@MLClark It strikes me as what was considered progressive at the time versus what is considered progressive now. A few years ago I rewatched "Designing Women" and was struck by plots and dialogue that just weren't as progressive as they could have been, but were certainly progressive for the time.
@MLClark There was also the reality of southern TV station owners threatening to drop the show if it had anything that didn't meet with their approval. There were memos about story aspects that had to be toned down or eliminated to keep the southern station owners happy.
@divisionbyzero
Good example.
I think about that a lot for Roddenberry. He was acutely aware of how negatively some men reacted to seeing women in positions of authority, so he'd have women on the bridge but temper their authority by routinely giving them speech for the male characters to correct, or by centring their action around flirtation.
I don't think it would have occurred to him not to write defensively. Always an option! But not one we're always able to perceive that we can take.