Synopsis: Commander Chin-Riley goes on trial for concealing to Starfleet that she is an Illyrian.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of masking, which in the neurodiverse community refers to feeling that one must try to pass as someone that one is not in order to better fit into a neurotypical society.
In “Ad Aspera Per Aspera” Commander Una Chin-Riley’s childhood friend, Neera Ketoul, represents her in the trial where she is charged with sedition. She tells Chin Riley that she is taking the case “For all the Illyrians who can’t or just won’t pretend to not be who they really are” (Horgan & Weiss, 2023, 8:40), and because Illyrians shouldn’t have to hide anymore. In the courtroom Ketoul argues that instead of charging Chin-Riley with sedition, Starfleet should grant her asylum, as she meets the standards of those to whom it is granted: she was fleeing persecution, feared for her safety, and asked for help—by revealing that she was Illyrian. Neera wins the case.
In this episode, Chin-Riley, by concealing her true identity and talents, can be seen as someone who is forced to mask—that is deny part of herself in order to fit into a society that sees her as “other.” This can be analogized to how some neurodiverse individuals feel that they must hide what makes them special in order to fit into a neurotypical society. In the end, Chin-Riley turns out to have outed herself as Illyrian, because she wanted her crewmates to know her as she really was, even if it meant risking her career because of Starfleet’s biases. This is what it feels like for many neurodiverse individuals who want to be known as who they are in spite of neurotypical society’s preconceptions of what that means.
Reference:
Horgan, D. (Writer) & Weiss, D. (Director). (2023, June 22). Ad aspera per aspera (Season 2, Episode 2) [TV series episode]. In A. Baiers, A. Goldsman, H. Kadin, A. Kurtzman, J. Lumet, H. A. Meyers, R. Roddenberry, T. Roth, F. Siracusa, & J. Weber (Executive Producers), Star trek: Strange New Worlds. CBS Television Studios, Roddenberry Entertainment, Secret Hideout.
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