The Nostromo's crew is about truckers in space. In the original script the characters were gender neutral, with Ripley to be taken for granted as male.
"Alien" is much darker than many realize. When Sigourney Weaver took on the role as Ripley, Veronica Cartwright became a transwomen in lieu: For they had a small daughter. In a touching prologue scene, with pre-travel shorter hair, they contemplate about taking on this cryosleep job, missing out on their kid to grow up. But they needed the money that was also used for their daughter growing up more comfortably, while they were absent in deep space.
The alien species is a lot about violating bodies and in connection with their way of parasitical procreation. Thus, Lambert became the dramatic antipole to male Kane (John Hurt), "giving birth" to a chestbuster. In her death scene, it is suggested that she gets violated by the alien, which is comfirmed by a bloody crotch in the horror video game "Alien Isolation". (continued in comments)