Trans* Lives of Jadzia Dax: A Queer Ecology Reading of Symbiosis in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Abstract

Abstract: This article explores the symbiotic relationship of the Trill species in Star Trek from nonbinary, trans*, and queer ecological perspectives. The Trill’s unique physiology allows them to enter into a symbiotic relationship with a symbiont, leading to nonheterosexual, nonbinary, and androgynous features. By examining the trans metaphor represented by Jadzia Dax, a Trill character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the article highlights the ways in which the Trill challenge traditional notions of gender, biology, and symbiosis by introducing queerness. Furthermore, the article argues that symbiosis, when viewed through the lens of queer ecology, posthumanism, and more-than-humanisms, reveals that all living beings engage in queering, emphasizing the interconnectedness of life and the absence of living without symbiosis.