Of all the challenges that have rocked the crew in season 4 of the Paramount+ streaming series Star Trek: Discovery — from fighting cataclysmic forces to forging alien alliances — one new development resonates with actor Blu del Barrio as well as their LGBTQ+ fans and allies above all others.
“I think chosen family is the big one,” says del Barrio in a recent joint Zoom interview with their costar Ian Alexander. Although the 55-year-old science-fiction franchise has never before featured recurring characters who are trans, del Barrio believes Discovery is taking that concept to a queerer version of the final frontier.
“I think in terms of the LGBTQ+ community and this franchise as a whole,” says del Barrio, “even if there weren’t ‘canon’ queer or trans characters everywhere and spread throughout, the idea of ‘chosen family’ was still there.”
Del Barrio (they/them) and Alexander (he/they) now both identify as trans and nonbinary; they do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth or an exclusive gender. They know this is important representation for both fans and Hollywood.
“Trans voices and stories are finally being told,” Alexander says. “People who aren’t trans can relate to, you know, coming into your identity and finding chosen family. But especially for people who are trans, they are so happy to finally see our stories being reflected
