10 Biggest LGBTQIA+ Moments In Star Trek

Now hear me out.

Kirk and Spock have never been depicted on-screen as being more than friends and brothers. However, the pairing has inspired an entire genre of fiction. Slash fiction is credited with first appearing around stories of Kirk and Spock enjoying a sexual relationship, and the first such story appeared in 1968, with the first published story coming out in 1974. This was directly addressed by Gene Roddenberry in the novel of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

In the book, Kirk says that he had never been aware of these rumours, though Spock had been. Kirk goes on to say that he takes pleasure from 'that creature named woman', and that it would be foolish to put all sexual hopes in a person who only goes into heat once every seven years.

However, in the film of The Motion Picture, the scene that immediately follows Spock's spacewalk has often been cited as the moment that confirms they are more than platonic friends. Whether one chooses to accept this reading or believes they are nothing more than what is directly shown on-screen, that is absolutely fine. They have inspired so much discussion about sexuality in Star Trek that, whether indirectly, accidentally, or deliberately, Kirk and Spock have been one of the biggest examples of LGBTQIA+ discussions, representations, and positive depictions in the franchise.