It is beyond the scope of the paper I wish to
write here, but one of the most interesting aspects of
the series is the unconventionality of its gender roles.
None of the women characters are stereotyped in respect
to gender. Devon Adair and Julia Heller are leaders.
Bess, while an earth mother figure, is also far stronger
than Morgan, and in spite of the vast difference in
status, earns Devon's and everyone else's respect for her
grit and courage. Even one of the minor women characters,
Magus, is a crew member working in a "non-traditional"
job.
The men too are often allowed to fulfill human aspects
not often afforded them. Uly, Alonzo and Yale are
spiritual beings, Danziger sometimes transcends his macho
self to become a loving father and friend, and Morgan is
weak and dependent. Even when Danziger struggles with
Devon over leadership issues it seems to come more from
class and status than gender differences. His contempt is
that of the experienced line sergeant for the newly
graduated lieutenant, or the seasoned foreman for the
young MBA. He treats female members of his crew as he
does the male crew and his daughter in the same way as he
does the boy Uly. When Julia and Alonzo begin a romantic
relationship, it is Alonzo who is the nurturing and more
emotionally open of the two. Yale, a kind of nanny to Uly
and True, is also allowed a more emotionally rich life
than his former charge, Devon.
As interesting and satisfying as the gender
relationships are, they are not the driving idea for
Earth2.
But they do follow from its central argument which, I
contend, is based on a particular worldview. This
philosophy, popular in New Age circles and embraced by
ecofeminists
[1], combines spiritual and ecological
ideas. It is supported by a scientific theory with a
provocative name.
