Gay & Lesbian Petition For Gay Characters
Please read the text of the petition and sign by entering your name and address in the text entry boxes below. The text of the petition and your signature will be forwarded to the list of Paramount executives following this paragraph. This version of the petition was suggested by a number of members who felt that Paramount and the producers of Voyager have had more than enough time to respond to our concerns and should be put on notice that some of us are prepared to withdraw our support and take action if they continue to ignore us as an audience. If you haven't read our Open Letter, which provides a more detailed explanation of reasoning behind this petition, you may want to read it and return to sign the petition. Remember to press button to mail it after you sign. Dean Valentine, President, United Paramount Network Kerry McCouggage, President, Paramount Television Rick Berman, Producer Jeri Taylor, Producer Michael Piller, Producer I strongly urge Paramount and the producers of Star Trek Voyager to add at least one positive on-going gay and/or lesbian character into the cast of Voyager before the end of the current season. No stereotypes, no outcasts, no villains ... just an average male or female who is as complex, attractive and heroic as the rest of the cast and happens to be sexually-attracted to persons of the same gender. Given the future that Gene Roddenberry envisioned, in which poverty, racial prejudice, sexism and even war have been eliminated among humankind, it is logical to assume --as Gene has publicly acknowledged-- that homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation will also have been abolished. I believe that you should move to more effectively reflect that vision by incorporating a character that would illustrate an end to prejudice based on sexual orientation ... just as the characters of Uhura and Sulu illustrated the end of racial prejudice and the character of Checkov illustrated an end to nationalist emnities and divisions on Earth. I am extremely disappointed by the fact that you have consistently ignored and subverted Gene Roddenberry's plans to regularly feature anonymous but identifiably gay crew members on ST:TNG, a plan which he announced just two months before his death in 1991. Since that announcement, three seasons of TNG and two new series, Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager, have been produced by Paramount ... and we have yet to see ourselves portrayed as part of a future in which Roddenberry saw us as fully integrated and accepted into society. The substitution of one or two episodes that inconsistently deal with the "issue" of sexual orientation for the inclusion of an fully-developed dramatic character constitutes cynical and unacceptable window-dressing, rather than a legimate effort to live up to Gene's wishes. This is an insult to Roddenberry, the gay and lesbian fans who took the time to meet with him and explain the importance of acting on his vision, the gay and lesbian community at large, and all Star Trek and science fiction fans who embrace his vision. It is time to end your policy of avoidance and de facto discrimination through the red-lining of positive gay and lesbian characters. It is time to live up to Gene's vision by embracing diversity and tolerance in the tradition established by the original series. If this does not happen, I would support actions to sanction your program, your products, your network and your company. Signed:
Dean Valentine, President, United Paramount Network Kerry McCouggage, President, Paramount Television Rick Berman, Producer Jeri Taylor, Producer Michael Piller, Producer
I strongly urge Paramount and the producers of Star Trek Voyager to add at least one positive on-going gay and/or lesbian character into the cast of Voyager before the end of the current season. No stereotypes, no outcasts, no villains ... just an average male or female who is as complex, attractive and heroic as the rest of the cast and happens to be sexually-attracted to persons of the same gender.
Given the future that Gene Roddenberry envisioned, in which poverty, racial prejudice, sexism and even war have been eliminated among humankind, it is logical to assume --as Gene has publicly acknowledged-- that homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation will also have been abolished. I believe that you should move to more effectively reflect that vision by incorporating a character that would illustrate an end to prejudice based on sexual orientation ... just as the characters of Uhura and Sulu illustrated the end of racial prejudice and the character of Checkov illustrated an end to nationalist emnities and divisions on Earth.
I am extremely disappointed by the fact that you have consistently ignored and subverted Gene Roddenberry's plans to regularly feature anonymous but identifiably gay crew members on ST:TNG, a plan which he announced just two months before his death in 1991. Since that announcement, three seasons of TNG and two new series, Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager, have been produced by Paramount ... and we have yet to see ourselves portrayed as part of a future in which Roddenberry saw us as fully integrated and accepted into society.
The substitution of one or two episodes that inconsistently deal with the "issue" of sexual orientation for the inclusion of an fully-developed dramatic character constitutes cynical and unacceptable window-dressing, rather than a legimate effort to live up to Gene's wishes. This is an insult to Roddenberry, the gay and lesbian fans who took the time to meet with him and explain the importance of acting on his vision, the gay and lesbian community at large, and all Star Trek and science fiction fans who embrace his vision.
It is time to end your policy of avoidance and de facto discrimination through the red-lining of positive gay and lesbian characters. It is time to live up to Gene's vision by embracing diversity and tolerance in the tradition established by the original series. If this does not happen, I would support actions to sanction your program, your products, your network and your company.
Signed:
Name: Street Address: City, State, Zip Code:
If you'd like to say more, you can send your own letter to: Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor, Richard Berman, at Paramount Pictures, 5555 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 90038. We'd appreciate a copy of any letters you write via e-mail if possible. Please send to outspker@ccnet.com. In addition to signing the petition, remember that handwritten and personalized letters have extra impact. To find out what other petition signers who wrote letters to Paramount had to say, go to Letters to Paramount.
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Created on June 11, 1995. Updated: October 29, 1997. Please send questions and/or comment about this petition to: