10 Biggest LGBTQIA+ Moments In Star Trek
7. We Know Why He Never Worked Out With The Ladies
When asked in the mid-80s about whether or not there would be gay characters in the then-upcoming Next Generation, Gene Roddenberry assured fans that there would be. Years later, Jeri Taylor revealed that the plan had originally been for Geordi la Forge to be gay, something that was reflected in his hopeless luck with women.
However, he was also representing two other minority groups. He was a black man, and he was disabled. There was no mention of his sexuality initially. Then, as the years passed and Roddenberry's health began to fail, it seemed that any chance of La Forge being revealed as gay was being quashed.
Several Trek actors have come forward to say that certain 'higher ups' in the franchise blocked the inclusion of any LGBTQIA+ characters at the time. It would take a long time for a gay character to appear in the franchise.
Roddenberry openly discussed his own early homophobia before he died. He said that, as a younger man, his own ignorance had led him to prejudice and to use slurs against gay people, though as he aged, he began to understand that love was simply love. Had Roddenberry lived for longer, it is quite possible that a gay character would have arrived earlier in the franchise.