Pon farr (English pronunciation: /ˌpɒn ˈfɑr/) is an element of the fictional Star Trek universe that occurs in the canonical TV series and in fan fiction based upon the series. In Star Trek, pon farr is a psychophysical condition affecting Vulcans, in which Vulcan males and females go into heat every seven years, going into a blood fever, becoming violent, and finally dying if they do not mate with someone with whom they are empathically bonded or engage in the ritual battle known as kal-if-fee. Vulcans also mate outside of Pon Farr, and with species other than Vulcan. A common misconception associated with the series (and Spock in particular) is that Vulcans only have sex once every seven years. However, pon farr is not parallel to the sex lives of Vulcans, and they are able to have intercourse without the affliction, and thus more than once every seven years.
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Pon farr was introduced and prominently featured in the original series episode "Amok Time", written by Theodore Sturgeon, which depicts Mr. Spock going into pon farr and being returned to Vulcan by Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy in order to undergo the mating ritual and save his life.[1]
Pon farr has occurred as a female Vulcan cycle in the character of T'Pol from the final Star Trek series, Enterprise.
Spock experienced an accelerated version of pon farr due to the Genesis planet's influence in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, as a young man. He was "aided" by fellow half-Vulcan, Saavik.
In Voyager, Tuvok experienced pon farr while the vessel was trapped far away from any other Vulcans, so he was unable to mate with his wife. Initially he claimed that he had Tarkalean flu to the crew to spare the embarrassment of discussing his actual condition. He attempted to control the pon farr through meditation and drugs, but was not ultimately successful until he met with his wife in a holodeck program. In the episode "Blood Fever" Vulcan Ensign Vorik experiences pon farr and attempts to mate with B'Elanna Torres. Due to a partial empathic bond, Torres experiences pon farr as well. Vorik attempts to control the pon farr through meditation, drugs and a holodeck mate, while Torres, trapped on an away mission, nearly mates with Tom Paris. The pon farr is eventually resolved when Torres and Vorik battle together in the ritual fight kunat kalifee on the planet.
Pon farr also occurs, and has been extensively elaborated from what is canon, in fan fiction. One such fan fiction story is "The Ring of Soshern", which was probably written before 1976, and circulated as samizdat until 1987, when it was formally published in the anthology Alien Brothers. The story is denoted as a "K/S" story — the designation for fan fiction stories that feature an explicitly sexual relationship between Kirk and Spock. (See slash fiction.) In the story, Kirk and Spock beam down to an unexplored planet, and are marooned there when the Enterprise is forced away by an ion storm. [1]
One element of pon farr in fan fiction that is typified by "The Ring of Soshern" is that Spock is unwilling to engage in sexual intercourse even when in the full throes of pon farr. This plot device allows stories to include many more occasions for erotic couplings. Other such elements include "plak tow" as the name for the blood fever; the fact that Kirk, because of his empathic bond with Spock, can sense when Spock is about to go into pon farr, and even suffers some of its symptoms himself; and "lingering death" as the name for the death of a Vulcan male in pon farr who is unable to claim a mate.[1][2][3]
Pon farr stories are so popular with slash story fans that at least one fanzine, Fever, is devoted to containing only pon farr stories. Constance Penley, professor of Film & Media Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara believes that part of the stories' popularity rests in the idea of men being subject to a hormonal cycle, observing that in slash fiction the symptoms of pon farr are "wickedly and humorously made to parallel those of PMS and menstruation, in a playful and transgressive levelling of the biological playing field".[2]
Pon farr is perceived by many female fans of Star Trek fan fiction as a symbol of human sexuality in American males, who, like Vulcans, are trained not to express their feelings. The fan fiction stories are guides for readers in how to handle sexual encounters with human men, who are just as "alien" as Vulcans to women, being equally as unpredictable and uncontrolled.[4]
Pon farr in canon and pon farr in fan fiction are presented very differently. In the TV series, sex is an intrusion into the world of work and male companionship. Vulcan males find pon farr to be embarrassing. It is uncontrollable, physical, and frightening. In fan fiction, in contrast, pon farr reveals male emotions in a controlled manner, making them available to the female partner, who controls the male's less controllable physical urges via the telepathic contact that married Vulcans share.[4]
Fan fiction stories embodying this are the "Night of the Twin Moons" series by Jean Lorrah, in which Amanda teaches Sarek and then other Vulcan couples to enjoy pon farr and to accept their physical and emotional natures.[4]
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