she/they / queer / Jewish / I like Star Trek more than is probably good for me / AO3: HoldYourHortas
a couple years ago the eric carle museum of picture book art had an exhibit on diane & leo dillon who are responsible for so many iconic illustrations. i went back twice just to see the collection again. this is a sliver of their work— it’s hard to find high res images.
She is obsessed with him. (Btw her name is Petunia and my black beast is Atreyu).
He’s given up trying to get away from her. They sleep like this almost every night.
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Since everyone liked that photo so much, here’s the last two weeks of their love 😂😂
He’s the best camouflage I can find!
THE FUSION
Someone posted this in a Trek group:
Counter theory:
"My theory was always that Spock was the unhinged and wild one -- a rebel by Vulcan standards -- and he radicalized "stack of book with legs" Jim Kirk.😂
Spock was the one out there mind melding with every Horta, Nomad and V'Ger while Jim and Bones absolutely panicked in the background.
Then Jim usually ended up being the one to get Spock out of it, too. The Apple, Operation Annihilate, A Private Little War, The Infinite Vulcan, TMP . . . How many times did we see Kirk have to carry Spock body and limb and slightly on fire back to the ship after he got into it?
The amount of shit Jim has to do for Spock in Star Trek III alone.
Spock is like the Enterprise housecat who stubbornly insists on being an outdoor cat and keeps escaping, later having to be carried back indoors. He keeps causing mischief but everybody loves his ass anyway.
Kirk and Spock were chaotic messes who loved their frontier first contact work in TOS and onward -- they deserved each other.😂👌
Shit, cat got out again.
I see a lot of folks claim that TOS was the most sexist of the Star Trek shows by a landslide -- and while I agree that it definitely suffered from the sexism of the times, I also have other perspectives to share to give some food for thought.
I am of course not insinuating that TOS isn't sexist -- it is, but I have to ask folks to consider the breadth and depth of Berman's sexism in his run and ask yourself: Was Gene Roddenberry genuinely more sexist in his storytelling and delivery than Rick Berman?
I'm not telling you to feel one way or the other, but all I ask is that you hear me out and consider some perspectives and make your own balanced assessments. Nobody is obligated to share my opinion, but it means a lot just to have folks hear it and see their thoughts on the subject. So here is what I was originally responding to:
Someone's response to this photo:
"Devil's advocate. This was a part of the popular form of cardio during the production time of TNG. Yes, it was heavily sexualised by men, but so is literally every other way women work out. Men have been caught taking pictures of women while trying to do dead lifts, running on tracks and working on sled machines. They post them online to share too. The fact is, there is no way a woman can be shown working out without it going there. And yeah,t hat includes the combat forms of workout they do in Star Trek. Just look at how Dax dresses when she spars with Worf. Yes, they're dating, but still, same goes when 7 does and any other female.
Aerobics routines like this were made dirty and cringy. This was what women wore then by and large. This is how the workout was done. We make it cringy."
My response to them:
"I respect your take, but I disagree on a few fronts.
The miniskirt was chosen by the TOS female cast, not the male cast, specifically requested by Grace LW and affirmed by Nichelle and Majel who would go on to vehemently defend the miniskirt over the years as comfortable and embraced by them.
Grace said it was comfortable and seen as a symbol of female sexual empowerment during the 60s and thought it would be a progressive garment (and turns out that it was, as it was later adapted and worn by male crew as a skant on TNG) -- FYI those were designed by a gay man and Gene approved them.
This was also supposed to be Spock's TMP outfit:
Literally lingerie.
We saw both Uhura (who saves Kirk in from Marlena Mirror Mirror) and Yeoman Landon (the first to initiate combat with a classic Kirk-esque kick to help the Captain being attacked in The Apple) carry out their combat training in their Starfleet uniforms without ever being made to change into any ridiculous workout gear.
In fact, I'd argue Jim Kirk was sexualized even more than the ladies of the week on the show and I saw his naked body more than anyone else's on a fairly regular basis.
Gene confessed that he asked to have Shatner filmed in suggestive/provocative ways to "give something to the ladies", so he -- as he said -- liked to "film him walking away" or have him conveniently busting out of his shirts in just about every episode as it were, because Shatner apparently had great assets. LOL
Gene made an effort to at least sexualize both if he was going to sexualize one, and he carried that attitude forward in wanting the m/m and f/f scenes in the background on Risa for TNG. He also insisted that the men and women wear skimpy outfits on THAT TNG planet. You know the one. LOL I mean the dudes even had on less than the women:
Gene also gave permission to K/S shippers to have their conventions back in the 70s when he was asked for permission. Gene and Nimoy felt with all the skimpy outfits they had the ladies wear, why not let the ladies and gay men have their fun, too? It's how we ended up with moments like this:
Yes, those are two people dressed up as Kirk and Spock's penises doing interpretive dance. Gene didn't give two damns. LOL
In my eyes, that was a very progressive take on Gene's part for the 60s. It was actually PARAMOUNT STUDIOS who had the big problem with K/S stories and vehemently tried to shut them down. Gene literally hired slash authors on his payroll and even had several slash stories/writers published in his official Star Trek books (The New Voyages & The New Voyages II).
I feel I saw Uhura and women in TOS engaged in more physical combat/altercations defending themselves that Troi or Bev were shown holding their own.
In fact, Kirk used to get furious when someone would "dress up" his female crew members without their consent (Trelane episode, Shore Leave episode) because like his male crew members, he wanted them to be treated professionally and to also have his male crew owact professionally.
Berman brought some of his own personal biases into Star Trek that in some ways regressed it. While TOS had blatant sexism and was called on it time and again, that show was made in the 60s -- a solid 21 years before TNG. We as a modern audience understood why some of it was cringe/sexist due to the time period -- look at any other media coming out in the 60s and Star Trek was miles ahead of what other shows were doing.
Compare that to Berman who was churning sexist stuff out when women like Starbuck and Scully were simultaneously on screen on other programs airing, and we had already had Sigourney Weaver and other strong women in Holywood playing respectful roles.
In my eyes, there was no need of the sexism seen in TNG but especially VOY and ENT. There was no excuse for it when other shows were writing women far better and a number of those weren't even set in the future like Trek was, making it age even faster due to having those dated perspectives frequently highlighted.
In the Center Seat documentary as well as "The Fifty Year Mission" book you will find cast members, writers and other studio alumni who attest to this. Some discussions from "The Fifty Year Mission":
"First, Berman was supposed to have been a real sleaze ball . . . According to Terry Farrel, he would go on constantly about how her breasts weren't big enough, how she should do something about it, and how his secretary was a good example to follow as she had huge breasts. She even had to have fittings to get larger bras, and that was all done at his behest.
Later Berman and Braga developed a name for Jeri Ryan's character prior Seven of Nine. They originally called the character "perineum" which if you look it up it is the area between the anus and the scrotum. Later they floated the name "6 of 9". I mean, what does it tell you about where these two were coming from in the development of this character if they had names like that put forward in all seriousness for her?"
Gene Roddenberry also had some of his own more progressive ideas for TNG cut or watered down by Berman. Roddenberry agreed TNG should have homosexual relationships and representation at a con in the 80s and insisted on it in a meeting with his writers -- something Berman later would not honor. Gene wanted the AIDS episode, showing m/m and f/f in the Riza scenes -- these were some of Roddenberry's requests to include in TNG that Berman later stonewalled.
Berman's era was sadly dated by his own misogynist bias, IMO, to the point that it can somewhat hurt the shows he worked on through his cringe egoism and blatant disrespect toward his female cast.
There is a reason why Gene could keep female actresses working with him and Berman had a revolving door of women that he couldn't seem to keep working for him -- he was abhorrent to women, on and off set. Gene wasn't perfect at all, he had a lot of issues himself -- but Berman was a whole other level. Just look at what he did to poor Jolene Blalock, Marina Sirtis and his toxic commenting on her body weight which exacerbated her struggles with eating disorders, or how he treated and talked to Terry Farrell.
Anyway, just some food for thought. I'm not saying anyone is wrong regarding a take like that, but there are a variety of ways to look at this. Gene Roddenberry isn't a saint by any means, but it definitely bothers me how folks will tote the Berman era as if it were the lesser of two evils or the more progressive depiction of women when I felt there were far more concerning portrayals of women in his era with far less justification.
(P.S: I don't event want to go near the sheer amount of "creepy old dude/villain preys on innocent/naïve/scared young woman or little girl" stories there were in Berman's era, either. But that's a whole other can of worms I can write about in a part 2.)
This is spot on. It's true that TOS often dressed female aliens in sexy outfits, but on the other hand, I can't think of many male heroes that were sexualized as much as Kirk. There was eye candy for everyone, so fair game. Most modern media do much worse than TOS in this regard (just compare the male and female outfits in most fantasy videogames).
Also, there was a strong motivation to present men and women as equals from the very inception of the show. It was by no means accidental. These are some excerpts from the Writers Guide, that Gene composed to make new writers familiar with the show:
Is there some sexism in it? Sure. In particular the notion that all yeomen must be lovely. But the fact that, even in this barebones basic guide, there was so much insistence on equality is noteworthy, nonetheless.
The Guide had also this test to check how well new writers understood the show:
Guess what is the error? Exactly: Kirk embracing the yeoman is the one thing that should never happen in an episode. (Though I remember one instance where it happens, but this proves it was something against the show's guidelines, and thus an out-of-character moment.)
Amazing addition @electronickingdomfox , thank you so much for this! Reblogging so more folks can see, thanks so much again!
#also maybe this is just me#but all of the women on TNG are basically the same character right?#like I feel like in any given episode Dr Crusher Troi and sometimes Guinan could basically be swapped out for each other#because they're basically all given 'motherly' caring type roles#and in episodes where they're not central they basically just give out advice#and even in some episodes where they are central it's in a role that could basically have been filled by any other of them#the main difference being which man they have a sort of will they/won't they relationship with#maybe it's just me but that's something that always rubbed me the wrong way about that era as well#only the men really seem to get individuality
< Re-blogging again to add these to the main post (Thank you for the kind words op). And yeah, I feel like in a given script of tos, if the names were removed, I could tell who was supposed to be who. It actually completely put me off TNG when I was younger and didn't watch it all the way through until about a year or so ago... only to seem to have been proved right about the way I felt about the series. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the show, and there is often good there in the plotlines. But after watching the whole thing I really began to understand why the fan demographics of Star Trek shifted so hard from primarily women in the 60s to men in the 80s, I would guess most of the people who view Star Trek as 'for men' grew up with or at least primarily watched TNG.
When I'm out in the garage working, Vice gets to tag along and hunt dust bunnies in the garage attic. I pause every so often to call him down, just to make sure he hasn't gotten into trouble.
He always has a Lot to report.
some of you guys do not thump the baby to get the demons out, which is fine because sometimes cats don't have demons in em. but you have to understand that Vice is full of demons (Anxiety, Phobia of Furnace Repairmen, Fear of Babies, Hairball) and needs to be sqashed. He does not want light gentle touches. that is bad stimulation. He wants to be pulverized.
To be clear for those of you who haven't been here the whole time, Vice isn't a barn cat. Vice is an extremely anxious housecat that gets gently carried out to the garage so he can cosplay having a real job. He caught a mouse once and went into a panic about it.
rest in fucking pieces, mr. darcy
paintedtapestry THIS SCENE
Well, I didn’t see THAT coming.
Still one of my favorite things on the internet.
get him
SLAAAAAY
I’M HOLLERING!
Whammo. 😏
If "converting just to be able to say 'as a Jew'" had a face...
And there's a difference between being born a Jew and not keeping kashrut, in which case you're a Jew and have nothing to do against it (even converting to another religion doesn't make you not a Jew in Judaism), and choosing to convert, going through whatever process this individual went through (which I daresay was not even comprehensive enough to fit what someone who converts to Reform goes through) and then violating one of Judaism's core mitzvot first thing thereafter.
You don't have to convert. Nobody forces you to be a Jew. Hashem loves you just the way you are, Jewish, Muslim or Christian. Converting means you're willing to take on at least some mitzvot. It's like barging into someone's home and start breaking their china. This is so disrespectful. This is literally the definition of טובל ושרץ בידו. Dipping (in the mikvah) holding a sheretz (an unkosher meat). This is just disgusting. The reform movement should really have a better way of checking who actually converts because they want to be a Jew and who just wants to use it as a token. This individual doesn't even represent the reform movement, however divergent from Halacha it unfortunately is.
It goes so against my normal values to even say this but like... Is it possible for conversions to get revoked? It seems malicious and crazy disrespectful to not only do all this but also film it and present it as okay
I think not be recognized is the option, and yeah, I know no Jew who would recognize this lady as a jew
i mean
even if you don't keep kosher regularly you could at least have the good sense to NOT EAT BACON THAT DAY?? if only just for thematic significance??? if you're like "im wearing my hoodie with hebrew on it" then you're clearly thinking at least that element through
I usually eat kosher style but if i was going into a mikveh i would check the boxes of all the foods i had for breakfast even if id seen a kashrut on them a month ago, for the same reason i dont do the shabbat blessings on uncertified challah. it just feels wrong.
one single day and you couldn't take a beeak from bacon for one meal? why are you even converting
My stepmother is ger. My two best friends are gerim. I do not say this lightly. She is not a fucking Jew.
I feel so bad for the actual Gerey Tzedek, who went through a challenging, time-consuming process to become Jews, and now have to see this lady just spitting on their journey. Gosh.
THIS IS NOT A GIORET. THIS IS A GRIFTER.
Oh. So she just had a Mikveh attendant observe her immersion?? She didn't have her Rabbis in attendance? Soooo what she's actually admitting is that her conversion isn't even halachically valid.
But more than that, she LIED to her Beit Din. This lady is still celebrating Christmas. She is still eating treyf (like, not keeping strict kosher is one thing, but eating PORK?? on your Mikveh day???). She's still behaving as a Christian. And because of that, whatever Reform (or possibly Reconstructionist) Rabbi oversaw her conversion process should revoke her conversion on the basis of deceit.
This shit makes me SO ANGRY.
I am a convert! It took me five fucking years to convert! (Due to having to start over again and life happenings) I don’t keep fully kosher (I don’t eat treif animals and that’s about it) but I converted reform and let me tell you, discussions about kashrut and keeping the laws, and our relationship with them are ABSOLUTELY fucking part of it. I had my beit din, I had two rabbis (one had to attend the beit din online) standing right outside the mikveh door and the attendant in with me to make sure I was doing everything properly. I absolutely DO NOT keep Christian holidays. (The most I do is go to Xmas dinner and Easter brunch at my mom’s house. My home is UNMISTAKABLY Jewish)
Im angry because what the actual fuck. I’m not saying you have to be a Zionist to convert. Cause shit that’s for another conversation entirely. (Zionism is a nuanced issue at its core and I know that goyim have co-opted the word for their own purposes and I’m not going to get into that here) but eating bacon after the mikveh? Are you fucking kidding me?!
💙💙💙💙
like i am just saying. “hybrid online community.” wtaf????
also to all sincere and serious converts: this is absolutely not something you all do and we know that. i just want to preface so none of this comes across the other way. i’m trying to discuss a particular new phenomenon post oct 7.
(thank you to everyone who talked about their experiences btw 💙💙 thank you @disgruntled-detectives !!)
also i have issues with her filming at all and filming the front of the mikveh.
Does she have duets off?
Okay yeah this pisses me off and I am someone who is somewhat uncomfortable with scrutinising converts for their sincerity, as I've previously been subject to this type of treatment for things like disagreeing with another person's beliefs (unrelated to I/P).
I finished my conversion over a year ago after 6 years of study and Jewish life, and the mikvah was a sacred, spiritual experience for me. I'm not sure what happens in Masorti Judaism, but in Progressive Judaism the mikvah immersion has to be witnessed by 3 Jews to ensure it's in accordance with halacha. My immersion was witnessed by my female rabbi and two of my friends. Three Jewish women all from different backgrounds and different ways of observance, all connected to their Jewish identity, helping another Jewish woman to complete their journey. It was the most amazing experience and I'm desperate to go back.
And look. It's not my place to criticise how another Jew keeps kashrut or doesn't- I'm certainly not strict about it myself. But fucking bacon?? On your mitzvah day?? Really?
also there isnt a single other video about judaism. just xmas and
Okay.
Hey what.
See now I'm more than angry. Fuck Christmas. I was pagan for well over a decade before I finally made the decision to convert. Every sacred text and every grimoire I have is buried in my mother's front yard. I gave up half my life's work to fucking be here. How DARE you. How the fuck do you go from celebrating YOM KIPPUR a MONTH AGO into the fucking thinning of the veils talk with the ghosts holiday, something that is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN in Judaism. Every Jew AND pagan I know would be upset with this. You fucking know better.
I guess she likes to start the list as early as possible for next year 🤷♀️
👏👏👏 go off!! absolutely valid feelings!!
One of my close friends is a witch, and seconded. "Furious" isn't even the word. We'd begin with a solid ten minute rant about the importance of respecting closed traditions, especially those with a history of being oppressed, segue from there into the dangers of disrespect to multiple deities, and about ten minutes after we moved on in the conversation he'd circle back to the importance of setting an intention in paganism and how this girl clearly set her intention that day by deliberately eating treyf.
This woman is not a Jew. She's even less of a Jew than messianics, and you practically have to be dancing the limbo in hell to pull that off.
@rabid-catboy we have celebrations for the new moon and such and say special blessings and prayers when equinoxes etc come around depending on when they fall. the moon and stars are also very important to us and judaism is agriculturally based.
for some jews though, equinoxes are actually filled with superstition. we still have a version in our calendar but they’re not celebrated the way pagans celebrate them. it depends.
any frum jews who want to weigh in: please doooo
Frum Israeli here: I've never in my life heard there's a special blessing for equinoxes. We do have a special blessing in the first half of the month when the moon grows bigger. It's called Kiddush levana (lit. Making the moon holy) and it has a lot of significance in Judaism and chassidut, to the point where Rashi said this is the first mitzvah in the Torah. The Shabbat in which we read this part is very special, and called "Shabbat HaChodesh".
i was explaining it in general terms for people who dont know much about judaism buttt since i have youuu: it’s every 28 years and called Birkat Hahammah. and there are changes to the Amidah as well to coincide.
so not super regular, but still a thing lmao. just…every 28 years.
My adaptation of the God of Arepo short story, which was originally up at ShortBox Comics Fair for charity. You can get a copy of the DRM-free ebook here for free - and I'd encourage you to donate to Mighty Writers or The Ministry of Stories in exchange.
Again it's an honour to be drawing one of my favourite short stories ever. Thank you so much for the original authors for creating this story; and for everyone who bought a copy and donated to the above non-profits.
It never gets old and it always makes me cry.
