http://allyourtrekarebelongto.us/thyla.htm
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In the ST:TMP novel. Spock is on Vulcan, just about to undergo the
Kolinahr, when he says a final goodbye in his mind to Jim.
[From the book:]
<<"Jim! Goodbye, my...my t'hy'la*. This is the last time I will permit
myself to think of you or even your name again."
*Editor's note - The human concept of friend is most nearly duplicated
in Vulcan thought by the term "t'hy'la", which can also mean "brother"
and "lover". Spock's recollection (from which this chapter is drawn) is
that it was a most difficult moment for him since he did indeed consider
Kirk to have become his brother. However, because "t'hy'la" can be used
to mean "lover" and since Kirk's and Spock's friendship was unusually
close, this has led to some speculation over whether or not they had
actually indeed become lovers. At our request, Admiral Kirk supplied the
following comments on this subject:>>
It is at this point that Kirk's statement is inserted:
<<"I WAS NEVER AWARE OF THIS LOVERS RUMOR ALTHOUGH I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT
SPOCK ENCOUNTERED IT SEVERAL TIMES. APPARENTLY HE HAD ALWAYS DISMISSED
IT WITH HIS CHARACTERISTIC LIFTING OF HIS RIGHT EYEBROW WHICH USUALLY
CONNOTED SOME COMBINATION OF SURPRISE, DISBELIEF, AND/OR ANNOYANCE. AS
FOR MYSELF, ALTHOUGH I HAVE NO MORAL OR OTHER OBJECTIONS TO PHYSICAL
LOVE IN ANY OF ITS MANY EARTHLY, ALIEN AND MIXED FORMS, I HAVE ALWAYS
FOUND MY BEST GRATIFICATION IN THAT CREATURE CALLED *WOMAN.* ALSO, I
WOULD DISLIKE BEING THOUGHT OF AS SO FOOLISH THAT I WOULD SELECT A LOVE
PARTNER WHO CAME INTO SEXUAL HEAT ONLY ONCE EVERY SEVEN YEARS.">>
FYI, the second and last time that the word "t'hy'la" is ever used
appears later in the book when Spock meditates privately after fixing
the problems with the warp drive. Quote:
<<"There was much to put out of his mind. Why was it difficult to forget
Checkov's astonished delight which greeted him at the command airlock
when he boarded. And on the bridge - Kirk! The mere name made Spock
groan inwardly as he remembered what it had cost him to turn away from
that welcome. T'hy'la!">>
NOTE: Many people point to this footnote as "proof" that the whole idea
of Kirk and Spock as lovers was preposterous to GR, but they aren't
paying attention. This carefully worded and ambiguous statement is *not*
a denial, as I shall explain:
"I WAS NEVER AWARE OF THIS LOVERS RUMOR ALTHOUGH I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT
SPOCK ENCOUNTERED IT SEVERAL TIMES..."
So Spock was aware that this rumor was circulating, and failed to
mention it to Jim for a while, it seems. That would be typical of him.
He's the same guy who forgot to warn Kirk that Ambassador Sarek was his dad.
Jim is now speaking of the rumor. Think about this: This means that Kirk
is admitting that _in his universe_ rumors about him and Spock being
lovers are circulating, and he's acknowledging this.
"APPARENTLY HE HAD ALWAYS DISMISSED IT WITH HIS CHARACTERISTIC LIFTING
OF HIS RIGHT EYEBROW WHICH USUALLY CONNOTED SOME COMBINATION OF
SURPRISE, DISBELIEF, AND/OR ANNOYANCE...."
So Spock dismissed the rumor several times, but never outright denied
it. Neither does Kirk.
"AS FOR MYSELF, ALTHOUGH I HAVE NO MORAL OR OTHER OBJECTIONS TO PHYSICAL
LOVE IN ANY OF ITS MANY EARTHLY, ALIEN AND MIXED FORMS...
Here Kirk is stating flat out that he personally has no objections to
homosexuality, and other alternative forms of erotic expression.
...I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND MY BEST GRATIFICATION IN THAT CREATURE CALLED
*WOMAN.*..."
Best compared to what? He's frankly admitting here that he has at least
experimented. Best ~for what~, most gratifying ~in what way~, he
neglects to say. It's quite clear from this remark that women aren't his
ONLY source of "gratification". This is a frank admission that he is
bisexual.
"ALSO, I WOULD DISLIKE BEING THOUGHT OF AS SO FOOLISH THAT I WOULD
SELECT A LOVE PARTNER WHO CAME INTO SEXUAL HEAT ONLY ONCE EVERY SEVEN
YEARS."
Just because he would dislike being thought of that way doesn't mean
it's not true.
Spock, a half-human, is viable between Pon Farrs. We see Spock showing
sexual interest outside of Pon Farr more than once. Besides, who says
Kirk is the one who did the selecting? Maybe Kirk was selected, and felt
he had no choice but to be a good sport. That would be typical of his
pattern, which is only to mate when he's in captivity. ;)
In any case, what Kirk is really saying here is that:
1) He has become aware that people think he and Spock are lovers. He
doesn't say that they don't have good reason to think that.
2) Spock has confronted some of the gossipers, and quelled their
whispering with a dirty look, but not with a denial.
3) Kirk admits he's bisexual. Furthermore, he makes it plain that he
personally has no moral issues about it. He also is comfortable with the
idea of alien sex. The idea of mixed forms of sex (humans with aliens,
group sex) also causes him no difficulties. In short, he has no moral or
other reasons to not have sex with Spock... or with Spock and a girl at
the same time.
4) What really bugs him most is the people who think he'd be happy with
having sex only once every seven years. As IF!
5) Kirk never denies that he and Spock are lovers! Neither, it seems,
does Spock.
When Spock turns to Kirk in The Wrath of Khan and says "I am always
yours", to me that pretty much sews it up. Spock is always his, not just
once in a while. :)
...I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND MY BEST GRATIFICATION IN THAT CREATURE CALLED
*WOMAN.*..."
I feel constrained to point out that you can hang a wig and a dress on
almost any creature and call it a *woman*. Spock calls Kirk T'hy'la, but
what Kirk calls Spock behind closed doors we can only guess at. ;)
Spock and Kirk: scenes from a marriage?
"T'hy'la", Seriously:
Why did Roddenberry coin this "Vulcan" word? It's important to note that
he created it as a label for Spock's relationship with James T. Kirk, in
the ST: TMP novel. Why was this necessary? There already was a perfectly
serviceable word in play, "friend". Apparently GR felt that the word
"friend" was insufficient.
"T'hy'la" - A term applied to someone who is a friend/lover. If this is
not a husband/wife, then what is it? This can't simply be an umbrella
term for any fond relationship, as if Vulcans make no distinction
between motherly love, friendship between children, and the love of two
lovers. That makes no sense. Being scientific and logical, Vulcans must
demand more precision than that in their language, IMHO.
I understand that the Vulcan word for husband is Adun, for a wife,
Aduna. T'hy'la is a term to describe a love which is other than that
between a husband and wife in a heterosexual marriage. If they are so
unemotional, why a special word for impractical love relationships? How
un-Vulcanlike: to acknowledge an emotional relationship with its own
word, and a not very precise word too - *unless* applied only to a
person who is exactly both of these things: friend/lover. THEN it
becomes a very precise and narrowly defined term indeed. Then it becomes
a word to describe a relationship which is as all encompassing as
marriage, without being a marriage. It becomes the Vulcan word for
"Longtime Companion", which is a Terran euphemism for Gay lovers. *Not*
fudgepacking fuck-buddies, but _lovers_. Two people of the same sex who
are ~in love~ with each other.
The question unanswered is, can t'hy'la be joined in kalifarr? I say,
why not? Perhaps two men or two women can in a sense be married, under
Vulcan common law. The Vulcan have one word for both mating and
marriage, so to them, to mate is to be married. If two guys or two gals
physically as well as psychically bond, I don't think the Vulcan really
have a way to distinguish that bond from that which is achieved via a
heterosexual marriage, except perhaps by designating such partners
t'hy'la, instead of adun/aduna.
Some people have asserted that Spock can't be Gay because he is
celibate, as if it would be illogical for Spock to have sex with
*anyone*, but I disagree. Obviously, he would have a lot of perfectly
logical reasons to want to have sex, that include _to father children_.
That's not the only logical reason he might want to "do it". There are
plenty of other logical reasons why he might want to, including:
1) Promotes social bonding. 2) For the experience of pleasure. 3) Relief
from sexual tension. 4) As a soporific (helps you to sleep). 5) Health.
Keeps the plumbin' workin'!
Heck, here's 14 logical reasons why Spock would like to have sex with Kirk:
1) Kirk has got what it takes. Spock is an ass man, and Kirk does have a
cute butt.
2) Kirk loves Spock. It's logical to do it with someone who has positive
feelings for you.
3) Kirk and Spock have a lot in common. It's logical to mate with
someone who can share much with you.
4) Kirk is trustworthy. It's logical to choose a partner you can trust.
5) Kirk likes sex. It's logical to prefer a sex partner who's positive
about sex.
6) Kirk is vigorously healthy. He could take anything the Vulcan could
dish out, even if they are playing rough (which he actually would
probably prefer).
7) All those adoring women can't be wrong! [Wait, maybe they *are*
wrong! Not about whether he's adorable, just about whether he welcomes
their adoration.]
8) Kirk is convenient. The guy is always right there. If you gotta go
right now, who better to go with than someone who is readily available?
9) Kirk is his Captain, and on his way up the ladder. If Spock makes his
Cappy happy, this could help his career!
10) Kirk sure as hell isn't getting pregnant! Let's face it, neither
Kirk nor Spock want kids, so it's illogical for them to mess with women!
11) Kirk is a fun guy! Guy's a hoot and a half!
12) Aesthetically, Kirk is a good choice. Kirk is prettier than any of
the women.
13) Plus, it feels good, and...
14) It keeps their plumbin' workin' ;)
Just because Spock (or Kirk) might want kids doesn't mean he has to give
up guys. It just means he has to work something out with a lady. He
could have it all. Lots of people do. I feel constrained to point out
that we have no reason to believe Spock is fertile. He's a half-human
biological oddity. Even if he could father offspring, maybe he shouldn't.
The procreative urge is an instinctual drive. What's love got to do with
it? Birds do it, bees do it, even uneducated fleas do it. Vulcans do it
even when they don't want to. Even when there is a complete lack of
love, desire and volition, Vulcans do it. Spock did not love or want
T'Pring, he went home to her only because he was driven to it by a
biological imperative - in fact, we were given reason to believe he
would die if he didn't go.
Those who say Spock would not have sex with Kirk because there is no
proof that they did ignore the ton of circumstantial evidence that Kirk
and Spock do indeed have a deeply intimate relationship. They also have
to ignore the complete lack of evidence that Spock ever could really
prefer a woman. We've seen Spock reject women several times, usually to
be with Kirk.
The statement that Spock wouldn't behave emotionally is certainly easy
to disprove. The statement that Spock is always motivated by logic is
easy to disprove. The statement that Spock doesn't love anybody is easy
to disprove. The statement that Spock doesn't show a marked preference
for any one person's company is easy to disprove.
Spock during TOS is shown many times to be very imperfect in his ability
to remain unemotional. He certainly is capable of sexual feeling. He
gets all excited over Leila Kalomi, Zarabeth, and seems to be flirty as
hell with Droxine. You don't mean to say you don't think Spock got laid
in This Side Of Paradise? He almost threw his career and everything away
for Zarabeth in All Our Yesterdays. He told Droxine that "extreme
feminine beauty" could be disturbing to Vulcan men at any time, not just
during Pon Farr. If that's true about Vulcan men in general, it
certainly could be true about Spock. In Mudd's Women you can catch Spock
watching the women's butts when they walk out of the Captain's quarters
after the first interview. Spock may be Vulcan, but he's not dead! This,
and several other incidents show that Spock is capable of sexual
interest outside of Pon Farr. Some of this happened before he ever
experienced Pon Farr, so Spock apparently was erotically viable to some
extent before the events depicted in Amok Time.
Because Spock has chosen of his own free will to live among humans and
work along side them, I think it's self-evident that he doesn't actually
reject his human side. He likes humans! He allows himself to be
humanlike at times. Spock clearly does many things for pleasure's sake
(he like to play his Vulcan lyre, and he sometimes entertains his
shipmates with it) He's not anti-sex, or anti-pleasure. Spock is a
serious fellow and his pleasures aren't silly ones, but that doesn't
mean that he doesn't believe in having fun.
If he can enjoy looking (which he can) and touching and kissing (which
he can), why wouldn't he enjoy going all the way? As we were shown more
than once, he might.
OK, so Spock likes girls. BUT saying that Spock is not Gay because he
likes girls is certainly wrong. Sure, he likes women, but he could be
bisexual.
Spock is sometimes emotional and he obviously sometimes can feel sexual
desire. Don't say he couldn't have tender feelings for Kirk, because he
admits to shameful feelings for Kirk in Naked Time, rather explicitly.
Don't say he wouldn't let Kirk touch him because he very plainly
would/does let Kirk touch him. Kirk puts his hands all over Spock dozens
of times, and Spock permits it. BTW, Spock touches him back, sometimes
without being first invited to, like in Requiem For Methuselah. Those
two have a *very* physical relationship. They also clearly are very fond
of each other. Spock is closer to Kirk than any other person in the
whole ST universe is. Kirk explicitly states this to Spock in Turnabout
Intruder, and Spock doesn't deny it. When Kirk says Spock is closer to
his Captain than *anyone* in the *universe*, that includes all the
ladies that either Kirk or Spock have supposedly been with. That is
verifiable canon.
Spock confided in Kirk about his sex needs, then he invited Kirk to come
with him to his wedding, then he gets in a big fight with Kirk, then
after his fight with Kirk he suddenly comes to his senses, and his
fiancée says _she had a feeling that neither Kirk nor Spock would want
her_ (which is why she's glad that Stonn is there). Then Spock goes back
to the ship, without mating with her, nor with anyone else. As far as we
know, at that point he's still in mortal danger: in desperate need of a
mate. When Spock discovers that Kirk is in fact alive, he grabs Kirk and
gives Kirk a big smile, acting wildly emotional, which McCoy comments
on. Then Kirk and Spock run off together...and that's the HAPPY ENDING,
literally.
After that, they live (more or less) happily ever after, without either
one of them ever marrying a woman. OK, they weren't always happy with
each other, but they did stick together until death did them part.
That's how the story ends. And death has to try to part them more than
once before it finally wins, too. Talk about a couple of die-hards!
Gee, if only it wasn't two men. If it was a man and woman we were
talking about, we could call it romantic. We could call it a Great Love
Story. But people aren't ready for a great love story about two men, so
I guess we have to settle for calling it a really great friendship.
"IN A PIG'S EYE!"
