Gender in science fiction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Science fiction and related genres (utopian literature, fantasy literature) have always offered the opportunity for writers to explore social conventions, including gender, gender roles, and beliefs about gender. Like all literary forms, the science fiction genre reflects the popular perceptions of the eras in which individual creators were writing; and those creators' responses to gender stereotypes and gender roles.

Many writers have chosen to write with little or no questioning of gender roles, instead effectively reflecting their own cultural gender roles onto their fictional world. However, many writers have chosen to use science fiction and non-realistic formats in order to explore cultural conventions, particularly gender roles. This article discusses works that have explored or expanded the treatment of gender in science fiction.

Authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin and Sheri S. Tepper frequently write on gender related themes.

[edit] Further reading

Justine Larbalestier, The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction, Wesleyan University Press, 2002, ISBN 081956527X (review of 20th century science fiction, especially the pulps)
Robin Roberts, A New Species: Gender and Science in Science Fiction, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1993 (history of gender in science fiction)