There are some who say this episode, an obvious metaphor for gay rights, doesn’t go far enough and, in fact, is reactionary. I don’t see it that way. Frankly, I think those who do see it that way lack a fundamental ability for abstract thought. Among the J’naii gender is verboten. A J’naii wants to break free of this and embrace man-loving femininity. While her actions, therefore, seem like ’50s stereotypes, it is all about context. As trojan horse, this is about as good of a pro-tolerance message as you are likely to get out to the general American populace. As an episode, it is pretty good, too. (And Riker gets some action, which is good ’cause Troi just got busy a few episodes ago.)
