Aquarius said:
Yes, things have changed. And I think that, in order to write characters that ring true to the ones we saw in the show, we have to remember that Trip and T'Pol weren't created a long time ago with the intention of entertaining an older generation. They were created recently with modern ideas and values in mind. To ignore the cultural and historical context in which a show and its characters were created leaves one open to misinterpretations--and by cultural and historical context, I don't mean when the show is set, I mean the circumstances and events that were affecting the audience it was created for. Enterprise was not written or broadcast at the same time as Leave it to Beaver; they have completely different social and historical contexts.
To play devil's advocate, and because I think there is some truth to it, while there has been alot of changes over the years (THANK GOODNESS) men are men. Trip strikes me as a typical guy and I expect typical guy behavior out of him. Some of stereotypical male behavior is NOT time/culture specific. I remember staying overnight with a Hmong family in a refugee camp. This was at the end of my stay in Thailand and I could finally understand the language somewhat. Hmong people come from isolated hilltops in Laos. They were not exposed to Western culture or even TV. Aspects of my visit were exotic. The family I was staying with was polygomous: There was one husband and two wives. The little boy slept with his grandparents on a bamboo bed with no mattress. Other aspects of the visit were straight out of an American sitcom, in particular the conversation between the grandparents that I could overhear. They gave me the key to the outhouse so I could get to the bathroom at night. Then as they went to bed I could hear this conversation clear as day.
Grouchy grandfather voice: "I don't see why you gave here the key to the bathroom! I knew she was staying, but you didn't tell me you would give away the key to the bathroom!"
Soothing grandmother voice: "Oh, there there. She needs it and you'll be fine. It's just for one night. She seems very nice . . ."
and so on with the grumble, grumble from the grandfather and squelched by soothing, nurturing words from the grandmother. I remember thinking, "This is like my mom and dad exactly."
The next morning the grandmother came over and sat on the edge of my bed and told me all about how she and the grandfather had escaped from Laos, patting my leg like a grandmother, while the grandfather stalked past us and went and peed off the front porch (I suppose to emphasis his annoyance with me having the key to the bathroom).
To summarize, part of this is human nature. Trip seems kind of old fashioned to me. "Ma'am" and all that. I wouldn't be surprised at all if sterotypical gender roles persist way into the future. In fact, it is canon that they do (the Original Series).
