#the voyager writers had insane mommy issues that's for sure

[trillscienceofficer]

lovely metas btw. if you dont mind, do you have thoughts on the differences between Janeway's dynamics with the younger female chars (B'elanna, Seven) and the males ones (Harry, even Tom Paris)?

Thank you, glad you like my thoughts!

As for your question here, I've been giving it some thought since I received this ask and to be perfectly honest with you I'm not sure I can give a definitive answer. Do I think there's a difference between the dynamic Janeway has with Harry and Tom VS the one she has with B'Elanna and Seven? Yes. If you look closely enough they're four different dynamics entirely, and they're influenced by factors that go beyond the characters' genders, I think. Keep in mind thought that it's been a while since I've watched Voyager in its entirety, and my assessment will likely not be very precise.

I think Harry's dynamic with Janeway is the most similar to what B'Elanna (and Seven) also have with the Captain. He starts out as an officer fresh out of the Academy and with bright prospects and Janeway takes him under her wing in order to guide him through his rise in the ranks. Except between hard work that never gets recognized and weirdly invasive and controlling behavior* Harry pretty much remains in her shadow until the end. He isn't even allowed to have the "space for growth" (putting it in quotes because I vehemently disagree with the usage of this trope, I'd like female characters to not be pigeonholed as love interests while calling it character development) that B'Elanna and Seven get by pursuing (long-term) romantic relationships. Of course all this is a symptom of the latent racism in the writing, but it's notable that Janeway oscillates between believing in Harry and trusting him with her life and being thoroughly disappointed by him. It's not clear either, at least it's not to me, how they stand with each other by the end of the show. Is she still mentoring him? What is there left to mentor in someone like Harry, who was Starfleet to the bone from the start, just as Janeway is, and who has spent the last seven years being one of the most effective executors of her orders? There is so much ambiguity here, imho, and that's why I'm reminded of Janeway's way of dealing with B'Elanna, even with differences.

*(the part in "The Disease" where Janeway berates him for not having asked permission to have sex with the aliens is still such a travesty. I know the writing makes it seem like a Starfleet thing but come on! Nowhere else this rule was clearly ever enforced)

Tom, I think, it's the person where the ambiguity wrt Janeway isn't so pronounced compared to the others (which is saying a lot, given "Threshold" lmao). Tom totally wants Janeway's approval as much as he wants his father's and he is a bit her creature as well, since she gave him a second opportunity on Voyager. But imho (and I may misremember, I'm admittedly not Tom's biggest fan) both her trust and her disappointment in him are... structured? Within a clearly established hierarchy? She gives him orders to go undercover (trust), she demotes him and gives him brig time (disappointment), she promotes him back again. Neither Harry, nor B'Elanna, nor Seven have a clear-cut understanding of Janeway's opinion of them in comparison. All three are stuck in a way less legible situation with her.

It's very interesting to think about, although again I have to wonder how much of this murkyness is deliberate characterization and how much is the result of a deadly mix of misogyny and racism in the writing.