Blogtown, PDX

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Film Re: Women, Science Fiction, and Self-Confirming Prophecies.

Posted by Erik Henriksen on Tue, May 20 at 3:05 PM

Have I mentioned how much I like io9? This is because I am a dork about all things sci-fi, true, but it’s also a just a pretty great blog, in part because they make note of weird shit like this (WHICH I TOTALLY WANT), and they keep current on genre film and book news, and they often have solid think pieces like “What Chicks Don’t Like About Science Fiction,” by the site’s editor, Annalee Newitz. Newitz’s piece is written, she says, in response to “an article in the New York Times today about how the channel boosted its ratings among women by de-emphasizing spaceships in Battlestar Galactica ads and airing supernatural horror movies.” She continues, “I cannot believe the stupidity here.”

It’s true that there’s been a stereotype that science fiction is for men, just as there’s a stereotype that science itself is for men. And those stereotypes are wrong.
If there’s something keeping women away from enjoying science fiction, it’s not spaceships. It’s not “aliens on some far-off planet.” It’s the fact that people on our very own planet keep telling us that women aren’t supposed to like science fiction. It’s a self-confirming prophesy, because the more that scifi creators are told this, the more they imagine that their audience is all boys. So they write rich, believable male characters and boring, cookie-cutter lady characters. They organize conventions with panels devoted to shit like “the hottest women of science fiction” and nothing devoted to female heroes—or the kinds of hotties that straight women might want to see (i.e., men).

Anyway. It’s a good read. So are the comments.

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Comments

the guy driving the spaceship looks kinda like George Clooney

Posted by rico | May 20, 2008 3:22 PM

I love science fiction.

But I hate Piers Anthony.

And Isaac Asimov is totally snoozy.

But I love you Robert Heinlein. 4ever.

Posted by Kiala | May 20, 2008 3:29 PM

My wife basically refuses to watch most anything science fiction. I don't think she does this because somebody told her to. I think it just does not appeal to her.

Posted by some guy | May 20, 2008 3:35 PM

thanks for pointing that out. i like her point about some men who will come right up and tell what you as a woman do and do not like, or worse, what you and are not capable of.

i saw this just today on the last.fm page of a great mp3 blogger:
http://www.last.fm/user/moteldemoka/

some guy was like, wow! a chick! chicks don't have great mp3 blogs!

in respect for the blogger, i held back my rage.

Posted by jami | May 20, 2008 3:51 PM

Just some a reminder that PDX happens to have the best living sci-fi writer on this planet...Ursula LeGuin!!

Arthur C Clarke's Rama series has a great female protagonist.

Posted by sueno | May 20, 2008 5:15 PM

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