The Female Team

[Yvie]

I would really enjoy an all black sg team. Its a simple fact you gravitate towards those most like you. And if one of the friends has some pull they can easily end up all on a team together. Im sure theres some heady political/social message that can be made. But Id be ok just seeing it there.

But there'd be no other point in having an all black team other than to have an all black team...

How are we ever supposed to have racial equality if we continue to regard people as tokens? The token black team etc, just because it's cool and different, and a stunt...

Russell T Davis (producer of Doctor Who) flamed Primeval for having a disgusting lack of ethnic representation, but why should a minority be put into a role JUST because they're a minority? I mean, sure if you set a tv show in an area with is actually more dominated by african, or chinese people than white people, then I can certainly see an issue, but as I've mentioned before, my squadron only NOW has two non-white members, last year the whole squadron was white. If It had been a TV show, an accurate one, there'd only have been white characters... and apparently, that is appauling... why? Why if in reality there aren't any?

Unlike the physiological differences between males and females, there truely ARE no differences between black, white, chinese, indian, whatever people. We're all the same men and all the same women. There's NO difference. So why should such a difference be highllighted in the show with a single colour unit? It would appear very forced to me.

EDIT:

The Gateverse has respectablly handled racial equallity, particularly with Colonel Ellis, we've seen background characters who are black, there's obviously Teal'c, and now we're seeing high position black officers, and it does not feel forced what so ever, and that's good, it feels like a natural situation.

I don't know about respectable but efforts have been made.

I don't think they should have more diverse representation because of tokenism. I think they should have better representation because that's what reality reflects. We all have different sensibilities about the kinds of belief we can suspend and that's just not one of mine. I'm from a military family and a military town and an overwhelmingly white military presence just isn't realistic. As a person of color, it's something that I notice and sure, it would be nice to see yourself reflected on the shows you watch. Not a deal-killer for Stargate but it would be a nice treat. If I saw an all black or all minority team, I wouldn't think it was tokenism, I would think that it was an interesting circumstance. And like you, it simply reflects my personal experience with the military. I'm sure others would disagree though.

But one's sensitivity to that is personal and definitely contextual. In Firefly, the lack of Asian characters was noteworthy. I was able to overlook that but I know people who absolutely couldn't.

And agreed that race and gender are separate considerations on this issue.

[BubblingOverWithIdeas]

Re: physical strength. Most fighting these days is with guns, rather than hand-to-hand. I've never seen any indication that women are less good with guns than men on average. And even if they were, any woman with a military position in an SG team would obviously be one that was above average with guns.

[Flyboy]

What does that have to do with my opinion? Attractiveness is subjective.

All I was saying is that a lot of people seem to like Dusty and Vega for the "hot" factor, which implies that IF the only reason TPTB put an all female team in was for sex appeal then it worked.

And your point being? I find that the majority of the military men that are in the background of SG1 and SGA are either handsome, built very nicely and/or hot. And yes there are exceptions, but as you pointed out there are significantly more men than women. Remember, attractivness is subjective.

I really don't think I can comment further on this, forgive me, but as a male I'm naturally going to notice that they've put four VERY attractive females on an all female team which, I personally believe is for sex appeal, looking back over male SG teams, or mixed sex teams, I don't recall many of them being what you'd call traditionally "hot". I appreciate that attraction is subjective, but McKay was never originally a sex symbol, though interestingly enough he's become one, but characters like Dixon aren't traditional American poster boys like Shep and Mitchell. I get that the lead characters are going to be attractive, such is the nature of US television, GOD forbid an ugly main character... *shudders*, but seriously, an all female team made up of super models... well...

For one as was stated in another post...it takes away gender issues that sometimes can get in the way and it is possible they wanted to see if it would work.

What gender issues? There haven't really been any in SG1... unless we're referring to weaknesses of character or body, surely what you're saying is suggesting that men and women are so different that they can't work together. Are you suggesting we should deliberatly exclude women from a majority male team to prevent gender issues? Such an avenue is dangerous, as I believe when women are entitled to work alongside men, they SHOULD and neither should be segregated.

Well actually it was stated that women were weaker than men which is not true because the statement is way too broad. However I do understand that our conversation has been centered around physical strength.

It is broad, and as I said, there are some tough females out there, but sometimes we have to generalise. When there's a fitness test on my squadron the females usually fail the strength elements, ie press ups and sit ups, where as the males never do - they only fail on the running.

As long as a team is aware of its strength and weakness and works within those confides, the physical upper body strength arguement should not necessarily an issue. If you have an all-female squad, they are going to be very much aware how much they can and can't carry due to their smaller size and having not having the upper body strength rather having more lower body strength. They would make adjustments and decisions based on such. That doesn't make it a bad idea...it just makes it a realistic one.
What makes a team good is how well they work together, regardless if it is all male, all female or a gender mix or racial mix.

But on dangerous assignments, in potentially hostil enemy territory, even if the team works together, upper body strength can be a massive advantage, so if you can GET that, why turn it down?

Why would you assume this is settling for less? There are more to these teams then just physical strength. There is determination, there is courage, there is problem solving. Yes there are some situations where physical strength is important, yet there are other cases where it might not be. Each situation a team encounters is unique and doesn't always required brute force.

It's settling for less if you deliberatly exclude people who would make the team better. It would be settling for less if Carter were excluded from SG1 because of "female compatability issues", because you'd be losing what SHE could bring to the table. Both men and women bring very different, but equally valuable assets to a team, and whilst regretably sometimes its impossible to avoid an all male team, theres no reason to have an all female team. Heck, Im arguing for equality here. Both males and females deserve to be respected for what they ARE, not viewed as the same, because they're not. Frankly if I were commanding a team out of area, I'd be happy to have a woman, as often they're diplomatic skills exceed men. Female police officers are amazingly good at resolving situations.

And I don't see how a female team would have had any less of an impact on escorting Shep's team in the Shrine. They have a job to do and they would do it. The Wraith could care less if you were male or female if they would have happen to catch them. Physical strength would have meant nothing.

There's a reason why O'Neill wanted "strapping" marines in The Return Pt 2, sometimes the sheer brute strength of a security detail is advantagous.

I'm not sure. He's not allowed to talk about anything that he does. I just know that when he is called to duty, they come get him at all hours of the night.

Then I won't ask any further.

We'll we have to agree to disagree on this one. Since I have seen even Shep have this type of attitude on more than one occasion, I would not have called it a 'girl power trip' rather more of an exchange of sarcasm between two military officers. Shep should not have been surprised at seeing an all-female team and that scene could have been written better and if they still wanted the Carson, Shep male hormonal reaction when the women's backs were turned, they still could have gotten it by putting more of the emphasis on Carson's reaction than Sheps.

As this is entirely based on interpretation, fair enough. It's just how I read it.

I don't think they wrote Dusty's character true to form, they did it for the creative effect it had on the show.

Which imo was negative. She acted like she was pretending to be male, as if she'd been told "imagine a cliche 'lad', now act like it", as opposed to - act like a Sergeant.

Don't see where in Whispers that they proved they were incapable or unsuited to do the job. Just because we don't agree with how they were portrayed on the screen, does not mean they were not qualified. They after all made it to Atlantis and that in itself is an accomplishment.

The major was fine. I'd like to see her return with a mixed team. Dr Porter was also fine, until her "damsal in distress" moment at the end "ohhhh I've had enough of alien labs" (was she supposed to by a civvy or military scientist??). Dusty and Vega? They were incapable and unsuitable for two reasons.

Dusty for one, I personally believe would fail any psychological assesments done by the SGC, her attitude was worrying, in fact, I think she was bad for the reasons most accuse Bates of being bad for. She just wanted to kick alien ass. Not productive when MOST aliens become our allies. She was callous and sloppy, and far too gung ho. As for Vega, well we didn't s ee much of her, but her disregard of the native as being a "silly ignorant primitive" because he was ranting about demons, was AWFUL. After all the SG team encounteres with natives screaming about demons andn then a great big alien turning up, she should have lent more creedence to the man.

[BubblingOverWithIdeas]

It's settling for less if you deliberatly exclude people who would make the team better. It would be settling for less if Carter were excluded from SG1 because of "female compatability issues", because you'd be losing what SHE could bring to the table. Both men and women bring very different, but equally valuable assets to a team, and whilst regretably sometimes its impossible to avoid an all male team, theres no reason to have an all female team. Heck, Im arguing for equality here. Both males and females deserve to be respected for what they ARE, not viewed as the same, because they're not. Frankly if I were commanding a team out of area, I'd be happy to have a woman, as often they're diplomatic skills exceed men. Female police officers are amazingly good at resolving situations.

Ah, but a person doesn't have a particular skill set based solely on their gender. It seemed that Teldy recruited women skilled in different areas. Porter's a scientist, Dusty's the brute force, Vega no doubt contributed something but I didn't see enough of her to get a handle on her specialty.

[Xaeden]

But on dangerous assignments, in potentially hostil enemy territory, even if the team works together, upper body strength can be a massive advantage, so if you can GET that, why turn it down?

Did you have a problem with Sheppard's team before the inclusion of Ronon as well? I would describe Sheppard and Ford as scrappy more than anything else. They primarily depended on their guns and when it came to physical situations, Sheppard tended to complain and Ford seemed skilled in hand-to-hand, but didn't have the brute force you keep describing is so important. In fact, if you pinned Sheppard's team then versus' Teldy's team to see who would do better in a varity of endurence and physical trials, I'm not sure that Sheppard's team would've won.

There's a reason why O'Neill wanted "strapping" marines in The Return Pt 2, sometimes the sheer brute strength of a security detail is advantagous.

I get your point, but that's a bad example. Brute strength was useless against the replicators and O'neill knew that (you can't physically fight them, carrying heavier weapons to use against them won't do any good, and the situation didn't require carrying a lot of supplies around) - He had a very real issue with them not having backup, but the way he phrased it was just him being his usual, over the top self.

[Flyboy]

Did you have a problem with Sheppard's team before the inclusion of Ronon as well? I would describe Sheppard and Ford as scrappy more than anything else. They primarily depended on their guns and when it came to physical situations, Sheppard tended to complain and Ford seemed skilled in hand-to-hand, but didn't have the brute force you keep describing is so important. In fact, if you pinned Sheppard's team then versus' Teldy's team to see who would do better in a varity of endurence and physical trials, I'm not sure that Sheppard's team would've won.



I get your point, but that's a bad example. Brute strength was useless against the replicators and O'neill knew that (you can't physically fight them, carrying heavier weapons to use against them won't do any good, and the situation didn't require carrying a lot of supplies around) - He had a very real issue with them not having backup, but the way he phrased it was just him being his usual, over the top self.

No, but I'll tell you what I did complain about.

SG1 - Children of the Gods. SG1 consists of... Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter and Daniel Jackson.

THAT'S their team? Sending a military unit to a hostile planet with only ONE experienced soldier, one officer who, sure, has had basic training, but has spent most of her career OUT of the field, and an archeologist. Peachy.

I have two lines of argument. My first is the fact that I still maintain there is NO need for an all female team, there is no benefit unless going undercover on planet of the amazons. And unlike an all male team, it wouldn't happen from sheer chance, it would happen because someone (ie THE MAJOR) said, I want an all female team, cause women ROCK!

My second is simply that in reality, it is men who are put into the front line duties, for various reasons, and often one of them is sheer ability to cope with the physical demands of the job. I certainly agree that there is no reason why a woman cannot rise to most of the challenges, but what do you BENEFIT from an all female team? NOTHING. When typically a male WILL be able to overpower a female.

It seems to me, that surely, mixed sex teams, unless otherwise impossible are the best option.

EDIT: What I do also find annoying, is that a PILOT is leading the flagship team in ground combat duties.... I'd rather have an actual Marine or AF ground troop in the position.

[prion]

All I was saying is that a lot of people seem to like Dusty and Vega for the "hot" factor, which implies that IF the only reason TPTB put an all female team in was for sex appeal then it worked.

I really don't think I can comment further on this, forgive me, but as a male I'm naturally going to notice that they've put four VERY attractive females on an all female team which, I personally believe is for sex appeal, looking back over male SG teams, or mixed sex teams, I don't recall many of them being what you'd call traditionally "hot". I appreciate that attraction is subjective, but McKay was never originally a sex symbol, though interestingly enough he's become one, but characters like Dixon aren't traditional American poster boys like Shep and Mitchell. I get that the lead characters are going to be attractive, such is the nature of US television, GOD forbid an ugly main character... *shudders*, but seriously, an all female team made up of super models... well...

Which imo was negative. She acted like she was pretending to be male, as if she'd been told "imagine a cliche 'lad', now act like it", as opposed to - act like a Sergeant.

The major was fine. I'd like to see her return with a mixed team. Dr Porter was also fine, until her "damsal in distress" moment at the end "ohhhh I've had enough of alien labs" (was she supposed to by a civvy or military scientist??). Dusty and Vega? They were incapable and unsuitable for two reasons.

Ohyes, the major reason (no pun intended) many fans cite liking thisepisode is because of the "hot" girls. I really do think this was the writers' chance to do their own private scifi Charlies Angels. If any had to return, Teldy is the only one I'd want back. I like the actress who portrayed Porter but her character was a little inconsistent; no problem entering alien abodes, then runs off into the dark, hiding under stairs (or something) and then, in a contrived plot device, doesn't want to go back to the lab. Dusty can be deep-sixed as I've seen enough of that stereotype to last forever.

[Jackie]

No, but I'll tell you what I did complain about.

SG1 - Children of the Gods. SG1 consists of... Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter and Daniel Jackson.

THAT'S their team? Sending a military unit to a hostile planet with only ONE experienced soldier, one officer who, sure, has had basic training, but has spent most of her career OUT of the field, and an archeologist. Peachy.

I have two lines of argument. My first is the fact that I still maintain there is NO need for an all female team, there is no benefit unless going undercover on planet of the amazons. And unlike an all male team, it wouldn't happen from sheer chance, it would happen because someone (ie THE MAJOR) said, I want an all female team, cause women ROCK!

My second is simply that in reality, it is men who are put into the front line duties, for various reasons, and often one of them is sheer ability to cope with the physical demands of the job. I certainly agree that there is no reason why a woman cannot rise to most of the challenges, but what do you BENEFIT from an all female team? NOTHING. When typically a male WILL be able to overpower a female.

It seems to me, that surely, mixed sex teams, unless otherwise impossible are the best option.

EDIT: What I do also find annoying, is that a PILOT is leading the flagship team in ground combat duties.... I'd rather have an actual Marine or AF ground troop in the position.

I think O'Neill was supposed to be a commando. But Sheppard seemed to have grown other abilities as the series went on. He started as a rogue pilot and ended up black ops.

Ford should have contributed far more for he was the marine.

Out of SG-1...you forgot big alien as well. Teal'c betrayed Apothes and was placed on a flagship team. Not only does that defy all logic but also would make SG-1 even more of a target. Might as well have painted a bullseye on Teal'c's forehead instead of the little gold glyph.

A mixed team is the best way to go. And also add in the fact there are more men in the military the odds of a female team drop even more.

However, women are still not allowed in combat...even though we can be trained for combat.

Right now...in Iraq...there is a women program underway called the Lioness Program. Our women soldiers are needed at the front line and security check points to check muslim women for bombs. Under muslim law a man cannot search a woman.

Can you imagine approaching a fully clad woman, hidden behind a veil to shearch her for a bomb? One has already died in the line of duty. More are being trained and sent as we speak.

There is one place right now for an all female team but not to go off fighting. But to search muslim women for bombs. That's a pretty scary need to be filled.

[jyh]

Ohyes, the major reason (no pun intended) many fans cite liking thisepisode is because of the "hot" girls. I really do think this was the writers' chance to do their own private scifi Charlies Angels.

Personally I think that's a major overstatement. If that were true, the female team would have been wearing too-small tank-tops and shorts. One thing I've always liked about Stargate (with a few exceptions) is that the women on this show aren't treated like Star Trek TNG's Seven-of-Nine, wearing that horrendous, body-hugging, leave-nothing-to-the-imagination one-piece outfit. (With heels, no less!!)

Carter and other female military personnel wear standard uniforms in the standard fashion. There is very little cleavage in Stargate, and not a single short skirt to be found. The women we see in Atlantis or the SGC are there because they have whatever abilities and skills that are required, and they dress in standard clothing, whether a uniform or whatever.

(I'm not speaking specifically about Teyla's little midriff-bearing top; she's not military, nor even from Earth.)

[Flyboy]

I think O'Neill was supposed to be a commando. But Sheppard seemed to have grown other abilities as the series went on. He started as a rogue pilot and ended up black ops..

O'Neill wasn't a problem for me. It was Shep I was referencing, my problem with O'Neill is that ALL of a sudden, he's a pilot. Which is a huge retcon, I mean we KNOW he was doing ground attack missions as a Captain for crying out loud, so he was a TEST pilot whilst a junior officer!? (Plus in S1 and 2 he doesn't have Pilot wings on his number ones)

Shep on the other hand, has always been a damn pilot, I get why he should be on Atlantis, and I get why he ought to be IC military contingient there, but the man will have only had a BASIC level of ground combat training, what gives him the right to command Marines?

Ford should have contributed far more for he was the marine..

I concur. He WAS junior though... perhaps too junior for an SG team...

Out of SG-1...you forgot big alien as well. Teal'c betrayed Apothes and was placed on a flagship team. Not only does that defy all logic but also would make SG-1 even more of a target. Might as well have painted a bullseye on Teal'c's forehead instead of the little gold glyph..

Oh of course, not especially good for intersteller relations was it? But my main point was that at the Start of CotG, almost as if they EXPECTED to run into Teal'c, SG1 was a Commando, A scientist and an archeologist...

A mixed team is the best way to go. And also add in the fact there are more men in the military the odds of a female team drop even more..

EXACTLY. Not only does an all female team in this context make no sense, but is also unlikely based on the numbers.

However, women are still not allowed in combat...even though we can be trained for combat.

Right now...in Iraq...there is a women program underway called the Lioness Program. Our women soldiers are needed at the front line and security check points to check muslim women for bombs. Under muslim law a man cannot search a woman.

Can you imagine approaching a fully clad woman, hidden behind a veil to shearch her for a bomb? One has already died in the line of duty. More are being trained and sent as we speak.

There is one place right now for an all female team but not to go off fighting. But to search muslim women for bombs. That's a pretty scary need to be filled.

Indeed, so yes, I concur that there are reasons for an all female team, but that's governed by a need, not just a "hmm, let's just make an all female team for ****s and giggles, shall we?"

And on topic, I certainly take my hat off to those women out there doing that job. This is probably 100% the WRONG thing to say, but that job takes balls!

[Rosehawk]

All I was saying is that a lot of people seem to like Dusty and Vega for the "hot" factor, which implies that IF the only reason TPTB put an all female team in was for sex appeal then it worked.

I would agree with that. Though I am not sure that is why TPTB put an all female team together. I think they wanted to try something different creatively and they did. I'm not going to get upset with them for trying something different.

I really don't think I can comment further on this, forgive me, but as a male I'm naturally going to notice that they've put four VERY attractive females on an all female team which, I personally believe is for sex appeal, looking back over male SG teams, or mixed sex teams, I don't recall many of them being what you'd call traditionally "hot".

I was just watching Heroes the other day and notice that the entire team sent in in the beginning, the men were all rather pleasant to look at!

I appreciate that attraction is subjective, but McKay was never originally a sex symbol, though interestingly enough he's become one, but characters like Dixon aren't traditional American poster boys like Shep and Mitchell. I get that the lead characters are going to be attractive, such is the nature of US television, GOD forbid an ugly main character... *shudders*, but seriously, an all female team made up of super models... well...

That just goes to show you that men and women have different interpetations of sex appeal.

What gender issues? There haven't really been any in SG1... unless we're referring to weaknesses of character or body, surely what you're saying is suggesting that men and women are so different that they can't work together. Are you suggesting we should deliberatly exclude women from a majority male team to prevent gender issues? Such an avenue is dangerous, as I believe when women are entitled to work alongside men, they SHOULD and neither should be segregated.

Hummmm, I think what I am saying is getting twisted abit. You asked for possible reasons for an all female team. I was giving a few possibilites, I never said or even suggested that women should be excluded from a male team or a man from a team lead by a female commander. In fact I think the mixed teams are good and healthy for men and women both. I also think there are situations where an all male team may be appropriate as well as the possiblity that an all female team may also be appropriate depending on mission circumstances.

It is broad, and as I said, there are some tough females out there, but sometimes we have to generalise. When there's a fitness test on my squadron the females usually fail the strength elements, ie press ups and sit ups, where as the males never do - they only fail on the running.

I would think running would be important physical attibute as well. And yet most of your emphasis has been on the strength issue.

But on dangerous assignments, in potentially hostil enemy territory, even if the team works together, upper body strength can be a massive advantage, so if you can GET that, why turn it down?

I think this depends on the mission and if the mission requires it then so be it, not all missions required this massive advantage.

It's settling for less if you deliberatly exclude people who would make the team better.

Yes it would be settling for less if you deliberatly exclude people who would be qualified for the team.
You are making an assumption that this is what Teldy did based on her reaction when seeing Sheppard and Carson when in fact we really don't know. Granted maybe the numbers in RL wouldn't support Teldy's team member decisions but creative liberties from TPTB would.

It would be settling for less if Carter were excluded from SG1 because of "female compatability issues", because you'd be losing what SHE could bring to the table. Both men and women bring very different, but equally valuable assets to a team, and whilst regretably sometimes its impossible to avoid an all male team, theres no reason to have an all female team. Heck, Im arguing for equality here. Both males and females deserve to be respected for what they ARE, not viewed as the same, because they're not. Frankly if I were commanding a team out of area, I'd be happy to have a woman, as often they're diplomatic skills exceed men. Female police officers are amazingly good at resolving situations.

You have no argument from me on this!

There's a reason why O'Neill wanted "strapping" marines in The Return Pt 2, sometimes the sheer brute strength of a security detail is advantagous.

However we do not know if all those marines would in fact have been all men. And in watching The Return Pt 2, I don't see where brute strength would have been advantagous since we were dealing with Replicators and they were considerably more stronger than any human, including men. What made the difference was science and smart thinking, not brute strength.

Which imo was negative. She acted like she was pretending to be male, as if she'd been told "imagine a cliche 'lad', now act like it", as opposed to - act like a Sergeant.

I agree, her character could have been written much better and not so cliche. I don't like it when they have male characters with this attitude either.

The major was fine. I'd like to see her return with a mixed team. Dr Porter was also fine, until her "damsal in distress" moment at the end "ohhhh I've had enough of alien labs" (was she supposed to by a civvy or military scientist??). Dusty and Vega? They were incapable and unsuitable for two reasons.

Dusty for one, I personally believe would fail any psychological assesments done by the SGC, her attitude was worrying, in fact, I think she was bad for the reasons most accuse Bates of being bad for. She just wanted to kick alien ass. Not productive when MOST aliens become our allies. She was callous and sloppy, and far too gung ho. As for Vega, well we didn't s ee much of her, but her disregard of the native as being a "silly ignorant primitive" because he was ranting about demons, was AWFUL. After all the SG team encounteres with natives screaming about demons andn then a great big alien turning up, she should have lent more creedence to the man.

Wow, I don't see Bates and Dusty being even remotely the same type of character.
As I have said, Dusty's character was not written well and with Vega, I was suprised that she let her guard down the way she did, however again it was TPTB taking creative liscense so that she would be catch off guard and thus make an easy target to be snatched like she was. Vega could have been written much better as well and still given us the same ending for her character.
As for Dr. Porter, TPTB have a tendency to show the science people as reluctant to stick their necks out. They've done this earlier in the series with Mckay, Beckett and Zelenka so it didn't suprise me that they did this with Porter.

[Flyboy]

I would agree with that. Though I am not sure that is why TPTB put an all female team together. I think they wanted to try something different creatively and they did. I'm not going to get upset with them for trying something different.

I will however. Simply because, with the exception of the situations already mentioned in this thread, generally where there is a cultural reason behind it, you don't get all female teams. And women are not allowed on the front line.

I was just watching Heroes the other day and notice that the entire team sent in in the beginning, the men were all rather pleasant to look at!

Well whaddya know... ah well.

That just goes to show you that men and women have different interpetations of sex appeal.

Indeed

Hummmm, I think what I am saying is getting twisted abit. You asked for possible reasons for an all female team. I was giving a few possibilites, I never said or even suggested that women should be excluded from a male team or a man from a team lead by a female commander. In fact I think the mixed teams are good and healthy for men and women both. I also think there are situations where an all male team may be appropriate as well as the possiblity that an all female team may also be appropriate depending on mission circumstances.

Thing is, men are naturally tougher. God I sound so sexist don't I? But it's true. I still fail to understand your reasons for an all female team, none of them make sense to me, I get what you're TRYING to say about team dynamics, but I honestly don't see why there'd by any problems in a mixed team. There's only one situation when I think an all female team is appropriate, and that's the cultural situation. Obviously there are situations when single sex teams may be appropriate, the sheer power of an SAS soldier, I personally believe will be difficult to be matched by a woman. But in generic situations, such as this in Whispers, why put together a unisex team when you can avoid it? Maybe the extra brute force and the male attitude might be useful?

I would think running would be important physical attibute as well. And yet most of your emphasis has been on the strength issue.

I do agree, but the thing which is interesting to know is that a 17-29 year old male needs a bleep test score of 9-10 to pass, where as a female of the same age needs 7-2. What that tells me, is that the men failing their test on running, are STILL more often more capable than the women who pass their tests. Can you explain to me why a man who scores 9-5 on a running fitness test, technically a fail, is supposedly unfit, where as a woman scoring 7-5, a pass, is deemed fit? Either way, the males on my unit all exceed the females in terms of strength AND running ability.

I think this depends on the mission and if the mission requires it then so be it, not all missions required this massive advantage.

And yet if you're going to have a big tough Sergeant for security detail, why not go for the toughest one possible?

Yes it would be settling for less if you deliberatly exclude people who would be qualified for the team.
You are making an assumption that this is what Teldy did based on her reaction when seeing Sheppard and Carson when in fact we really don't know. Granted maybe the numbers in RL wouldn't support Teldy's team member decisions but creative liberties from TPTB would.

It's just how I interpereted, sorry. And yes, I just can't ignore the RL numbers. Her demeanour just made her seem so feministic.

You have no argument from me on this!

Yay.

However we do not know if all those marines would in fact have been all men. And in watching The Return Pt 2, I don't see where brute strength would have been advantagous since we were dealing with Replicators and they were considerably more stronger than any human, including men. What made the difference was science and smart thinking, not brute strength.

Well this is indeed true.

I agree, her character could have been written much better and not so cliche. I don't like it when they have male characters with this attitude either.

Agreed, if it had been a male I'd have still hated the character and thought he was inappropriatly assigned, but the fact the Sgt was female just makes me think the writers are idiots sometimes.

Wow, I don't see Bates and Dusty being even remotely the same type of character.
As I have said, Dusty's character was not written well and with Vega, I was suprised that she let her guard down the way she did, however again it was TPTB taking creative liscense so that she would be catch off guard and thus make an easy target to be snatched like she was. Vega could have been written much better as well and still given us the same ending for her character.
As for Dr. Porter, TPTB have a tendency to show the science people as reluctant to stick their necks out. They've done this earlier in the series with Mckay, Beckett and Zelenka so it didn't suprise me that they did this with Porter.

EDIT: Just re read what you said. I don't think that Bates and Dusty are similar. But a lot of people hated bates for incorrect reasons, reasons that in actual fact made him a good NCO, people accuse him of being too quick to hate athosians and so on so forth, I personally think that Dusty was the sort of person to be far too quick to shoot before asking questions.

[prion]

Personally I think that's a major overstatement. If that were true, the female team would have been wearing too-small tank-tops and shorts. One thing I've always liked about Stargate (with a few exceptions) is that the women on this show aren't treated like Star Trek TNG's Seven-of-Nine, wearing that horrendous, body-hugging, leave-nothing-to-the-imagination one-piece outfit. (With heels, no less!!)

Carter and other female military personnel wear standard uniforms in the standard fashion. There is very little cleavage in Stargate, and not a single short skirt to be found. The women we see in Atlantis or the SGC are there because they have whatever abilities and skills that are required, and they dress in standard clothing, whether a uniform or whatever.

(I'm not speaking specifically about Teyla's little midriff-bearing top; she's not military, nor even from Earth.)

Heh, well, we know they can't be dressed like Charlies Angels,and there are four (oops, down to three, perfect number) but I suppose I should have been cleared in that they had several rather beautiful women around for a whole week

[Snookie16]

I liked all of them accept the Sargent she was annoying as hell. She was trying to be the basic sterotype of a Sargent and was horrible at it.

I loved the Sargent she was great!

Thats my new best friend: Sgt. 'Dusty' Mehra. Lets hope i have enough photoshop skill to make a signature featuring her!

Ilove yyour idea for this character she will be fun to have a banner for.

IWow, I don't see Bates and Dusty being even remotely the same type of character.
As I have said, Dusty's character was not written well and with Vega, I was suprised that she let her guard down the way she did, however again it was TPTB taking creative liscense so that she would be catch off guard and thus make an easy target to be snatched like she was. Vega could have been written much better as well and still given us the same ending for her character.
As for Dr. Porter, TPTB have a tendency to show the science people as reluctant to stick their necks out. They've done this earlier in the series with Mckay, Beckett and Zelenka so it didn't suprise me that they did this with Porter.

All I can say is the comparison to Sargant Bates is wrong. I thought of her more as I female version of Lt. Ford than any other character. I like the sarcastic comets and the looks between her and Potter. Plus I notice a little crush of Col. Sheppard from her. I hope to see her again.

The episode was great it had me laughing like crazy. Lets just say it has been a while since an episode has me laughing like that.

[jyh]

Y'know, maybe it's just me, but I didn't see these four particular Stargate personnel as "hot babes." That is definitely not the word that came to my mind. Of course it was obvious they were women, but as I mentioned earlier, they were dressed professionally and not acting provocatively in any way. They were simply female soldiers, carrying guns and supply packs or whatever military personnel carry on these missions, and I'm sure that's how Sheppard and Beckett saw them as well. I wish people would quit referring to them as "babes," or implying that Shep or Beckett thought of them as "babes" or "hot" or any other similar term.