Look closer and you’ll find that Berman’s run wasn’t as progressive as you might remember. He repeatedly vetoed attempts to write stories about homosexuality, continued Roddenberry’s thing about putting women in skimpy outfits, and so on. TOS was very progressive for the '60s, but TNG, VOY, and ENT were significantly less progressive for their time.
continued Roddenberry’s thing about putting women in skimpy outfits
No. Female officers wearing short dresses was requested by the women on set at the time, not by Roddenberry.
Initially men and women were going to wear the same uniforms, which was criticised by feminists.
Remember that at this time, women were rebelling against having to cover up their bodies for modesty sake. It was at around the time of “free the nipple” and women burning their bras. Short skirts and dresses were popular at the time because it’s what women wanted to wear.
Women dressing “skimpy” on TOS was an act of female empowerment. Youre looking at this through a prudish 2024 lense and assuming seeing womens legs is down to sexism.
You’re correct about the uniforms, but outfits like this were the result of Roddenberry, according to others who worked on the show.
Bob Justman: I watched resignedly as Gene, up to his old tricks, kept costume designer Bill Theiss busy, taking a tuck here and a trim there… just before [Teri Garr]'s first scene on stage, Gene went to work on her costume again. He kneeled down, gathered up her already scant skirt, and told Bill Theiss, ‘It’s too long, Bill.’ Teri rolled her eyes.
TOS was very progressive for the '60s, but TNG, VOY, and ENT were significantly less progressive for their time.
It’e also been a trend that’s unfortunately carried over into the newer treks. They barely push the boundaries at all.
DS9 probably only got away with as much as they did because Voyager was commanding most of the attention at the time.
That’s why I really cringe each time Kurtzman and Co are giving themselves golden stars and patting themselves on the back about things that were either already done in Star Trek before, or are already socially accepted.
And, moreover, all this so-called progresivism they’re doing is an incredibly thin veil wrapped around a ball of generic action sci-fi writing.
