Kirk vs Riker: Who's More Full Of Toxic Masculinity?
Captain Kirk, Commander Riker & Star Trek Toxic Masculinity
Captain Kirk, oozing way too much masculine charm? Commander Will Riker, sparkling magical as too much of a twinkle eyed dangerous player? Are these greatly admired Star Trek pillars of strength imbued with dramatic ingenuity, and indisputable long time pop culture icons, to be admired and emulated? Or are they jagged, little poisonous pills which promote and define the trendy notion of damaging toxic masculinity?
Toxic Trek
Before I launch into a warp fueled spectacle of yea or nay of Kirk and Riker’s various masculine motivated flaws, let’s clearly define just what the term toxic masculinity means and the social concerns it covers and attempts to address both here and in the far flung future.
From Wikipedia:
The concept of toxic masculinity is used in academic and media discussions of masculinity to refer to certain cultural norms that are associated with harm to society and to men themselves. Traditional stereotypes of men as socially dominant, along with related traits such as misogyny and homophobia, can be considered "toxic" due in part to their promotion of violence, including sexual assault and domestic violence. The socialization of boys in patriarchal societies often normalizes violence, such as in the saying "boys will be boys" with regard to bullying and aggression.
OK. Alrighty then. Looks like we’ve got our social sorting work cut out for us within the framework of Trekdom.
Dominant or Dominion?
Dominance. Being or simply acting dominant? We could go back and forth as to what’s more socially acceptable or even beneficial in terms of the dominant nature of a male, but one thing seems certain: Kirk and Riker’s dominant attitude, be it stemming from their role as Starfleet officers or just a natural outgrowth of their more masculine personalities, defines them as believable people and beloved Star Trek characters.
But is it dominant or dominion?
Deep Space Nine offered up show villains in the suffocating cloak of the dread Dominion. This triumvirate of races - The Founder Changelings, their merry ministers of mayhem, the intellectual Vorta, who controlled the irresistible shock troops of the enslaved Jem Hadar, lived up to their name. They held complete dominion over the races of that part of the galaxy - the Gamma Quadrant. Does Will Riker or Jim Kirk play a similar game of holding torturous dominion over their Starfleet subordinates or the loves of their lives?
Certainly it’s no secret how much Kirk loved romancing the ladies. He loved them so much we saw so many of his many loves during Enterprise’s first love laden adventures during The Original Series. Riker, not nearly so much of a Lothario - and, in the end, he married his beloved Imzadi - the ever therapeutic royal herself, Counselor Deanna Troi. These don’t strike me much as men who impose debilitating dominion over those in their lives. In the love department, nope, neither Captain Kirk nor Commander Riker serve up toxic masculine behavior. If anything, Kirk’s relationship with Carol Marcus and Riker and Troi tell us these are more romantic types than anything else.
Future Fisticuffs
One of the great joys for me while watching both original Star Trek and The Next Generation is the amount of hand to hand combat joyously displayed. Forget Klingon Birds of Prey or Romulan Warbirds energy beam duking it out against Enterprise - I love seeing Karate Kirk or Anbo-Jyutsu Riker mixing it up pure MMA style. Are we edging into the danger zone now? Are these two old boys of Trek brimming with too much violence?
Do Kirk and Riker - by their great love of mixing it up and brawling bare knuckled - define violent toxic masculinity? Fans of TNG will recall Picard’s first Security Chief was Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) - a confident, bare knuckle brawling female. Played by the great Denise Crosby, Yar could kick the ass of most any man - and she often did. The Klingons say, Today is a good day to die. For Yar, it seems everyday is a day to properly kick ass.
Trekkers know full well what their beloved sci-fi show has done for global pop culture and especially in their own lives. Star Trek has not only made them happy - it often touches them, enriches and motivates them in ways incredibly hard to describe. It’s not only made my life more fun and interesting, but given me a creative outlet I will forever be grateful for to the combination of Gene Roddenberry and Trek’s spiritual mom, Lucille Ball. You may try to find toxicity nestled deep within Trek, but I wish you good luck with that challenging away mission.
So, in the end, what’s the final analysis regarding our stalwart Starfleet studs, Kirk and Riker’s level of potential damaging masculinity? I think it’s clear there’s not much there. It’s as lacking as lilting laughter in a Borg ship. TNG’s alien race, the enigmatic, super computer loving Bynars would instantly calculate for us, it amounts to a big, fat: ZERO.