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comments? pforooghi@compusmart.ab.ca

Okay, so I’ll admit that what I’m going to be saying in this little rant isn’t anything you probably haven’t heard a thousand times already. Nor will I be professing to have all of the answers as to why TPTB have steadfastly refused to pair up J/7, a couple who obviously have so much chemistry together and are so perfect for one another. They are willing to put Janeway with a hologram, and if the rumors turn out to be accurate, will most likely involve Seven in an insipid romance next year. Yet, any suggestion of a J/7 union, and I can bet that all the suits start to blanche. I keep telling myself that ultimately, this couple will not happen, mainly because of mainstream society's general intolerance of and unease with the issue of homosexuality. The Star Trek franchise is not going to risk its popularity, not to mention its bankability, by creating and developing a gay character. I think what happened with the Ellen show has scared away many producers from creating lead gay characters. For the time being, we will continue to be marginalized on TV, as we are in society. Until the general public accepts us as normal, fully functional human beings, then I don't expect TV to reflect anything but the current sad state of invisibility. I am a proponent of the theory that mass media reflects society, not the other way around. Yet, one nagging, rather irritating question keeps invading my thoughts despite all of the otherwise logical reasoning that I come up with to convince myself of the impossibility of J/7 as a couple- why is a J/7 romance so beyond the realm of possibility? These two characters are the only ones on the show with such undeniable chemistry between them, chemistry that not even the writers or the actors themselves have been able to conceal. Add to this the deep bond of love, affection, respect, and admiration between these two women, and you have a relationship which is more sincere and less contrived than Tom and
B'Elanna's romance. Who cares if said relationship just happens to be between two women? Apparently, TPTB do, and relish in every opportunity to remind the audience that there is no way that their luscious Borg or their intrepid Captain could possibly have non-maternal, romantic feelings for one another. Best case in point that homosexuality in fact doesn’t even exist in the 24th century was most clearly proffered in last year’s "Someone To Watch Over Me" episode.

I must say that to this very day, I find myself extremely offended by the assumption of heterosexuality implied in this episode. Why was it
assumed that Seven could only date a man? Why didn't anyone, most
importantly, her tutor and mentor, the doctor, tell Seven that humans do
engage in same-sex relationships and are not exclusively heterosexual? I
was not, of course, expecting Seven's first date to be with the captain,
though that would have been the logical choice for Seven, not to mention
the realization of my own dreams, but I was very disappointed that we as a group were completely ignored in this episode. Its as if the episode was
saying that even in the distant future, homosexuality is taboo, never
discussed or even considered. I find that to be very insulting,
especially for a show that prides itself on its diversity and tolerance of
differing groups of species. Do we not exist in the future? We certainly
have in the past and continue to in the present. Apparently, TPTB have lost sight of this essential fact. In the end, after all is said and done, the only reason why TPTB would even entertain the notion of pairing up Janeway with Seven is if they knew they could get good ratings out of it. Good ratings equals money, and money has been and always will be the bottom line in show business. Therefore, I think the only way we, as the gay audience, could ever get what we want is if we spoke the executives’ language. However, what I’m about to suggest may be offensive or unseemly to many, but I think its our only hope of ever seeing a J/7 romance on the screen. Provided that is what we want. Given the quality of writing this season, I have serious doubts whether the writers would know how to depict an intelligent, realistic, and dignified relationship between our dynamic duo. But that’s a topic for another article.

Okay, so what is the solution? It’s quite simple actually, and its one that I think we have all considered at one point or another when we were watching this couple in action and wishing we could see something more substantial develop between them. We all know that Star Trek in general is targeted to a mostly young, straight, male audience. We also know that this is the main reason the character of Seven was introduced to the show in the first place- to generate interest among and garner ratings from the male demographic. Lucky for us, Seven ended up being much more than eye candy. The executives’ intentions for bringing Seven on the show were prurient and rather dubious, but we still got a very complex, multi-dimensional, fascinating character out of the deal. One could say that the ends justified the means. I believe we’ll have to go the same route if we want a J/7 pairing. The prurient, unseemly, or perhaps base thing to say would be that putting Janeway with Seven would be extremely titillating to the male audience. We are all aware that straight men find the idea of two women together very arousing. I’m not here to speculate on the reasons why, again, that would require another article. I’m merely stating that we could manipulate this fact to our advantage, in order to get what we want. I am certain that the combination of characteristics both Janeway and Seven possess are very attractive to the male audience. Both are extremely intelligent, tough, sexy, masterful. The list is endless. I can’t see how putting two women together with such winning qualities would be anything but an unqualified success with the audience. Both the gay and straight audience. I admit that this approach may be viewed as having taken the low road to our goal of uniting Janeway with Seven, but at least we would see it happen in living color before the series ended. I believe that we must be pragmatic here, and not be too concerned about whether we used questionable tactics in order to achieve our objective. As I’ve said, the ends justify the means in this case, as it did with the introduction of Seven to the show. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I think this would be the only way to convince TPTB so late in the game to take a chance on a J/7 romance. If someone told them that the ratings would skyrocket- they’ll have all the publicity alone such a move would generate to thank for that- fans of all stripes won’t abandon ship, instead, will be more intrigued/titillated by this pairing and that as a consequence of all this, the show would be making money hand over fist in its final year, I’m sure they would not be so quick to dismiss this idea. Everyone will be happy, with the possible exception of the J/C’ers, but I’m not here to worry about their needs! Let them write their own thesis as to why that couple would be the better one. So, the question remains- have they themselves thought of going this route before, for all the reasons I mentioned, yet still refused, and if so, why? That is, after all, the question I have set out to answer- why??? I’m not sure I’ve done that too convincingly, but at least I’ve tried to articulate all the reasons why TPTB did not want to pair Janeway with Seven and one very good reason why they should consider it. In the end, whatever they decide to do, which will most likely be to not take any chances or display the slightest bit of daring, I and countless others know that J/7 belong together. No matter how many holographic or bland boyfriends TPTB come up with for these two, this one fact will remain- Janeway and Seven were written in the stars!

Cheers! Pooneh