I don’t think we’ve addressed feminism. The women on the show were very non-threatening and I don’t think it’s realistic. I don’t think it’s realistic in the 20th century so it’s definitely not realistic in the 24th century. Ever since Denise [Crosby] left the show, the two women that are left are both doctors in the caring professions so we don’t see women in power positions. We do see female admirals but I have to say the fans don’t really care about our guest stars. They care about the regulars and what they want to see are the regular women having more power.
Marina Sirtis, quoted in Captains Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, 1995.
The Valkyrie Directive and I hashed out our concerns with the narrative around Crusher and Troi being in “caring professions” or “nurturing roles” in great detail already, but I think Marina’s overall point about the way the characters were limited (this quote was also apparently taken some time around Season 4) is very fair.
