True Story: I’m A Trekkie

What, exactly, is a trekkie? What’s so awesome about Star Trek that people want to dress up like the characters? Today, Jenn tells us what she loves about being a Trekkie. 

Tell us a bit about yourself!
My name is Jenn Scott, I’m 24 years old, and right now I live in Pittsburgh, PA! I work as a content developer and office manager for a tech start up, and my hobbies these days are reading, tabletop RPGs (role playing games), and finding every Polish restaurant in Pittsburgh so I can try their pierogies—a very daunting task!

How did you first get interested in Star Trek?
My dad is very into Star Trek—he doesn’t do conventions, but he’s watched every episode of every series since they first came out. So as early as I can remember, we would all sit down together and watch Star Trek: The Next Generation.

As I got older and started watching the other series and re-watching the early episodes of TNG and the original series, I just fell in love with it! When I ran out of TV series, I watched the movies, played the board games and RPGs, read the novels and comic books, and eventually started going to fan conventions.

Why does Star Trek appeal to you?
So many reasons! I think it’s probably better if I break it down:

1. Action! Adventure! Intrigue!
Exploring new life and new civilizations! Seriously, the fun don’t quit in the Trek universe, and it’s a world that just keeps growing. The more series there are, and the more novel and RPG and comic tie-ins, the richer and more limitless the universe gets!

2. The cast chemistry.
Star Trek is fairly action-packed, but the core cast of characters is what really makes the show. The “Holy Trinity” of Captain Kirk, Spock and Bones is probably the best example of this.

They’re all so remarkably different, but their devotion to the ship and the crew tie them all together as friends and colleagues, and it’s fascinating (if I may borrow Spock’s favorite word) to watch how they interact with one another.

3. Endless optimism.
The Star Trek universe is built upon the notion that if we as human beings can learn from the mistakes of the past and move forward in peace that there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.

Gene Roddenberry and his team envisioned a future in which everyone is equal as human beings (and Vulcans…and Romulans…and…) and are capable of the same heroism and dignity no matter what your background—it’s an extremely positive message.

Why do you think Trekkies become so immersed in Star Trek culture? It seems like a much bigger emotional commitment than a lot of people make to their hobby/interest.
I think there are two camps of Star Trek’s fanbase. There are people like my dad who love the shows and movies, but that’s where it ends for them. This mass appeal is what has made Star Trek a cultural icon, even among non-viewers.

The other camp are people more like me, who see the shows as being a small part of a representative whole and who want to know more about the world where these shows exist, the history, the peoples, the languages and customs and the technology.

And these are the fans who are going to conventions! Conventions are such wonderful experiences and they give people a chance to come together, to meet people they may not have met otherwise and talk about something they love.

However, because the appeal of the Trek universe is in the details, it can become very all-consuming for some people, and that’s where the “rabid Trekkie” stereotype comes into play.

Don’t get me wrong – I could probably name every episode of TOS right now if you asked me, and I do get caught into discussions with other fans about minute things that the people making the show probably never even thought to consider, but I do feel like that scary level of fetishism of the show that people tend to associate with Trekkies (or Trekkers, as some fans prefer) is not really representative of the entire fanbase.

How much of your free time do you spend doing Star Trek related activities?
Only two or three hours a week, now that I’m not doing the Star Trek tabletop RPGs. One of my co-workers just recently started watching TOS. Since she’s averaging about an episode a day, we normally spend a few minutes each morning chit-chatting about whatever episode she just watched.

I’ve also been hunting down all the news I can about reboot Star Trek 2—Peter Weller and Benedict Cumberbatch are going to be in it!

What are the biggest misconceptions about Trekkies?
That we’re socially awkward, middle-aged, dateless nerdy fanboys who live in our parents’ basements! No, I guess the biggest misconception is that because the fans are so devoted, people think that we must eat, sleep, and breathe Trek.

I think Trek on a daily basis is probably very similar to being a diehard sports fan: you live your life like you normally would, maybe following the fan news or buying a new themed t-shirt or coffee mug, but when your team is doing something new or exciting or you run into a fellow fan then you’re super pumped to talk about it!

How do the people in your life feel about your love of Star Trek?
I’ve met a few people who, when they found out that I go to cons and things, have been surprised to hear of it, but I think that comes from the ingrained “Trekkie” stereotype more than anything else. All of my friends and family, even the ones who are not really into it, are generally supportive and will even indulge me sometimes if I get to talking about it.

What advice would you give to others who have a somewhat marginalized hobby?
One of the single best experiences I’ve ever had at a con was at Shore Leave 31, a big Star Trek convention in Baltimore, when I went to a panel on fanfiction.

Now, like most people who came of age with the Internet, I’ve grown up in an environment where if you want to read fanfiction, you just Google it and voila, there it is. But I was probably the youngest person in that room: this panel was made up almost entirely of middle-aged ladies.

Pre-Internet, being a fanfiction fan was like belonging to a secret club. They would pass around mimeographed copies of fanfiction magazines (!!!) at conventions and you had to subscribe to them to get them throughout the year.

Just sitting and listening to these stories, and the camaraderie that came out of having a passion for something that had to be carried out in a sort of under-the-table way really put my own fandom into perspective for me.

So my advice for fans of something that is somewhat marginalized or out-of-the-ordinary is this: just do it! It is so much easier now than it’s ever been before to connect with people who share your passion. Cons are great places to meet new and interesting people who share your interests, and the Internet makes it easier than ever to stay in touch with them. Who knows? You might even see me there!

Thanks so much for sharing your story, Jennifer!  Are any of you guys Trekkies?

photo by kevin dooley // cc