We were ignored or actively kept out of nerdy spaces for a long time. While I couldn’t identify with the unsupportive parent aspect of Tilly’s childhood, all geek girls know what it’s like to be the odd one out and to feel like an imposter. While my own mother was putting out chips and naming them Ferengi Scales and making Romulan Ginger Ale, Sylvia’s was berating her and discouraging her efforts to first join Starfleet and then the command training program. We underestimate and devalue kindness and compassion, but it takes courage to hold onto those ideals in the face of darkness and, in Tilly’s case, a difficult childhood with an unsupportive family. And as the show goes on, we learn that she is also incredibly brave, loyal, cool under pressure and pigheadedly determined. She is also unfailingly kind and compassionate, and very smart. She comes on strong, doesn’t seem to know when to stop talking, and gives the impression that she’s perpetually in over her head. That changed with Discovery’s Ensign Sylvia Tilly, who we meet as an overenthusiastic cadet and the only person to give the disgraced Michael Burnham the time of day. We hadn’t seen a unseasoned woman who was wide-eyed and a bit unprepared for the adventure laid out in front of her, and who was new to the uniform. But nerd implies a certain enthusiasm and social awkwardness we saw in Wesley, Bashir (in the early seasons), and Harry Kim. Nearly every Starfleet officer had that baked into their DNA. Not just nerd in the sense of a talent and enthusiasm for science and exploration. But in all these iterations, there was one trope that was missing. Janeway was the mother-warrior, Torres the angry freedom fighter, Kes, the ingénue, Seven the ice queen. Voyager played with, deepened and re-defined past Trek tropes while adding in new ones. They were perfect role models for me as a teenager and young adult, but they were cooler and stronger than I’d ever be. I loved watching Kira be strong, hot-headed and brave, and Dax wise, funny, brilliant, and absolutely owning her sexuality while defying and transgressing gender roles. I found myself more enamored with Trek than ever. The characters felt like friends, while the cast of TNG felt more like mentors. Although I admired them, I didn’t identify with them.īy the time DS9 launched, I was old enough to appreciate its more mature themes. Crusher was a mother and a doctor who took care of the crew’s physical health, while Troi took care of their emotional well-being along with diplomatic duties. On TNG, Deanna and Beverly were traditionally feminine nurturers. But the geek girls (not to mention the geeks who don’t align with any singular gender) never had an equivalent - not until Sylvia Tilly, in all her nerdy, quirky, over-caffeinated glory. Love him or hate him, Wesley Crusher was a stand-in for young male fans. That’s when I realized that despite being a fan of the franchise since I was eight years old and watching LeVar Burton put on a VISOR at the end of an episode of Reading Rainbow and despite having the geekiest 12th birthday humanly possible (thanks to a TNG-themed mystery game, costumes, snacks given themed names by my mom along with a lot of silver tinsel) I had never truly seen myself on screen.
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