10 Most Inappropriate Moments In Star Trek: The Next Generation

4. "Tell Me About Your Sexual Organs"

It seems like a long time ago now, but trying to get LGBT issues discussed on mainstream television in the 90s was, for a time, incredibly difficult. Networks knew that introducing any openly gay characters would upset a fair chunk of the watching audience and didn't care enough about the real-life social issues at play to put up with the headache.

In 1992 though, The Next Generation thought it had found a clever workaround in The Outcast. They tackled the struggles and societal pressures the LGBT community face in regards to "fitting in" but by inventing an entirely androgynous race called the J’naii and flipping the problem on it's head. Their species is born as neither male or female, and when one begins to identify one way or the other they're treated as if they're sick and forced to undergo procedures to make them "normal".

When one of their race, Soren, falls in love with Riker it's revealed she's been hiding who she truly is for her entire life, but must now effectively "come out" in order to be with him. While it fell short of making direct comparisons with the very real, lived struggles of many members of the LGBT community, it was a profound step in the right direction for TV at the time.

The catch here, is while all of this is absolutely appropriate for a show regardless of its rating, having Soren then just out and out ask Riker to graphically detail what his junk looks like, is probably not.