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I propose to merge the pages Gay science fiction and Lesbian science fiction, creating a merged page called "LGBT Science Fiction". The new page would have sections for science fiction featuring gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered characters and/or themes. An additional section would cover the many types of "alternative" sexualities that crop up frequently in science fictional settings. If the merger occurs, I will take some responsibility for editing and maintaining the resulting page.
- An article on alternative sexualities in science fiction is a good idea, and it could link to these articles, but I think some people might be offended with lumping all these into one article. -- Kendrick7 04:37, 26 August 2006 (UTC)
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- Offended or not, I would suggest we focus on the merits of merger/separation. : Of course gay & lesbian SF are both part of the larger movements of independent and identity-focused presses, and the transformative LGBT-identity movements in the 70s. Similarly, it may be the case that the majority of gay sf & lesbian SF are published by mainstream or SF publication houses, or by GLBT houses that do not distinguish between gay & lesbian SF.
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- But one point for keeping them separate might be their distinct histories. Both lesbian and gay SF have their own distinct publishing houses with their own histories. Lesbian science fiction published by Naiad Press and other small feminist presses has been subject to the vicissitudes of feminist presses in the 70s-90s. And while that affected gay presses as well as lesbian presses, that's not the whole story: changes affecting the broader women's movement (which included women's music festivals, women's bookstores, women's presses, etc.) were also a significant part of that history for lesbian sf. These publication histories may reflect substantive differences in the categories as well. For instance, there doesn't seem to be a lot of lesbian sf/hardcore porn cross-over, while I would suggest that's not an insignificant portion of the independently published gay sf. Finally, another major concern for me in combining them would be that the entry would become a de facto "gay sf" entry with insufficient balance. LQ 12:18, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
- I can see the merits of combining the Gay science fiction and Lesbian science fiction pages, but the arguments by LQ make a lot of sense. The two categories do have different histories, and I agree that combining them may tend to favor Gay vs. Lesbian. And there hasn't been any discussion for nine months which suggests that there isn't a strong move to make any changes. However, even more importantly for me, I don't know if there are many Wiki writers that are sufficiently familiar with both categories to write authoritatively and with balance for a merged page, something that would be very necessary, I think. For example, I know a lot about SciFi (having been a voracious reader since my age was measured in a single digit) and a lot about being a gay male, and even a fair amount about gay SciFi. But I know very little about Lesbian culture, or Lesbian SciFi. So if I had to vote, I would vote for keeping them separate with an overview page on LGBTQ Science Fiction that points to them both, and in that way, it's easier for people to write about just what they know. Anyway, just my gay $0.02 Becksguy 04:59, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
