Gay science fiction

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Gay science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction which incorporates gay themes, often by way of the sexuality of the protagonist or a major character. It may have sexual imagery and aspects of science fiction erotica. It may also explore, in a wider scope, the varieties of sexual experience that deviate from the conventional.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Cover for the novel Odd John
Cover for the novel Odd John

One of the earliest examples of science fiction that involves a challenging amount of unconventional sexual activity is the early science fiction novel Odd John, by Olaf Stapledon. John is a mutant who will not allow himself to be bound by many of the rules imposed by the ordinary British society of his time. The novel strongly implies that he has consensual intercourse with his mother Pax and that he seduces an older boy who becomes devoted to him but also suffers from the affront that the relationship creates to his own morals. John also scales the side of the house of a neighbor girl of his own age and engages in sexual intercourse with her. Being a mutant who is both more intelligent and has more powers than an ordinary person, he finds none of these relationships totally fulfilling.

In Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein, the main character argues strongly for the future liberty of homosexual sex. Ursula K. Le Guin and others have explored trans-species sexuality and, in The Left Hand of Darkness, the sexuality of species in which individuals are neither "male" nor "female" but normally have both male and female sexual organs and reproductive abilities.

Cover for the novel Babel-17
Cover for the novel Babel-17

In the earliest stories of Samuel R. Delany, the gay sexual aspect appears as a "sensibility", rather than in overt sexual references. In some stories, such as Babel-17, same-sex love and same-sex intercourse are clearly implied but are given a kind of protective coloration because one character is a woman who is involved in a three-person marriage, the other two members of which are males. The affection all three characters share for each other is in the forefront, and sexual activity between or among them is not directly described.

In "Time Considered as a Helix of Semiprecious Stones" (1969), Delany describes with great sensitivity and affection a young man named Hawk who is possibly gay and definitely masochistic. In none of these early stories does Delany make sexual intercourse the focus of his writing. Sexuality is individual to the characters and secondary to the plot.

In his very long science fiction novel entitled Dhalgren, Delany spots his large canvas with characters of a wide variety of sexualities. Once again, sex activity is not the focus of the novel although there are some notable explicitly described interactions of various kinds. Delany depicts, mostly with affection, characters with a wide variety of motivations and behaviors, not, it would seem, with the intent of a kind of covert advocacy but with the effect of revealing to the reader the fact that these kinds of people exist in the real world. His affection for his characters, even his louts, might be compared to that of James Baldwin or of Cao Xueqin.

Some fiction which is not marketed specifically to gay audiences nevertheless contains gay themes as, for example, in the work of Guy Davenport.

David Gerrold's young adult series starts with Jumping Off the Planet, in which a father kidnaps his three sons and goes to the moon; one is gay.

Duane Simolke received a StoneWall Society award for Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure, which includes gay themes and characters.

Gerrold received a Nebula award for a short fictional version of The Martian Child. He later expanded it to book length. The story is biographical: a gay man adopts a child.

Julian May in The Milieu Trilogy has two gay characters — Luc Remillard and Ken Macdonald — and features their gay marriage. However, although they are both related to major characters their role within the novels is minimal.

Keith Hartman has written The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse which features a gay private investigator. It is set in Atlanta in 2025, and also contains magic and other fantasy elements.

Mercedes Lackey in her Last Herald-Mage Trilogy, wrote three Fantasy books in which the protagonists, Vanyel and Tylendel/Stefen are gay, and their relationship is an integral part of the story. The story takes place in the Kingdom of Valdemar. The three books are: Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise, and Magic's Price. These are not the only books by her to contain gay characters, but they are the first to contain a main character (Vanyel) that is gay.

The authoritative and comprehensive guide to science fiction literature featuring gay, lesbian, trangender, and related themes is Uranian Worlds, by Eric Garber and Lyn Paleo. The book covers science fiction literature published before 1990, providing a short review and commentary on each piece.

[edit] Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction

Many authors have used the freedoms offered by science fictional settings and plot devices to explore themes which, while not strictly gay, are closely related. A prime example is the Wraeththu trilogy by Storm Constantine, in which much of the male portion of the human race is converted to a new species of physiologically hermaphroditic post-humans. Other examples of alternative but not strictly gay sexuality in science fiction include Theodore Sturgeon's Venus Plus X and Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Awards

  • The Lambda Literary Award includes an award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
  • The James Tiptree, Jr. Award is for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore our understanding of gender.
  • The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards honor works in science fiction, fantasy and horror which include positive explorations of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters, themes, or issues.
  • The Queer Horror Awards were created to honor works that involve significant, and generally positive, portrayal of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender characters, issues or themes within the area of horror.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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