Star Trek Retrospective: Episode 6 Mudd’s Women
Star Trek was great about a lot of things including race relations, nuclear weapons, war, and the future of technology but the one area where it seriously lagged was in gender equality. The show dripped misogamy like a Sparklets jug shot with a shotgun drips water and no episode was as bad as Mudd’s Women (although Turnabout Intruder was a close second. Ironically both episodes written by Gene Roddenberry. Take from that what you will). Essentially the story is of women willingly selling themselves into chattel and using drugs to enhance their appeal in only the most superficial and sexist ways possible in order to attract men who’s only quality is being rich.
I suppose an argument could be made that the minors on Rigel XII saw past the girls hideous appearance once it became obvious what good cooks and house cleaners they were (another step forward for women’s liberation!) but I noticed Kirk never managed to see past the ugly to the inner beauty. This episode preceded the City on the Edge of Forever so even the argument that he was pining away for Edith Keeler holds no merit.
I am in almost all ways proud to be a Star Trek TOS fan but when faced with the women being treated more or less like short skirted door mats in every episode I do have to give props to the Next Generation. They were infinitely better in this one area. I’m pretty sure it was never Roddenberry’s intention to be so sexist but that the behavior was so ingrained that he just assumed it was normal. 
It makes me wonder what things do we consider just normal today that will look lame and ridiculous in 2054. (Whenever I talk about sexism in Star Trek I feel compelled to pull an image from one of the Wonder Woman t shirts to balance it out. Not sure if that works but I do what I can)
the Infamous Dave Inman
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