Amusingly, even the creators of The Outcast didn’t realise they were making an episode about gender identity. They saw it as an episode about sexuality, and about providing representation to gay people. Which isn’t an incorrect reading, obviously, but I think most people would agree that interpreting it as a trans allegory is a much stronger reading.
The key to the gay allegory is to take a much less literal look at it. It’s about representation of a person who is ostracised for reasons related to the broad category of “sex and gender expression”. It is a metaphor, after all, so there’s nothing wrong with being less literal about it.
Speaking of Riker, Jonathan Frakes wanted Soren to be played by a man, to make the message stronger to the contemporary audience. I think the studio chickened out?
Amusingly, even the creators of The Outcast didn’t realise they were making an episode about gender identity. They saw it as an episode about sexuality, and about providing representation to gay people. Which isn’t an incorrect reading, obviously, but I think most people would agree that interpreting it as a trans allegory is a much stronger reading.
Removed by mod
The key to the gay allegory is to take a much less literal look at it. It’s about representation of a person who is ostracised for reasons related to the broad category of “sex and gender expression”. It is a metaphor, after all, so there’s nothing wrong with being less literal about it.
Speaking of Riker, Jonathan Frakes wanted Soren to be played by a man, to make the message stronger to the contemporary audience. I think the studio chickened out?
Removed by mod