these athletes have to endure, it is fairly easy to say that WNBA players are horribly mistreated and unappreciated compared to NBA players of similar stature. It is high time we do something about this, and stop the mistreatment of these highly skilled, specialized female athletes. The WNBA has shown its attraction to athletes and fans alike as it has continued to grow over the years- more teams have been added throughout the nation as more players have become interested and signed, as well as attendance for games continuing to rise. As these female warriors continue to battle through the hardships they face, they continue to focus on the main point of their career: the love of the game. Some of their male counterparts have begun to sell out to the big money and have lost sight of what truly matters, but professional women basketball players put up with the mistreatment they face all to play the game they love. For this, they deserve recognition. For this, they have gained the respect and support of thousands.st ratings for covered events come from Wimbledon and women’s World Cup Finals, proving that women do have the capability of attracting audiences and fan support. Now compare the stereotypical sport audience for games broadcasted on television to the Olympics, where almost 50% of athletes are females, and over 50% of the spectators are female. Women’s basketball is an Olympic event where we see a majority of watchers are women; why do companies not air more WNBA games? The latest broadcasting contract for the WNBA has ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2 air a minimum of 18 games each season, compared to the NBA, which has no need for television contracts due to existing beliefs that everybody wants to see a male-centered, male-dominated sporting world.

Inequality Faced in the WNBA

Ever since the foundation of the WNBA, we have seen the female athletes who compete be mistreated. These women give their all game after game, practice after practice, yet continue to be treated unfairly. In the NBA, we see men like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade making $14.5 million and $14 million last season alone, respectively. This is completely blown out of proportion, because women who perform the same job and entertainment service make only a small fraction of that. Professional women’s basketball players hardly make more than $100,000 a year. The average salary for females is the equivalent to what Shaquille O’Neal made in about 12 minutes of game time. Female basketball players are treated very unfairly, receiving far less exposure and fewer benefits than their male counterparts do.

How many women’s basketball games have you watched or even seen being played on major sports channels? Now compare that to the amount of NBA games that are broadcast during basketball season. There are lower ratings for women’s basketball, yes; but can you really expect the ratings to be similar when the broadcasting time is so disproportionate? Men’s sports make up 90% of sports media coverage. Now compare this to the Olympics, where almost 50% of athletes are females, and over 50% of the spectators are female. Women’s basketball is an Olympic event, where we see a majority of watchers are women; why do companies not air more WNBA games? The latest broadcasting contract for the WNBA has ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2 air a minimum of 18 games each season, compared to the NBA, which has no need for said contracts because they are already shown on air because they are believed to bring in much more revenue and ratings.

Clearly, with the underrepresentation on media networks alongside the unfairly low amounts of pay that these athletes have to endure as well, it is fairly easy to say that WNBA players are horribly mistreated and unappreciated compared to NBA players of similar stature. It is high time we do something about this, and stop the mistreatment of these highly skilled, specialized female athletes.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

You are an officer on the greatest starship in the galaxy. Your home is the flagship of the united federation of the planets. It took a lot to get here; this post is one that every other person in your profession dreams of holding. That’s right, you are an officer on the Starship Enterprise 1701-D. Your superior officers inspire the respect of the entire crew, a population of over 1000.

Obviously it takes a significant amount of hard work, dedication, and just pure talent to obtain such an important and respected position. Looking at them, you see professionals, people you would want to have at your helm in a standoff against the Romulons or the Borg. Well, at least most of them. That one woman there at the end, the one without the regulation uniform, the deep V-neck and the long flowing hair, what’s her problem? You’re pretty sure you’ve never seen her actually being useful. What was her contribution to the action at Farpoint? Getting a headache and muttering vague uselessness about pain, that’s what.

Deanna Troi. She had such potential to be a strong, independent female character. Her other female counterparts did well for themselves: Beverly Crusher portrayed not only an impressive medical professional but also a single mother that was always there for her son, even if the entire galaxy found him annoying; Lieutenant Yarr, while short lived, was always the first crew member to intercept an opponent and let them know who was boss, while still being feminine enough to steal the otherwise cold heart of an android incapable of feeling.

As I said, Troi had potential. As a half betazoid, Deanna was able to sense the emotions of almost any creature in the galaxy. For a starship with the sole mission of seeking out new life forms and making peace with the universe, having such a skill could have been invaluable. Unfortunately, things never seemed to work out so that Deanna’s ability was actually helpful. She would sit at Picard’s left-hand, but all she could contribute to a briefing on why was going to were things like “I feel such pain, suffering…” or “They are masking their thoughts, I can’t be sure.” She’s the head counselor of the greatest starship of her time, but take away her special power and suddenly she can’t use her psychology degree?

For whatever reason, any episode that focused mainly on Troi quickly turned into a glimpse into a short lived romance. Either that or she would be the damsel in distress, waiting in the thick of things while countless redshirts (and the previously mentioned Yarr) give up their lives to save her.

Could it be that Deanna’s character is just a tribute of sorts to the original show, where every woman within a 100 yard radius was supposed to fall head over heels for Captain Kirk? When the uniforms were tight and awkwardly revealing, but it didn’t matter because none of the women were truly in positions of power anyways? Because that’s what it comes down to, Troi wears a jumpsuit that does nothing to diminish her already curvy figure, so she isn’t allowed to be taken seriously.

You scoff? You shouldn’t. Because, while in the first 5 or 6 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation Troi is sort of a joke, eventually she does have to put on a uniform, and suddenly she becomes a 3 dimensional character.

Superhero Women

Fact: women in superhero comics are ridiculously portrayed.

They fit into two categories.

First is the helpless damsel in distress such as Mary Jane Watson and Louis Lane. They only serve to move along the plot and motivate the main hero. By themselves, they are for the most part insignificant and fulfill the traditional gender stereotype that women need to be saved by men.

Then there are the female superheroes and sidekicks. Sidekicks are both male and female so in that regard they are equal. When it comes to the actual heroes however, women did not start getting their own titles until recently. It took 70 years for women to be featured as much or even more than men in comic books. A big change happened during WWII era when women took over the jobs of men. Women became much more common in comics. It can be said that comic books were tailored to the social norms of the day and therefore the appearance of modern superhero women is…noticeable.

Women in modern comic books all have at least one of two things in common when it comes to their appearance. They all have extreme curves that are not often found on actual women and they wear extremely revealing clothing.



For example, take Black Cat, a supporting character from Spiderman. In all of her incarnations from all the different Spiderman series, she dresses in this same general fashion: a tight black spandex suit that has a giant v-neck. Although she has/had a romantic interest in Peter Parker, her sexuality never really came into play in the grand scheme of the Marvel Universe.



In the case of the damsel in distress, the same applies in that their “over” sexuality is idiotic. What does this collectable statue of Mary Jane Watson add to any of Spiderman’s comics? Nothing whatsoever.



On the other hand, strong women also suffer from the same problems in comics. Look at the X-men for example in this so aptly captioned picture. Their lack of clothing and/or their ridiculous figures are actually funny. I cannot believe that getting superpowers make someone look like that.



The whole “sexification” of superheroes, although not as extensive, applies to male heroes as well. In addition to sometimes not remembering how to correctly wear their underwear, male superheroes also wear rather time suits (or not shirt at all). Obviously this is to show off their build rather than their curves. The difference is that usually the male superheroes are so built because of their powers instead of for looks.

What is the purpose for the way female superheroes look? Devoted readers of comic books do not care about their appearance as they are more attracted by the rich plot of the story. Therefore, the women who have been appearing more frequently in the comics as sexual objects must be there for one thing: marketing.


Advertisers use women as tools to attract new customers to by comic books. Personally, this was not successful. I did not start reading comic books because of the women on the front covers but rather because I was attracted by the plot. I cannot believe that this is that successful of a marketing tactic. After all, there is a certain stereotype that goes along with comic books. While not all comic book fans are socially awkward men who live with their mothers, the vast majority of people seen at comic book stores and conventions would not be driven to go out and start reading a new comic book series because of the picture on the front cover.

In the end, women in comic books are just like women in almost all other forms of media today. They are portrayed almost as sexually as possible to attract a larger male clientele in a ridiculous way.

Advertisers: a little less shameful behavior in the way of portraying your characters would be much appreciated.