Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Orions

The Orion Syndicate was oddly devoid of Orions in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, despite the fact the series coined the name for the criminal conglomerate (in The Ascent). Later, a switch in synonyms in Star Trek: Discovery didn't do the stereotypes any favours, but at least there were actual Orions in the Emerald Chain.

Star Trek: Lower Decks has done its utmost to deconstruct and to mock the clichés, and Discovery did include an Orion Starfleet cadet, as did Star Trek (2009). The Titan-A also had an Orion ensign aboard. If not all Orions are pirates and criminals, however, it certainly hasn't been for a lack of trying to portray them as such.

The depiction of female Orions was highly problematic from the outset, peddling not only the sexist stereotypes of the femme fatale, but also trading off the deeper roots of misogyny in the male gaze. In The Cage, Vina, in Orion form, was there to be objectified, as a lure for Captain Pike. One of the illusory Starfleet officers even comments, "Funny how they are on this planet. They actually like being taken advantage of". Towards the start of the episode, Doctor Boyce had already noted incredulously to Pike, "You, an Orion trader, dealing in green animal women slaves?"

Later, the Star Trek: Enterprise episode Bound only served to reinforce the sexist clichés. As David Greven pointed out in Gender and Sexuality in Star Trek: Allegories of Desire in the Television Series and Films (2009), Bound also "perpetuate[d] the extraordinary heterosexism of all the Trek series [up to and including Enterprise]". In other words, where were the gay men to resist the pheromones?