Capt. Jonathan: Stardate: [Stardate Brought to You by Slug-o-Cola] Yes, it was TREK’s TOOTSIE. The SOME LIKE IT HOT of the stars. “Profit and Lace.” The DS9 episode where Quark gets a sex change to seduce a Ferengi businessman (owner of the Slug-o-Cola empire) into supporting Recently Deposed Grand Nagus Vizzini Zek in his effort to get the title back from (Acting!) Grand Nagus Herbert West Brunt. But of course the real heart of the episode is in the Ferengi movement, inspired by Moogie (Quark and Rom’s mother), to make it legal for Ferengi women to wear clothes.

It sounds great in theory, but in practice? Well…

Capt. Tracy: I heard a Fresh Air podcast on NPR this morning. Which might seem a strange way to begin my thoughts on this episode, but bear with me– I think it does relate.

My frenemy Terry Gross [Note: Not actually a friend or enemy] was interviewing Alex Perry, who was speaking about the horrifying Nigerian militant group that kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls. When asked about the incident, Perry goes on this bizarre rant about how Western feminist groups think combating sexism in developing nations will bring about a peaceful utopia. What Perry seems to miss in this reductive analysis is what this episode gets: sexism isn’t an isolated phenomenon in any culture. It is a symptom of effed-up power structures that end up damaging every citizen. And what Perry seems to get, which this episode also understands, is that the struggle for reform has to be organic and local–not imposed.

Capt. Jonathan: And it’s great that the one person who really understands this is Moogie! Someone of a generation older (which, in our culture, tends to = more conservative) than anyone else in the episode, with the exception, presumably, of Zek. It’s the younger people that want to continue the oppression.

Capt. Tracy: The first couple of Ferengi, who I’ll call Wallace Shawn (because that’s who he is) and Phyllis Diller (because that’s who she looks like) are progressives of the first order.

Phyllis understands that the way to undo oppressive sexist hierarchies is to show how equality ends up benefiting everyone, and strengthening a culture’s values. Now, the Ferengi cultural values are a little troubling–they’re essentially a planet devoted to capitalism the way Abercrobie & Fitch is devoted to house music–but whatever.

The point is, she makes an argument that is successful because it comes from within–within her own sassy subjectivity and within her own cultural literacy.

This would have been a very different (and crappier) episode if the Federation had decided that sexism was wrong, and sent Spots and Annoying Kira down to “liberate” the Ferengi women. I could see a lesser show doing just that.

Capt. Jonathan: For sure. But I thought it, overall, kind of mishandles a very important issue. It basically makes farcical the issue of women’s rights, which kind of belittles the progressive message.

Interviews with both Alexander Siddig and Armin Shimmerman have indicated that both Siddig (who directed the episode) and Shimmerman felt like they tried to tell a serious story, but that that script’s over-the-top tone created a clash that hurt the gravity of the message. I mean, see the quirky, trombone-filled comedic sound cues for the episode’s saturation of farce.

Again, I want to stress: *comedy* can be effective, but overuse of *farce* is what impales this meaningful discussion of feminism and equality on the Pointy Penis of Doom.

As a result, Quark really doesn’t change beyond this episode. He goes back to being the Same Old Quark relatively quick, and that’s too bad.

Capt. Tracy: There were some elements of the episode I didn’t love, too, through a feminist lens. There are some Tootsie-esque scenes that simultaneously suggest a) sexual harassment is funny and b) femininity is all about earrings and heels (which is nonsensical considering Ferengi women don’t wear clothes).

But my co-captain on this blog and in life has helped me see that it doesn’t make much sense not to celebrate when pop culture tries to do something right, even if it’s not perfect. And this episode does a lot that’s right.

Capt. Jonathan: It’s true – I wish Siddig and Shimmerman were allowed to make more of the episode they wanted to make, but I praise this story for at least talking about this stuff. It could have been handled more gracefully, but I’m glad we got a Moogie-centered episode that brings Ferengi women literally out into the open. It also makes me wonder if Jeffrey Combs can’t just do all of STAR TREK as a one-man show.

And now, a little Q&A:

Capt. Tracy: Q: What is no romantic dinner complete without?

A: Slug-o-cola and double entendres about “profit.”

Capt. Jonathan: Q: If your partner wants to watch a romantic comedy, or “RomCom,” and you want to watch an action movie, or “Explosion-Filled Shitfest,” how do you compromise?

A: I put on a dress and argue that my action movie will generate more profit for the global economy, but only if we watch it tonight.