So don't create a character whose sole purpose is being gay. Create an interesting character who happens to be gay.

[The incidents of Sulu "expressing interest" in women seem to always be
precipitated by extenuating circumstances….when it's even actually the
Sulu from our universe, that is.]

Sure, it might be nice to see characters other than Kirk/Spock/McCoy get some development, but there was enough background on Sulu to say fairly definitively that he was not gay.

Also, the "Why would he be in the closet?" question was aimed at the people who are suggesting that the interest he expressed in women during the series was just to cover up his real attractions.

[What specific dialogue or actions did the character perform on the screen that would indicate he was heterosexual?]

[At least, that's certainly how I hope they play it in the film.]

I've only had time to skim through the episode, and don't have time to watch it all the way through right now, but it seems like they were setting it up as being caused by a single recent event of a woman injuring him in some kind of explosion. It wasn't so much "Scotty is a misogynist" as "Scotty is suffering from…

Michael Thompson beat me to the answer.

[I mean, it was entirely a plot device to set up their Jack the Ripper as a spirit storyline,]

Nothing in the series suggests that he was gay. He shows interest in women. The actor who originally played the character (and who is gay, and a gay rights activist himself) insists that he was not gay, and cites the creator of the character as his source. I think that paints a pretty reliable picture.

1) Sulu was not gay. If you want to make a gay character, just make a gay character. Stop trying to retcon existing characters into identity politics boxes that they were never meant to be in, and into which they do not fit.

This song came on the radio while I was driving today and immediately I thought of this piece. Listening to it as I thought about this brought me to the realization that "Rape Me" is actually one of Nirvana's better songs (and I like most of their songs a lot)! So I just wanted to thank Mr. Bemis for helping me to…

It's pretty clear from the article that Mr. Bemis' only real objection to the song is the phrase "rape me" in the title and lyrics. This is made painfully obvious by his reaction to being told that the song was written before "Nevermind" was released. His main "criticism" of the song having been destroyed we see a…

"this world has once again demonstrated the limits to how far it rewards
audacity and guile in the face of overwhelming brute force."