I’m not sure I will ever forgive her for not knocking him to the deck and having her Captainly way with him.
That comment deserves a repost and a damn standing ovation.
I concur. The default comment on that matter, at least from what I’ve read on Tumblr, places the “fault” on him. How much of a fool or an idiot he is for not kissing her on certain situations. But he made it clear, several times, that kissing her was what he wanted. I think that kind of comment reflects a sexist notion that the man has to take the initiative. The guy was merely respecting her wishes! That doesn’t make him an idiot, that makes him a decent person. The first move should be made by the one who’s not sure, who holds back, regardless of gender. Would people like Chakotay better if he disregarded her wishes and just kissed her by force? ‘Cause I certainly wouldn’t.
Oh, that is so dead on. Wow, this post has some really fantastic responses. Tumblr is an interesting hodge podge of perspectives. I think it irks me more sometimes when I read it in fan fiction or at times on the show because at one point or the other one of the characters gets placed completely as a dominant character ( Janeway) and the other as completely submissive (Chakotay) and I don’t think that’s true of any of these characters. They are both outright leaders, regardless of gender these are two characters that have a take charge attitude. I completely agree with you that who makes the next step should have nothing to do with gender and no one should expect it to be Chakotay’s because he’s a man. It’s not his job as a man to always initiate or continue to push until she gives in. I do wonder if the way the characters were generally written on the show has given some people this impression.
Chakotay as a character on the show kind of frustrated me. This was supposed to be the leader of a maquis ship and an expert enough on tactics to teach a class as the Academy. No, he’s not the outright in your face powerhouse Janeway is, he’s a more methodical leader. Yet, we rarely saw any clashes between the impulsive (the opposite of tactical) Janeway and strategic Chakotay. There definitely should have been more disagreements on the show. Ugh, and don’t get me started on the round about way he told her he had feelings for her. The story is cute but I doubt a take charge character like Chakotay would have beat around the bush. As a character that should have also been in charge, the writers definitely didn’t write him that way. I think that’s why people see Chakotay as the passive one sometimes in the fact that he didn’t just come right out and tell her.
I like to think that he did tell her. We just didn’t see it onscreen. Since Trek producers were not big on romantic relationships, I’m surprised they even allowed “Resolutions” to be shot. Same goes for TNG’s “Attached”, which is just as blatant, romantically speaking. There’s a very nice story on that by Kirsten Beyer called “Isabo’s Shirt”, in which he did tell her, sometime around S5, I think.
But that’s just headcanon. I understand your frustration and I share your opinion that he wouldn’t beat around the bush. I also completely agree with you when you say that these characters do not act as dominant/submissive. Perhaps people get confused by their professional relationship. After all, she is the Captain, and he must defer to her decisions on occasion. And on occasion, he doesn’t (e.g. “Equinox”, “Omega Directive” etc). We don’t see a lot of scenes in which they’re being strictly personal, and not professional. But I never got from them the impression that he was a passive character.
This debate is one of the reasons why people should read Jeri Taylor’s books, in which she wrote about their backstories. I mean, she created these characters, so I think she knows how she meant them to be. Ch has nothing of the passiveness some people insist on attributing to him. He went against his family’s wishes and ultimately left them to pursue a life he thought would fulfill him, at least better than the life his family would have him live. When the Academy didn’t turn out to be everything he expected, he forced himself not to quit, as well as to strive to excel despite being singled out and set up for failure. And then, when he ceased believing/agreeing with Starfleet’s policies, he resigned and took actions that allowed him to stay true to his principles and to help those in need. I mean, this is a noble, take-action kind of guy. People shouldn’t mistake unselfishness and consideration for servitude.
Bad, racist writing and lack of character development aside, he’s definitely my favorite character, as well as one of the best people on that ship.Imma steal @intrepidclass‘s words and lose the strikethrough, for folks in the back who maybe didn’t hear it the first time:
Bad, racist writing and lack of character development aside, he’s definitely my favorite character, as well as one of the best people on that ship.
Masculinity comes in different flavors. This isn’t a news flash today but it also wasn’t really pathbreaking in the 1990s. Voyager could and should have done better by Chakotay.
I also think we have to acknowledge how far Robert Beltran’s acting carried this character, in the so-frequent absence of the kind of writing that would have supported what we all could plainly see on screen. It was too consistent throughout the run of the series to be the work of any given director.
You also have to consider that tactical awareness means you know that jumping feet first doesn’t always win.
Chakotay was an excellent tactician, we saw on multiple occasions. Pushing when needed, but also knowing when to stand back and let momentum do it’s job. Coming from the side sometimes to avert immediate defensiveness instead of opening up for direct fire by flying directly at the problem.
That is tactical expertise much more so than brute strength, direct approaches times correctly, and knowledge of weapons.
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bekjaneway 