Elliot, Adira, and the Era of Gender Diversity
By: Deborah Baudoin, She Her
Tags: Blu Del Barrio, Star Trek Discovery, Elliot Page, Nonbinary, Transmasculine

So, Elliot Page came out as a transgender man this week. The actor, who came out publicly on Tuesday, was nominated for an Academy Award for the film Juno and stars as kick-ass superhero Vanya on Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy.

Elliot Page

Needless to say, this announcement was met with a whole lot of hoopla, mostly positive with usual smattering of transphobic BS. And I applaud Page for his courage in coming out. It is not a sure-fire guarantee the his fame will protect him from transphobic backlash. In fact, the strength of his fame might actually put him in more danger, because he is so recognizable and has so much to lose. So, kudos to you, Elliot. We thank you and we’re rooting for you.

Page’s announcement, though, shows us how far we still have to go as a culture. For instance, the New York Times managed to “dead-name” him in their article about his coming out. There are so many ways to identify the actor without dead-naming, most easily by focusing on his prior work.

Others are accusing Page of “internalized misogyny,” underscoring another problem transmasculine people experience. My friend Jim experienced this very issue with a so-called friend who accused him of “betraying women” to get a piece of that delicious male-privilege all of us penis-envying lesbians are so susceptible to. (Yes, sarcasm totally intended.)

But we’re in the 2020’s, right? We’re just at the beginning of this. Surely it will get better?

Fast-forward to the fictional 32nd Century of Star Trek: Discovery, when Adira Tal (played beautifully by non-binary performer Blu del Barrio) finally came out as nonbinary on this week’s episode, “The Sanctuary.”

Adira, after being misgendered for several episodes, finally comes out to Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), saying “‘I’ve never felt like a ‘she’ or-or a ‘her,’ so… I would prefer ‘they’ or ‘them.’” Then Adira admits they have only ever admitted this to one other person, their deceased boyfriend, Gray.

Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio), CBS All Access

This is the year 3189, people, and we’re still having to have Very Special Episodes regarding this? I know, I know, Star Trek reflects current issues through the lens of the future, but I really just wanted Stamets to say, “Adira, why didn’t you just say so immediately? Duh, we’ll use your correct pronouns.”

I wanted, at least in our fictional future, to see a world where a person can express their true gender and correct misgendering without even the slightest hesitation or fear of pushback. But we work with the world we live in, and project the future we want to see.

In the scene, Stamets immediately corrects Adira’s pronouns. There’s even a “Look How Well We’re Doing the Pronouns” scene later in the episode with Stamets and his husband Dr. Hugh Culber (the fabulous Wilson Cruz). I swear, they must say the word “they” fifty times in three minutes. In fact, Stamets and Culber have practically adopted Adira, which makes me so happy because they are the ultimate Cute Gay Family from the Future.

So, here we are, brave travelers at the beginning of a new era in human gender. (Actually, there is nothing about these genders; we’re just in a new era of recognizing these genders.) And not to be too Trekkie about it, I say we boldly go where all such beginnings should lead: to a brighter, healthier, more welcoming future for all people.