Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘Star Trek’ Accused of ‘Virtue Signaling’ After Casting First Trans and Nonbinary Characters

*”Star Trek: Discovery” has added the first nonbinary and trans roles in the franchise’s history to join for Season 3. 

Trans actor Ian Alexander, will play a trans character named Grey, who is “planning to be a host for a symbiotic alien species that lives in different hosts over its lifetime,” per nbcnews.com. 

Blu del Barrio, who is nonbinary, will play a nonbinary character named Adira, “who bonds with Lt. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), the first same-sex couple in “Trek” TV series history,” according to NBC. 

READ MORE: Co-Director of ‘The Matrix’ Says Film Trilogy Is Really About Being ‘Transgender’


Under the comments of the show’s Twitter post announcing the casting, fans debated about whether Blu is really the “first” non-binary character in the franchise. 

Several called the casting “virtue signaling,” with one user writing: “Neither ground breaking, first, or anything else other than virtue signaling.”

Another commented, “Star Trek has been doing this type of stuff for decades and this announcement is nothing new.”

Alexander is best-known for his performance on “The OA,” he and del Barrio will be making their television debut on “Star Trek.” 

They both join the cast aboard the USS Discovery for Season 3, which airs October 15 on CBS All Access. 

“Adira is a wonderfully complex character,” del Barrio told GLAAD

“Mainly because of this duality they have within them: They’re astonishingly intelligent and yet they’re still a kid. They experience their emotions at a heightened level, like most teenagers. That’s what makes them so fun to play.” 

The “Star Trek” franchise had its first same-sex marriage in 2017 and the first woman of color to lead the show in 2019. 

“Star Trek has always made a mission of giving visibility to underrepresented communities because it believes in showing people that a future without division on the basis of race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation is entirely within our reach,” Michelle Paradise, co-showrunner and executive producer, said in a statement.

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