'Star Trek' focuses on sexuality

Matt Roush, USA Today, March 18, 1992, FINAL EDITION

The question arose again at last weekend's Museum of Television and Radio salute to Star Trek: The Next Generation in Los Angeles: Is it true Trek will spotlight a gay character, thus showing how humanistic the future can be?

The answer: No, and yes.

Executive producer Michael Piller wisely noted that just showing two guys holding hands on the Enterprise would be a condescending nod to the gay activists who've pressed the matter. Instead, this week's show - most will air it this weekend - takes on the bigger issue of sexual intolerance.

The Outcast, by Jeri Taylor, is a mind-blowing and resonant episode, making great use of the allegorical nature of futuristic fiction. It asks us to wonder what it would be like if just declaring one's gender would render one ''unnatural'' in the eyes of a repressive society.

The episode introduces us to the androgynous alien race of J'naii, which has evolved beyond considerations of male and female, treating anyone who's ''different'' with scorn, abuse and forced therapy. When Cmdr. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) falls for the curious but frightened J'naii pilot Soren (Melinda Culea), she risks all to follow her heart.

The sentiments are obvious, but undeniably dramatic. When Soren pleads for compassion, declaring, ''I am female. I was born that way ... I do not need to be helped or cured,'' it's likely to startle many viewers into a new understanding of just what it means to be a sexual being, in all its tremendous variety.