Kathryn Janeway the Starfleet Captain of Voyager – Honorary Oakley

The beginning of a new year and as we all look into the future with hope, let’s take a look at a lady of the future: Captain Kathryn Janeway. Although not the only female Starfleet officer, Janeway was the first female Captain of a Star Trek spin off series, that series was of course Star Trek: Voyager. Women in Starfleet often played secondary roles to those in command, despite Roddenberry’s forward thinking view of the future. When it was first announced Voyager would see a female at the helm, fans of the series were split. Many thought it just wouldn’t work, whilst others welcomed the change and felt it more reflected a future of equality. That is why we’ve chosen Captain Janeway to be our first Honorary Oakley for 2006.

Full Name: Kathryn Janeway
Home Town / Planet: Indiana, North America, Earth
Birthdate: May 20
Parents: Admiral Edward Janeway (d. 2358) and Gretchen Janeway
Siblings: One sister
Education: Starfleet Academy graduate
Marital status: Single (once engaged)
Office: (2371-2378) U.S.S. Voyager, Deck 1 Ready Room adjoining Bridge

Boldly Go Girl …
Star Trek is a series that has always been known for its forward thinking view of the future, so it seemed the right course of action to finally have a female captain at the helm of a Federation Starship. Janeway’s nasal commands were first heard in 1995 and the series continued until 2001. In that time Captain Janeway led her crew through many dangerous adventures, always trying to get them back home safely to loved ones. Star Trek Voyager is the only Star Trek series to have a female captain at the helm. Kathryn Janeway leads her crew, stranded in the Delta Quadrant over seventy thousand light years from home, with a strength and conviction seen in other Star Trek women, but none of them head of a series. It is this aspect that sets Janeway apart and that is why she’s been added to the annals of the Honorary Oakley.

Make it So…
Janeway is tough, but always fair. She’s intelligent and diplomatic. There’s also a lot to Janeway that only avid viewers of the series would pick up on. She’s thoughtful, caring and dedicated to the task at hand. Although feminists may well argue that Janeway harkens back to the same old ‘nurturing’ values flung upon almost every female television character ever created, one must also examine other Captains that preceded her and consider that they also had these qualities. With that said Janeway is the ‘mother’ of her crew, she cares for them as she would a family and she is their mentor.

Prior to her Voyager assignment Janeway was an A student of starfleet academy and had positions on other vessels. She showed a natural ability for the sciences and engineering and these skills became essential during her stay aboard Voyager. She’s also an expert in chromo-linguistics, American Sign Language, and the gestural idioms of the Leyron.

Gender Bending ….
Janeway prefers to be addressed as “Captain” rather than either the gender-based “sir” or “ma’am” used by many other officers. The reasoning behind this is never really examined, but it’s a smart move by the writers because with each address it shows and reinstates her authority as ‘Captain’.

Against type once more Janeway expresses little interest in the task of cooking, though she does like to kick back in the holodeck in ball gown and relax in the most feminine way possible. It’s an interesting dichotomy, as is the ‘mother’ / ‘captain’ dichotomy that runs throughout the series. Janeway is also non married (though she was engaged) and has no children of her own… other than her beloved crew.

Many women saw Janeway as a role model and were sad when the show came to an end in 2001.

She’s in the Game …
Janeway also appears in videogames. The character appears in ‘Voyager: Insurrection’ (for PC) and Star Trek: Elite Force II which sees Captain Janeway and crew assigned its deadliest mission yet – duty onboard the Federation’s renowned flagship, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701E. Essentially there’s lots of baddies to phase. The game is set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe and allows players to explore all new locations, including alien worlds and zero-g environments.

Why she’s our ‘Number One’…
Captain Kathryn Janeway is a great leader who throws off the chains of ‘woman’ whilst still connecting with the positive female qualities often used as ‘feminizing’ aspects and therefore negative. Captain Kathryn Janeway has been added to the archives of the Honorary Oakley for numerous reasons, but not least of all because she’s strong, independent, a great leader, diplomat, friend and ‘Captain’. That is why we’ve made Star Trek: Voyager character Kathryn Janeway our Honorary Oakley for the Month of January 2006.

Captain Janeway We Salute You!

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