#t'illups

[ssaalexblake]

STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS

S04E01 | Twovix

[quarks-pussy]

Lower Decks 4x01 spoilers ahead!

Okay so, I might be jumping the gun here since I haven't seen any opinions in any directions so far (probably cuz the ep dropped less than 3 hours ago as of the writing of this paragraph) but what can I say, I'm ahead of the curve.

I wanna talk about genders. Specifically the genders of the tuvixed hybrids in the episode mentioned. Because, as far as I could tell, all of them were binary. Many of them were made from characters of different genders, yet all the hybrids were binary. Which, Doylistly? Kind of cowardly. But Watsonianly? Holy shit, it blew my tits clean off. Let me explain.

In fiction, when we deal with hybrids made from people of different genders, they're usually considered non-binary by default. A little othering but makes sense at a glance, right? But here, this is being challenged. LD is (probably unintentionally) saying "gender isn't as simple as mixing two different colours and getting a new one, it doesn't work like that" and like... yea!! You're right! It doesn't!!

Non-binary can be but isn't automatically a mix of pre-established genders. And a gender isn't something you can pour together like a cocktail - it can be for some people but it isn't inherently - in the first place because gender is a deeply personal experience of the self.

Just like the hybrids only have one set of eyes, one of each physical feature, it makes sense they'd only have one gender per hybrid. And since genders are not an inherently mixable thing, it only makes sense they'd adopt a gender one of their components already had rather than try and create a new one. My guess would be whoever feels more strongly about their gender gets to keep it.

And again, I don't really think this was what the writers had in mind. They probably didn't give it much thought at all. But to me? It's a bit of a revelation tbh. That's the thing about art and stories: People find deep meanings in it for themselves, even if it's not something that ever even entered the creator's mind. And isn't that beautiful?

[phillycheesesteakcore]

I haven't seen anyone else say it so let me be the first to: Shabarnes was the hottest of the hybrids T'illups made.