If you had a starship and got to staff it with feminist icons from history and pop culture, who would you choose? What about Chief Engineer Kaylee Fry or Captain Coretta Scott King? What position would you pick for someone as multitalented as Sally Ride? Our hosts share their picks for a Starfleet feminist supercrew.
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Hosts: Andi, Grace, Sue, Jarrah
Editor: Jarrah
Our Crew Lists:
Andi:
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- Captain – none
- First officer – Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)
- Navigator/Helm – Nellie Bly
- Chief Tactical Officer/Security Chief – Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars)
- Science officer – Fred Burkle (Buffy)
- Communications officer – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Chief Engineer – Kaylee Fry (Firefly)
- Doctor – Hildegard von Bingen
- Counselor – Oprah
- Nurse – Mary Eliza Mahoney
- First Contact Specialist – Janet Mock
- Morale Officer – Beyonce
Jarrah:
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- Captain – Birgitte Nyborg (Borgen)
- First officer – Zoe Washburne (Firefly)
- Navigator/Helm – Katherine Sui Fun Cheung
- Chief Tactical Officer/Security Chief – Miss Fisher (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries)
- Science officer – Cosima Niehaus (Orphan Black)
- Communications officer – Rose Roberts (Agent Carter)
- Chief Engineer – Sally Ride
- Doctor – Michelle Bachelet
- Counselor – Georgene Seward
- Nurse – Charlotte Edith Anderson Montour
- First Contact Specialist – Squirrel Girl
- Morale Officer – Carrie Fisher
Sue:
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- Captain – Coretta Scott King
- First officer – Pauli Murray
- Navigator/Helm – Sally Ride
- Chief Tactical Officer/Security Chief – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Science officer – Jocelyn Bell Burnell
- Communications officer – Ursula K. LeGuin
- Chief Engineer – Margaret Hamilton
- Doctor – Mae Jemison
- Counselor – Nawal El Saadawi
- Nurse – Margaret Sanger
- First Contact Specialist – bell hooks
- Morale Officer – Jennifer Lawrence
- School Head – Malala Yousafzai
Grace:
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- Captain – Geena Davis
- First officer – Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation)
- Navigator/Helm – Michelle Rodriguez
- Chief Tactical Officer/Security Chief – Ellen Ripley
- Science officer – Annie Jump Cannon
- Communications officer – Aziz Ansari
- Chief Engineer – Pearl (Steven Universe)
- Doctor – Dana Scully
- Counselor – Jennifer Melfi (The Sopranos)
- Nurse – Harriet Tubman
- First Contact Specialist – Nora Charles (The Thin Man)
- Morale Officer – Molly Weasley (Harry Potter)
Sue, I especially loved your choice of Ursula K Le Guin for communications officer. For both of the reasons you mentioned, but also because she invented (in fictional terms, anyway!) the ansible, her faster than light communication device. 🙂 She’s one of my favourite writers, and certainly my favourite SF writer, and I still mourn her passing at the beginning of last year.
I loved your feminist supercrews! I would also like to nominate Devi and Frieda from Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel Aurora. Devi as engineer, because she kept the ship running against all odds, and Frieda in a leadership position because she kept the crew together when they seemed doomed and guided them home.
Great choice! Aurora is one of my favourite KSR novels and both of those characters are wonderful, especially Freya who of course we spend a lot more time getting to know. I’d also suggest that Ship should be – well, the ship! I seem to remember that Devi called her Pauline (a lot of KSR AIs are called Pauline), so at the very least she could be the voice of the computer. 🙂