Gender Is No Object: Difference between revisions

This is NOT''not'' the same as splitting the sexes up into segregated units. When this trope is used, mixed units are the norm, and by extension often a completely integrated society as well in which the ''only'' difference between the sexes, in a social sense, is that one can get pregnant and the other can impregnate. In an Science Fiction story where test-tube-and-incubator babies are common, even this is removed and [[Samus Is a Girl|if the soldier is encased in armor, you can't tell what gender he/she is]], and it doesn't matter anyway.

* [[Discworld]] dwarfs, initially. It turns out to be more complicated than that later on; ''biological'' sex seems to be genuinely inconsequential except for procreative purposes, but traditional dwarf culture has no concept of femininity and both sexes look like men, so they're basically a [[One-Gender Race]] of men that just happens to have two different kinds of genitals. Traditionally, anyways. Midway through the series (beginning with ''[[Discworld/Feet of Clay (novel)|Feet of Clay]]''), some more modern female dwarfs begin to admit to being female and adopt human-style feminine behaviour, which is controversial but increasingly popular, ending with the events of ''[[Raising Steam]]''.

* The ''[[Earth's Children]]'' books by Jean M Auel . The Cro-Magnon.

* The ''[[Gentleman Bastard Sequence]]'' sequence, there are female pirates, thieves, soldiers, sailors, and bouncers in about equal number to their male counterparts. This is never remarked on as being out of the ordinary. In fact, within their culture, rather than women being banned from sailing for fear of bringing bad luck, ships are ''required'' to have at least one woman on board, to avoid bringing the wrath of the sea god (though a female cat will do at a pinch).

** ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' suffered from [[Fair for Its Day]], featuring female crewmembers who had as much authority as the writers thought they could get away giving them.

*** "Number One", Majel Barrett's character in the original ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' pilot, was the ship's first Executive Officer before being replaced. Gene Roddenberry claimed this was because [[Executive Meddling|studio executives pressured Roddenberry to tone this trope down]] because they insisted that [[Viewers are Morons]] and couldn't handle women in any role other than secretaries and love interests. Other people involved at the time insist it's because the studio considered it unprofessional for him to cast his mistress in the role; they had no problem with the character, only with the choice of actress.

** ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' slightly improved this with female security chief Tasha Yar. Of course, this meant she was prone to [[The Worf Effect]] and thus generally [[Plot Induced Stupidity|came off as incompetent]]. They eventually [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|dropped a bridge on her]] at the request of Denise Crosby, the actress who played Yar, who had grown disillusioned with her role because of the "Uhura-like" status of her part. The only other lead female roles were in the caregiver roles of Doctor and Counselor.

** ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'' featured Major Kira as the station's second in command, but she wasn't actually a member of Starfleet. Lieutenant Dax, on the other hand, was the station's operations operator and second officer (meaning, she supposedly was in command when Sisko and Kira weren't around).

** ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Star Trek Voyager]]'' It wasn't until here that one of the Trek series actually reached this lofty principle with a leading female character as Captain (although female captains and admirals did appear in ''minor'', one-shot background roles from ''[[The Next Generation]]'' onward. There was also the first female Chief Engineer, and a woman in the role of a prominent scientist (yes, Seven did other things than [[Ms. Fanservice|wear a catsuit]]).

** ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise|Star Trek Enterprise]]'' has T'Pol, resident [[Ms. Fanservice]] and [[Number One]] at the same time. (Archer tends to ignore her, but that's more because [[Fantastic Racism|he has a chip on his shoulder re: Vulcans]], and [[The Kirk|ignoring your]] [[The Spock|Vulcan first officer]] is a time-honored [[Star Trek]] tradition.) There are also a number of women in the security division and MACOs, plus the captain of the ''[[Colonel Makepeace|Columbia]]'', Starfleet's second ''Enterprise''-class starship.

* Peacekeepers in ''[[Farscape|Peacekeepers]]'' practice a lot of [[Fantastic Racism]] and are usually played as kinda evil, but sexist they are not. Aeryn was a pilot, Grayza a Commandant, Xhalax a Senior Officer, etc. and whenever large groups are shown there are always plenty of females in the ranks. Aeryn does mention "female units" when explaining their [[Fantasy Contraception]], but there are far more examples of mixed units throughout the series.

* Even [[Role -Playing Game]]s that are semi-historical tend to skirt round the issue. Games like Deadlands: Reloaded and Spirit of the Century have brief side notes concerning problems with playing in the time periods with regards to gender and race, but for the most part they brush it aside and assume it is largely irrelevant.

* It varies from service to service in [[Warhammer 4000040,000|the Imperium of Man]], but most governmental, religious, and (in some cases) noble positions are gender-blind, as are the Inquisition, the [[Psychic Powers|Adepta Astra Telepathica]], [[Rogue Trader]]s, and the Adeptus Mechanicus. Some are segregated, though - the [[Space Marines]] are all men, evidently due to the [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke|genetic engineering]] required to make them, while the [[Church Militant|Sisters of Battle]] are all women because the Ecclesiarchy is banned from maintaining "[[Exact Words|men under arms]]". In the Imperial Guard, most regiments are single-gender, and men outnumber women roughly 9-to-1, but female officers and regiments are just as honored, and mixed-gender regiments are not unheard of. They are distinctly outnumbered in the higher ranks, though; one [[Mauve Shirt]] from the [[Ciaphas Cain]] series eventually reaches the exalted rank of [[Four-Star Badass|Lady General]], but is among the only ones in recent history to have done so.

** In very old PC [[Role -Playing Game]]s, however, it was common for there to be gender-based stat adjustments, usually with male characters getting a bonus to strength and female characters getting a compensating bonus to charisma, dexterity or intelligence. This, of course, had its own [[Unfortunate Implications|problems]], which is why it's rarely seen anymore.

== [[Real Life]] ==

* Rear Admiral [[wikipedia:Grace Hopper|Grace Hopper]], promoted 1983 to Commodore, a rank later renamed Rear Admiral.