“Star Trek” used to be very horny.
Since its very inception, sex has been used in Trek both gratuitously and purposefully, but the relaunched franchise on Paramount+ seemed to leave this behind, avoiding blatant excuses to show actors in skimpy clothing and overt sexualization of its characters. That is, until “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” arrived a few, very horny, weeks ago.
Captain’s Log
Trek is no different, even if we want to pretend it was. While Gene Roddenberry fought to have women on the bridge of the Enterprise in “The Original Series” and put them in positions of power (despite his own misogynistic leanings), they were clad in skirts so short that one had to wonder if there was a fabric shortage in the future.
At least this overt sexualization wasn’t only applied to women (kind of). Let’s not forget the numerous times James T. Kirk was shirtless or sweaty, fencing with Sulu. “TOS” wanted you to look. Since then, sex has been used in Trek to draw in eyeballs, purposefully objectifying people to draw viewers.
It was a trend that boldly continued in “The Next Generation”, which debuted with Troi in a skintight bodysuit and a plunging neckline. Pleasure planets with scantily clad aliens were visited (multiple times). Sexually liberated aliens who get really angry when you step on their flowers were confronted. Horny diseases run rampant.
An entire generation of young nerds went through instant puberty when Seven-of-Nine debuted in her skintight, sparkly uniform in “Star Trek: Voyager”. An entire evil mirror universe exists where you know the characters are evil because they dress sexy and seem glued to each other’s faces. Anything involving a green alien. Fan dances, the holodeck, decontamination gel, and stripping down to our underwear in shuttle pods. Need I go on?
Trek has always been horny, and it’s honestly never been very subtle about it.
Let’s Talk About Sex
The overt sexualization and objectification of women (and men to a lesser extent) in Trek is obvious, but Trek’s horniness isn’t confined to that. When used contextually and thoughtfully, sex in Trek can be a remarkable tool for progressive storytelling, discussing societal taboos, and addressing the very objectification the franchise also revels in.
The aforementioned mini-skirt uniform? While it was definitely sexy, it was also, at the time, seen as part of the women’s liberation movement. “TNG” then played with “TOS”‘s short-skirt sexualization in surprisingly progressive ways for the time by allowing male crew members to wear the newly designed “skant” uniform, dressing both male and female crew members in leg-showing skirts before phasing the costume out after the first season.
The Vulcan mating ritual of pon farr is probably the most obvious and literal example of Trek’s use of sex as a storytelling device, in which Vulcans become incredibly aggressive and sexual every seven years. Here, however, sex isn’t played for arousal but to drive the story, leading to episodes that address sexual repression and identity.
Many of the stories, clearly written to draw eyeballs with scantily clad aliens or steamy holodeck stories, were also written to provoke thought around the very topics of sexual liberation and arousal. Littered throughout Trek’s history are examples where being horny is not just contextual to the story, but integral to Trek’s ability to tell stories that make us ask questions and reflect on our own society.
In fact, Trek’s most famously progressive moment in history was a sexy one when the show broadcast the first scripted black/white interracial kiss in television history* — an especially meta moment as the sexual act was performed in front of an audience for their viewing pleasure.
*There was an earlier, unscripted kiss in “Movin’ with Nancy” that is often forgotten by history.
There’s also the simple fact that, you know, looking at pretty people in revealing clothing isn’t a bad time. When handled well, it’s OK for a show to be overtly sexual. Seven of Nine is a key example of this, as her initial introduction may have been to pull in young, male viewers, but her character became one of the more beloved and complex of the franchise. There is a hazy line somewhere between sexualization and objectification, and when a show can walk that line, it makes for thoroughly enjoyable viewing.
A bunch of horny students
This is all something that newer Trek has avoided. While not asexual in any way, “Discovery”, “Picard”, and “Strange New Worlds” are not nearly as overtly sexual (unless we count Anson Mount’s hair) as older Trek. The new shows aren’t selling sex like the old ones are. Taken with the misguided understanding that the sex was just in there to objectify and sell, that makes sense to do. Newer Trek wanted to treat its shows without all that crassness, but it lost something in doing that.
That is wholly untrue about “Academy”, a show that came ripping out of the gates with horny energy in its first two episodes, and has not let up. Since its launch, the show has featured such classic horny scenes as “Sweaty mine worker with massive biceps,” “Collection of young, attractive people changing in a locker room,” “Collection of young, attractive people getting soaking wet in underwear,” and “sexually attractive woman in very revealing ‘formal’ dress.” This all culminated with episode 6, ‘Come, Let’s Away,’ delivering the rarest of rare: a full-blown sex scene.
“Academy” has absolutely no qualm about being horny, and it really shouldn’t. Aside from the aforementioned fact that it’s OK to want to watch sexy people do sexy things on our TV screens and for a show to capitalize on that, “Academy”‘s sex is entirely contextually appropriate.
We’re literally watching a bunch of horny college students do horny college student things within the context of the Trek universe. This show should be horny. It is the perfect vehicle for Trek to ramp the horny up to eleven and both deliver the overt sexuality the franchise has always had and dive into what that sexuality means.
Importantly, the series has been doing that. Caleb and Tarim’s relationship is both incredibly sexy in very overt ways, but wraps that into the concept of Betazed’s open sexuality and empathic ability. Jay-Den’s budding relationship with a Military Academy student is oozing awkward sexuality and helps construct his character.
Even the incredible confrontations between Chancellor Nahla and Nus Braka are tinged with hints of sexual domination as Paul Giamatti oozes sexual predator vibes looming over the diminutive Holly Hunter, using the show’s undercurrent of sexuality to play with power dynamics in sometimes uncomfortable ways.
“Academy” has rediscovered something that many fans of Trek have shunned themselves: that the series and sex are intertwined in both good and bad ways. It seems, for now, however, that this newest entry into the franchise is not just horny for horny’s sake, but is using its often half-naked characters to deliver full-throated Trek.
You can watch Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, along with almost every other Star Trek show and movie, on Paramount+.
