A Six-part Discussion Group at Another Country with Heidi Allene Henrickson, PhD Women’s Studies (and scifi addict)

What’s the point of the discussion group? To explore the concept of “gender” in science fiction in a discussion and reading group.

When are we gonna meet? Here are the proposed days to meet: SATURDAYS about 1-2 times per month at 4pm-sh.

Heidi requests that you come to as many meetings as possible, but feel free to “drop in” if you are only able to attend one or two meetings – any participation level is welcome.

Gender Stereotypes: Confirming traditional masculinities and femininities
“During the Golden Age of Science Fiction, the stereotype of sci-fi pulp magazine covers was that of a woman in a brass bikini swooning in the clutches of a bug-eyed monster, while a spacesuited hero comes blasting his way to her rescue.” -Sex in Science Fiction from Wikipedia

Although this stereotype is actually not true of the majority of science fiction magazines and books from the 1950s and 1960s, it does communicate a bit of truth about how women and men are often represented in science fiction. Even today, the characters in books and stories are limited to their stereotypical gender roles. By gender roles I mean things we do that are considered normal for women or men (note only two types are considered “normal”) associated with their biological sex. Already it’s getting complicated…so how about a couple of definitions. In this seminar, we’ll distinguish between “sex” and “gender”:

Sex - biological characteristics, such as genitalia (sex organs) and secondary characteristics, such as hips, breasts or muscularity
Gender - 1) social characteristics, such as acting feminine (for women) or masculine (for men) and androgynous/ (characteristics of both or creating totally new ones, cross-gender behavior such as “drag”); and 2) an individual’s identity as female/male/androgyne.

Already I hear my fellow fans of scifi grumbling that strong female characters are a part of both the history and the contemporary make-up of science fiction storytelling. While this is true, when a so-called “strong female” is presented in a science fiction story, I think we ought be critical and ask a few questions. Is the Strong Female the exception to the rule? Is she the ONLY female in the story? If she is the exception, then the “rule” still stands: traditionally feminine characters dominate science fiction. If there are few women in the story at all, then the “standard” scifi character remains male. And let’s not leave the male stereotype out of our critique. Is the combat-ready, macho, heterosexual male character the only male character available in science fiction? Why should we settle for that? Surely men are more diverse and so should they be in science fiction imaginings of the future.

Breaking Boundaries
In the 1970s and 1980s, many feminist science fiction writers began to cross some previously un-addressed gender boundaries. Feminists wrote stories that were critical of male-dominated worlds; and in contrast to these universes, many female-dominated or women-only utopias were written into the pages of science fiction novels and short stories. Keeping to the critical questions: What is the goal of these critiques of patriarchy? Another question to ask may be: do the feminist utopias offer alternatives to traditional gender roles, or merely venerate traditional feminine stereotypes? What about inventing something completely different and completely discarding the dualism of masculine/feminine or male/female?

Some authors pushed the envelope of exploring gender and invented worlds without gender distinctions – androgynous worlds, ones where individual characters could change their biological bodies (and thus social roles) at will, and societies where it just didn’t matter what one’s sex was – egalitarian societies – where roles had nothing to do with sex or gender. More critical questions: are these really alternatives? What other forms of “gender” appear in science fiction? Are AI’s gendered? Is the alien (male, female, otherwise) assigned its own gender?

Reading and Discussion Topic Outline
19 November –introduction and a discussion of what is meant by “gender”
Bring your reading suggestions! And your contact details…

3 December – a look at traditional gender roles in science fiction
Some suggested authors: Robert Heinlein; Zenna Henderson; Marion Zimmer Bradley; Philip K. Dick… oh so many.

14 January – feminist utopias and dystopias
Suggestions: Joanna Russ’ The Female Man (multiworlds); Suzette Haden Elgin’s Native Tongue (male dominated societies); Sherri Tepper’s Gibbon’s Decline and Fall (male dominated societies) or The Gate to Woman’s Country (separatist utopia); Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland (feminist utopia); Suzy McGee Charnas’ Motherlines (feminist utopia); Sally Miller Gearheart’s The Wanderground (feminist utopia); Joan Slonczewski’s A Door Into Ocean (feminist utopia)

28 January – taking the body out of equation: one book’s way of creating female characters without all the traditional gender baggage
Book: Robert Reed’s Marrow

25 February – creating gender where there isn’t(?) any
Topic: Do we “gender” Artificial Intelligence or is that the author’s doing?
Book: Iain Banks’ Excession

11 March – We’ll try to draw some conclusions and imagine the future of gender in science fiction. And we’ll talk about the possibility of continuing this discussion…

Contact Heidi with questions via e-mail: heidiallene at yahoo.com or leave your name and number with Alan at Another Country – he’ll pass it along to me.