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"Oh girls in space, be wary, be wary, be wary!'
-as sung by Lieutenant Uhura in "Charlie X"
To dismiss the original Star Trek television series, 1966 to 1969, as hopelessly sexist is commonplace, particularly in the many scholarly books and articles devoted to it. Gender is often the primary focus of this scholarship, or it comes into play within a discussion of other themes, most common among them Star Trek's alignment with the ideals of liberal humanism, its underlying ethical or metaphysical system, its relationship to Shakespeare and other literary traditions, and its conveyance of archetypal motifs and mythological themes.1 Much of this research has been conducted by practitioners in literary fields, philosophy, and the social sciences. Historians have also analyzed Star Trek, most frequently within the context of the Vietnam War and American imperialism, but historians of art and visual culture have never addressed it, which may explain why scholarly attention has centered on episodic storylines and overall narrative structure rather than visual aesthetics.21 would contend, however, that the visual plays as fundamental a role as the literary in creating meaning in Star Trek, especially considering that although different writers were employed to pen the scripts, the visual creators remained consistent throughout the three-year run: William Ware Theiss, costume designer; Fred Phillips, makeup artist; Walter Matthew Jefferies, production designer and art director; and Wah Chang, artist and model maker. Also overlooked in scholarship is analysis of Star Treks female characters within the specific context of American women in the 1960s.3 It is not my intention to dispute previous scholarship that has characterized Star Trek as sexist, for when looking back from the perspective of "second wave" feminism it certainly was.4 Instead I would like to suggest some alternative readings, hopefully provid- ing insight into how the series may have resonated with female viewers at the time who were renegotiating their own feminine positions within a rapidly changing social and technological landscape, as well as into how Star Trek's visual aesthetic, one predicated on female beauty, may have functioned to relieve cultural anxiety over women, indeed over all of humanity, setting out to explore the vast reaches of outer space.
Like many academics who write about Star Trek, I feel compelled to reveal that...