Via Deborah Teramis Christian. It’s remarkable how many of these women have a story that ends without her final fate being recorded.
Originally shared by Ancient Origins
In most civilizations of the past, it was the men who were engaged in the bloody business of war… but not always. Throughout history there have been many powerful women who have led nations or guided armies into war, renowned not only as fearsome fighters, but also as cunning strategists and inspirational leaders. There were others who made a name for themselves in a domain traditionally held by men and whose story, carried forward over the centuries, continues to be told today.
I am, of course, particularly aware of this, as a non-US author.
I have more than once given stories a US setting, although I’ve never lived there.
Originally shared by Darusha Wehm
The Diversity Problem in SFF We Don’t Talk About. (Spoilers: it’s geographical dominance). An analysis.
Spoilers: it’s US cultural dominance. We all know that there is a long history in literature in general, and speculative literature in particular, of amplifying dominant voices to the exclusion of other stories. But we are getting better. Campaigns like…
Because it’s culturally acceptable in Western democracies to criticize the powerful, that can be used as cover for bigotry and prejudice when someone becomes powerful who represents a traditional underclass.
This well-written article lays out what you might call the lightning rod effect.
Yesterday, Jim posted some genderswaps of classic SF works, which were massively and obviously sexist. Today, he gives us a couple of scenes from one of his own books, and from another current work – and they’re still noticeably sexist, though the intensity has been dialled down considerably.
Originally shared by Jim Hines
Follow-up to yesterday’s blog post. Now with two genderswapped scenes from my own work, and one from a current Hugo nominee.
Butler is amazing. As I’ve remarked before, saying that she wrote about race is like saying that Jane Austen wrote about gender roles.
Originally shared by Cheryl Martin
Today Octavia E. Butler would have been sixty-nine years old. The world lost an extraordinary voice far too soon, but—lucky for all us readers!—she left us with so many amazing books! So we’re celebrating Ms. Butler’s birthday today (June 22nd) by putting the ebook editions of six of her best works on sale in the U.S. for just $3.99 each:
“Let’s be real: if women were “naturally” anything, societies wouldn’t spend so much time trying to police every aspect of their lives.”
I make a distinction between “likeable” and “admirable,” and personally prefer that main characters in the books I read have some admirable qualities (regardless of gender). This is why I don’t read grimdark fantasy, such as Kameron Hurley, the author of this piece, writes. However, I fully defend anyone who does read it, or write it, and Hurley’s point here – that different standards are applied to men and women – is well taken.
Thinking about my own characters, I’m fairly sure Tara, from the Auckland Allies series, isn’t likeable. And I have no plans for her to become so.
Originally shared by Daniel Swensen
“Stories teach us empathy, and limiting the expression of humanity in our heroes entirely based on sex or gender does us all a disservice. It places restrictions on what we consider human, which dehumanizes the people we see who do not express traits that fit our narrow definition of what’s acceptable. Like it or not, failure of empathy in the face of unlikable women in fiction can often lead to a failure to empathize with women who don’t follow all the rules in real life, too. I see this all the time in conversations with men and women alike.”