Women in speculative fiction
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The role of
Women have been active in science fiction fandom for a number of decades.
Writers
Science fiction originally had a reputation of being created by men for other men, though the genre had women writers, such as Clare Winger Harris, Miriam Allen deFord, and Gertrude Barrows Bennett, from the beginning.[5] Until the late 1960s, women did not win major[6] science fiction awards, such as the Hugos. The 1966 "Analog Science Fiction and Fact All-Time Poll" did not list any novels by women[7] and the 1973 "Locus All-Time Favorite Authors Poll" was over 90% male.[8] One of the two women in Locus's poll, Andre Norton, had been "gender ambiguous" for many of her readers. Other female writers of the era, such as C. L. Moore and Leigh Brackett, also used ambiguous or male names. Women who wrote under their own names, such as Zenna Henderson, initially wrote more "domestic" material concerning teachers and mothers. A partial exception was Katherine MacLean, who wrote sociology- and psychology-oriented fiction and rarely used a male name.[5]
Eric Leif Davin argues in Partners in Wonder that science fiction's "male-oriented" reputation is unjustified and that it was a "safe haven" for outsiders, including women.[9] Davin reports that only L. Taylor Hansen concealed her sex in early years, and that C. L. Moore wanted to hide her career as a science fiction author from her job.
Women writers were in a minority: during the '50s and '60s, almost 1,000 stories published in science fiction magazines by over 200 female-identified authors between 1926 and 1960 were documented, making women writers 10-15% of contributors. His is a minority view, "at odds with the common perception of science fiction".[9]
The advent of
As of 2013, publisher statistics indicate that men still outnumber women about two to one among English-language speculative fiction writers aiming for professional publication, but that the percentages vary considerably by genre. The following numbers are based on the 503 submissions received by Tor Books, a major science fiction and fantasy publisher, between January and July 2013.[10]
Submissions by genre | Women | Men |
---|---|---|
epic or high fantasy |
33% | 67% |
Urban fantasy or paranormal romance | 57% | 43% |
Horror | 17% | 83% |
Science fiction | 22% | 78% |
Young adult fiction |
68% | 32% |
Other or unclassifiable | 27% | 73% |
Overall | 37% | 63% |
Ten women have been named
- Andre Norton (1984)
- Ursula K. Le Guin (2003)
- Anne McCaffrey (2005)
- Connie Willis (2012)
- C.J. Cherryh (2016)
- Jane Yolen (2017)
- Lois McMaster Bujold (2020)
- Nalo Hopkinson (2021)
- Mercedes Lackey (2022)
- Robin McKinley (2023)
Doris Lessing, who wrote the five-novel science fiction series Canopus in Argos, received the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature.
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction lists three notable women authors of military science fiction: Lois McMaster Bujold; Elizabeth Moon (particularly her Familias Regnant stories such as Hunting Party (1993)), and Karen Traviss.[12]
This list has no Manual of Style for standalone lists. . (December 2023) |
Below is an evolving list of women authors in science fiction emphasizing diversity and innovation across various subgenres:
- Terry Ann Adams
- Linda Addison
- Charlie Jane Anders
- Ryka Aoki
- Catherine Asaro
- Pauline Ashwell
- Margaret Atwood
- Wilhelmina Baird
- Kage Baker
- Celeste Rita Baker
- Gwen Benaway
- Gertrude Barrows Bennet
- Marcia Joanne Bennett
- Lauren Beukes
- Imogen Binnie
- Jay D. Blakeney (real name Deborah Chester)
- Maya Kathryn Bohnhoff
- Margaret Wander Bonnano
- Amanda Bouchet
- Leigh Brackett (successfully authored her own titles and ghost wrote for George Sanders)
- Mary E. Bradley Lane
- Marion Zimmer Bradley
- Jennifer Marie Brissett
- Rosel George Brown
- adrienne maree brown
- Dorothy Bryant
- Lois McMaster Bujold
- Emma Bull
- Otis Kidwell Burger
- Chesya Burke
- Octavia E. Butler
- Maria Campbell
- Margaret Cavendish
- Becky Chambers
- Suzy McKee Charnas
- Carolyn Janice Cherry (pen name C. J. Cherryh)
- Deborah Chester (pen name Jay D. Blakeney)
- Jo Clayton
- Mildred Clingerman
- Suzanne Collins
- Storm Constantine
- Susan Coon
- Susan Cooper
- Ann C. Crispin
- Myrna Culbreath
- Julie E. Czerneda
- Miriam Allen DeFord
- Grace Dillon
- Cherie Dimaline
- Ariel Djanikian
- Paula E. Downing
- Aliette de Bodard
- Debra Doyle
- Diane Duane
- Tananarive Due
- Phyllis Eisenstein
- Suzette Haden Elgin
- Meg Elison
- Amal El-Mohtar
- Sylvia Engdahl
- Louise Erdrich
- Heid E. Erdrich
- Isabel Fall
- Jane S. Fancher
- Cynthia Felice
- Sheila Finch
- Magnus Flight (writing duo Christina Lynch and Meg Showery)
- Karen Joy Fowler
- Leslie Gadallah
- Alexis Gilliland
- Jaymee Goh
- Jewelle Gomez
- Phyllis Gotlieb
- Susan Grant
- Gayle Greeno
- Pauline Margaret Griffin (pen name P.M. Griffin)
- Cherry Barbara Grimm (real name Cherry Wilder)
- Andrea Hairston
- Barbara Hambley
- Virginia Hamilton
- Lucile Taylor Hanson (pen name L. Taylor Hanson)
- Thea Von Harbou
- Joy Harjo
- Tara Harper
- Clare Winger Harris
- Zenna Henderson
- Nathalie Henneberg (pen name N.C. Henneberg collaborating with husband Charlie Henneberg)
- Lynn Hightower
- Nalo Hopkinson
- Monica Hughes
- Kameron Hurley
- N.K. Jemisin
- Jane Jeppson (pen name J.O. Jeppson)
- Alaya Dawn Johnson
- Diane Wynn Jones
- Cyril Judd (pen name for writing collaboration between Judith Merril and Cyril M. Kornbluth)
- Melanie Kent
- Les Killough
- Katherine Eliska Kimbriel
- Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Melanie Kent
- Aditi Khorana
- Mary Robinette Kowal
- Mercedes Lackey
- Larissa Lai
- Joy Leach
- Ann Leckie
- Tanith Lee
- Fonda Lee
- Ursula K. Le Guin
- Deborah Lessing
- Jacqueline Lichtenberg
- Malinda Lo
- Karen Lord
- Karin Lowachee
- Judith Merril (pen name Cyril Judd for writing collaboration with Cyril M. Kornbluth)
- Christina Lynch (pen name Magnus Flight)
- Elizabeth A. Lynn
- C.C. MacApp (real name Carol MacApp)
- Katherine Maclean
- Susan Cooper Mandrake
- Sondra Marshak
- Adrienne Marten-Barnes
- Arkady Martine
- Ann Maxwell
- Janet McAdams
- Ann McCaffrey
- Ashley McConnell
- Vonda N. McIntyre
- Helen Merrick
- Judith Merril
- Melisa Michaels
- Elizabeth Moon
- Catherine Lucille Moore (pen name C.L. Moore)
- Janet Morris
- Tamsyn Muir
- Pat Murphy
- Nichelle Nichols
- Jeanette Ng
- Alice Andre Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, pen names include Andre Norton, Andrew North, and Allen Weston)
- Nnedi Okorafor
- Malka Older
- Kathleen O’Malley
- Nene Ormes
- An Owomoyela
- Barbara Paul
- Marge Piercy
- Casey Plett
- Susan Power
- Roberta Rambelli (pen name Robert Rainbell)
- Marta Randall
- Kit Reed
- Jane Rice
- Rebecca Roanhorse
- Eden Robinson
- Eleanor Robinson
- Jeanne Robinson
- Kelly Robson
- Janet Rogers
- Mary Rosenblum
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- Joanna Russ
- Maria Russell
- Kiini Ibura Salaam
- Sophia Samatar
- Pamela Sargent
- Josephine Saxton
- Melissa Scott
- Idris Seabright (real name Margaret St. Clair)
- Nisi Shawl
- Alice Sheldon (pen name James Tiptree Jr.)
- Mary Shelly
- Meg Showery
- Susan Shwartz
- Leslie Marmon Silko
- Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
- Vandana Singh
- Kathleen Sky
- Melinda M. Snodgrass
- Evelyn Smith
- Mary Staton
- Margaret St. Clair (pen name Idris Seabright)
- Marti Steussy
- Emily St. John Mandel
- Tricia Sullivan
- Sherry Tepper
- Kai Cheng Thom
- Sheree Renée Thomas
- Karin Tidbeck
- Lisa Tuttle
- Rena Vale
- Catherynne M. Valente
- Sydney Van Scyoc
- Mary Vigiliante
- Joan D. Vinge
- Thea Von Harbou
- Anne Walker
- Barbara Walton
- Sharon Webb
- Aliya Whiteley
- Cherry Wilder (real name Cherry Barbara Grimm)
- Kate Wilhelm
- Tess Williams
- Connie Willis
- G. Willow Wilson (Gwendolyn Willow Wilson)
- Pauline Winslow
- Patricia Wrightson
- Isabel Yap
- Jane Yolen
- Sarah Zettle
- Bibiana Krall
Fans
Women have been active in
Ten years ago [i.e., 1943] stf fans were practically all male, today with or without benefit of fan activities, a lot of girls and housewives and other members of the sex are quietly reading science fiction and beginning to add their voices to the bable... We honestly never expected such a surge of female women into science fiction[15]
A 1958 self-reported
While science fiction fandom has been an organized phenomenon for decades—presaging the organized fandoms of other genres and media—the study of science fiction fandom within cultural studies and science fiction studies is relatively new. Consequently, assertions about the prevalence of women in fandom are largely anecdotal and personal, and sometimes contradictory. Most prominent among these assertions is the claim that it was the advent of the original Star Trek television series which brought large quantities of women into fandom. This claim is critically analyzed by Davin, who finds it poorly founded, and cites a long history of female involvement in fandom decades prior to Star Trek;[18] Larbalestier also cites women active in science fiction fandom before the late 1960s and early 1970s.[15]
However, women became more visibly present in fandom, and more organized, in the 1970s. The
However, the perception of speculative fiction as mainly a men's genre continues to be widespread. As the inclusion of women within science fiction and fantasy more broadly has become obvious, the specificity of the perception has evolved. For instance, the still widely held view that "science fiction and fantasy are men's genres" has been refined by some to distinguish between science fiction as a genre mainly appealing to men, and fantasy, which is generally seen as being more accommodating to women[22] (some subgenres, particularly urban fantasy, with female protagonists, and paranormal romance are seen as being more popular with women than with men[23]). Little formal study has supported any of these distinctions, whether based on readers, writers, or characters.
This perception has often been upheld and enforced by men, perhaps to protect themselves from what fandom researcher
Gender
[...] science fiction and fantasy pulp magazines were directed mainly at boys[...]. Female characters were only occasionally included in science fiction pulp stories; the male protagonists' lengthy explanations to the women with limited knowledge revealed the plots
The highlighting of
Influence of political movements
The study of women within science fiction in the last decades of the twentieth century was driven in part by the feminist and gay liberation movements, and has included strands of the various related and spin-off movements, such as gender studies and queer theory.
In the 1970s, a number of events began to focus on women in fandom, professional science fiction, and as characters. In 1974, Pamela Sargent published an influential anthology, Women of Wonder: Science Fiction Stories by Women, About Women—the first of many anthologies to come that focused on women or gender rules. Additionally, movement among writers concerned with feminism and gender roles sprang up, leading to a genre of "feminist science fiction" including Joanna Russ' 1975 The Female Man, Samuel R. Delany's 1976 Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia, and Marge Piercy's 1976 Woman on the Edge of Time.
The 1970s also saw a vibrant
More recently, the 2010s have sparked a rebirth for speculative fiction. This revival of the genre can be attributed to the political chaos that came with the
Media adaptations
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale was adapted into a film in 1990, directed by Volker Schlöndorff. The film received a 31% positive review on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 4.8/10.
The Handmaid's Tale was also adapted into a ten-episode television series Hulu special released on April 26, 2017. The series saw such success that it was renewed for a second season set to release in April 2018.
Octavia Butler's speculative science/fantasy fiction novel Dawn, the first in her trilogy titled Lilith's Brood, is currently being adapted for television by producers Ava DuVernay and Charles D. King's Macro Ventures alongside writer Victoria Mahoney. There is no projected release date for the adaptation yet.
See also
Notes
- ISBN 9780739112670.
- ISBN 978-0385088879.[page needed]
- ISBN 9780575123625.
- ISBN 1-85723-897-4.
- ^ a b Tuttle, Lisa. "Women as portrayed in Science Fiction". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]. p. 1343.
- ^ See the bio of Clare Winger Harris for a case of a lesser one.
- ^ Kelly, Mark R. "1966 Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll". The LOCUS Index to SF Awards. Locus Publications. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010.
- ^ "1973 All-Time Favorite Author (Locus Poll Award)". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ a b Davin, pp. 3-5
- ^ Crisp, Julie (10 July 2013). "SEXISM IN GENRE PUBLISHING: A PUBLISHER'S PERSPECTIVE". Tor Books. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ "SFWA Grand Master page". sfwa.org. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ "Military SF". sf-encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-19-530567-8
- ^ Davin 2006, page 82
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8195-6527-3
- ^ "Editor's Report". If (editorial). June 1958. pp. 3–5.
- ^ Robert Silverberg, "Reflections: Problems of Time Travel," Asimov's Science Fiction, issue 0206 (2002))
- ^ Davin 2006, Chapter 4
- ^ Phillips, Julie. James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon; New York: Macmillan, 2007; p. 402
- ^ See generally Merrick, Helen. "From Female Man to Feminist Fan: Uncovering 'Herstory' in the Annals of SF Fandom," in Women of Other Worlds: Excursions through Science Fiction and Feminism, ed. by Helen Merrick and Tess Williams, University of Western Australia Press: Nedlands, 1999: pp. 115–139.
- ^ "Hugo Nominee List". locusmag.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ Tuttle, Lisa. "Gender"; Clute, John and Grant, John The Encyclopedia of Fantasy; United Kingdom; Orbit Books, 1997; p. 393
- ^ Arthur, Keri (2007). "Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy--defining two popular subgenres". The Romance Writers of Australia. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ISBN 0-415-90571-0.
- ^ "It's-A Me, Mary Sue: Why She's An Important Figure For Fanfic And Fangirls". www.themarysue.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ Faircloth, Kelly. "San Diego Comic Con Attendees Fight Back Against Sexual Harassment". jezebel.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ISBN 0-8161-8573-5; p. viii
- ^ Bainbridge, William. “Women in Science Fiction.” Sex Roles, vol. 8, no. 10, 1982, pp. 1081–1093.
- ISBN 0-8161-8573-5. "The prevalence of homosexual imagery in contemporary science fiction and fantasy can be directly attributed to the influence of the lesbian-feminist and gay liberation movements."
- ^ "Elizabeth A Lynn". Fantasticfiction.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
- ^ "Locus: Elizabeth A. Lynn interview". Locusmag.com. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
References
- (Archive.org) Index to Female Writers In Science Fiction, Fantasy & Utopia: 18th Century to the Present
- Badami, Mary Kenny. "A Feminist Critique of Science Fiction," Extrapolation18 (Dec. 1978), pp. 6–19.
- Davin, Eric Leif (2005). Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926-1965. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-1267-0.
- Larbalestier, Justine. The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction. Wesleyan University Press, Middleton, Connecticut, 2002.
- Merrick, Helen. "From Female Man to Feminist fan: Uncovering 'Herstory' in the Annals of SF Fandom." in Women of Other Worlds: Excursions through Science Fiction and Feminism, edited by Helen Merrick and Tess Williams, University of Western Australia Press: Nedlands, 1999: pp. 115–139.
- -- The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of Science Fiction Feminisms. Seattle: Aqueduct Press, 2009. ISBN 978-1-933500-33-1