Customer Reviews

Sexual Generations: Star Trek: The Next Generation and Gender

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I wanted to like this book. I really did. It's a discussion of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" from a feminist viewpoint. However, after reading it, I can't really say very many positive things about it. It seemed to me as if every point Roberts made was illogical and simply manipulated the episodes to suit the point she was trying to make. Part of the problem is that it was based a lot on French feminism, which I find uneven at times, but there is good writing that stems from it, and this is not it. Roberts contradicted herself, and used to the same evidence in various parts of the book to come to different conclusions.

I was hoping she might redeem herself in the conclusion, as I often found authors have more coherency in their conclusions, but no. The conclusion was just another ruined analysis, this time of "Voyager". When I finally put the book down, I was relieved.

Got your attention, didn't I? This book explores the different depictions of gender in Star Trek Next Generation. It addresses issues that have made me vaguely uneasy about the series and explores their meaning within the STNG "universe." (I'm referring to issues like race, gender roles, and the "other" as metaphor.) This is definitely NOT a study for those who adhere to the Star Trek canon. However, if you're open alternate points of view, you'll really enjoy "Sexual Generations." The only critisism I have is that I think the authors should have expanded their study to include fanfic -- which often pushes the limits of gender much more radically than Star Trek Next Generation ever did.

First off, many of the facts are wrong. And when you are building a discussion, no matter what the subject, you have to build on a stolid foundation. Example, on page 94 she says that First Contact was the first New Generations movie. No, it was the second. Another example on page 130, she says that in the original Star Trek we saw no female Klingons at all. Wrong. Day of the Dove had a female Klingon who was a major character in the story's plot.
Now, outside of that the book also shows her need to define everything as either feminine or masculine. Space is feminine. But by the next chapter nature is also feminine and technology is masculine. But she doesn't stop there. Aliens are feminine, robots are feminine, and so is Data. But Data and robots are products of technology. I thought they would be masculine? And how about the Borg who show up in the Next Generation?
Some of the episodes she lists do support her point of view but others can be seen in all kinds of ways. Galaxy's Child for example - the crew didn't want the boy to live with the fake mother, not because they hate mothers, but because it wouldn't have been real. Where would he have gotten friends, family, and love?
It is an interesting book but for people who are really into Star Trek and are die-hard fans I would suggest not reading it. I am not that die-hard but even I have a hard time with many of the chapters.

This book is a very well-written analysis of Star Trek from a feminist perspective. Roberts analyzes the texts (episodes) with a great deal of insight as well as a sense of humor. That said, if you are looking for a soft read, this is not it. Sexual Generations is a scholarly book and well worth the effort to read it. Roberts does not try to simply illuminate the "fabulousness" of the series, but rather seeks to unpack and understand the many social and cultural implications of the series. She also seems to argue that popular culture is worth analyzing and taking seriously as an art form--I agree! I recommend this book highly if you are interested in a very smart approach to Star Trek.

See, anyone could come up with a funny title... Sometimes even a funny book and believe we are so smart catagorizing everything and taking information from our community college psych of women class that we accept as fact and turn it into our own reality.

That's what is going on here... Feminism, as in, equality of the genders is something i have always been for. Feminism, as in, modern feminism is about control and revenge...

I don't really know what to think of this book! Sometimes the author seems to be making a good point, and at others she goes way off the deep end. I think she's been spending way too much time sitting in Women's Studies classes and really gets into Star Trek too much. It's just a show; we should really just relax.