Bryan Fuller Takes Pride In Star Trek's LGBTQ+ Representation
Andrew Robinson as Elim Garak in STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE. Image: Paramount.
NOVEMBER 1, 2022 - Infinite diversity in infinite combinations, the originally Vulcan concept, is at the heart of the outlook of all of Star Trek. While it has taken over fifty years to develop the concept on screen, by that name or not, Star Trek is becoming more diverse and representative as time goes by. Former Star Trek: Discovery showrunner Bryan Fuller sees that development in the case of the LGBTQ+ community over the decades.
Fuller sat down with IndieWire to briefly reflect on queerness in Star Trek. Fuller has been a writer and/or producer on Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Discovery. According to the article, Fuller has been out himself his entire career and “became adept at noticing and nurturing queerness in subtle ways.” For Fuller, DS9 was a “quantum leap forward” for queer representation.
“Characters like Garak on Deep Space Nine who, thanks to Andrew Robinson’s fantastic portrayal, explicitly represent a queer character for the first time that I personally think is the best. Garak is my favorite ‘Star Trek’ character of all time.”
The next step for Fuller was the presence of characters like Paul Stamets and Hugh Culber on Discovery.
We’ll see where we go as Star Trek continues to represent the universe’s infinite diversity. In the meantime, check out everything Bryan Fuller had to say at IndieWire.
David is a contributing writer for Daily Star Trek News on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. He is a librarian, baseball fan, and book and movie buff. He has also written for American Libraries and Skeptical Inquirer. David also enjoys diverse music, but leans toward classical and jazz. He plays a mean radio.
