Since Ursula K LeGuin won both awards for The Left Hand of Darkness in 1970, women
have won approximately 1/3 of the Hugo and Nebula
awards for best novel (and have done even better in the past two decades). And
even before the 1960s, there were a number of women who wrote SF and F,
including Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, C.L. Moore, Leigh Brackett,
Judith Merrill, Naomi Mitchison. And Frankenstein,
sometimes referred to as the first true SF novel, was written by Mary Shelly.
Frustratingly, many people think that female writers of
speculative fiction are almost as exceptional today as they were back in the
early 20th century. In fact, women are
writing close to half of all fantasy and SF (numbers are greater to parity
in the US than in the UK for
some reason), and in the time period between 2010-2014, there were 13 debut SFF
authors published (according to publishers marketplace), six
of whom were women. However, female authors tend to be reviewed
less often than male authors.
There is also a widespread idea that women don't read SF and
F nearly as much as men do. It's hard to get exact numbers. The SFWA had an article a
while back on the gender break down of SF readers specifically, and stated that
fifty seven percent of SF readers are male, but it didn't examine fantasy. Approximately
forty
percent of comics fans are women. Conventional wisdom has it that women are
more likely to read fantasy than SF, and are more likely to read urban
contemporary fantasy than epic or secondary world fantasy, but my Google fu has
not been coming up with any statistics to back these assumptions up. If anyone
can direct me to any resources that shed light on this, I'd be very grateful.
I've been collecting links and information about gender equality
and gender representation in speculative fiction since the SFWA
"kerfuffle" during the summer of 2013. Rather than spend a lot of
time discussing each and every issue that's relevant, I thought I'd sort
through these links by category (as best I could, as some really could fit into
more than one) and list them here. I know that having sites that are relevant
to these things (somewhat) organized and handy is helpful to me, and I hope it
might be of use o some other SF and F writers and fans too. And if you know of
any good articles or data I haven't linked, please let me know. I'd be
especially interested in any that focus on issues relevant to women of color in
speculative fiction.
Equality in SF&F
and elsewhere: As mentioned above, people tend to underestimate the number
of women who are writing SF and F, and fans of both genders tend to name fewer
female authors when asked to list their favorites. There are also some links on
the more general issue of that very delicate topic that is known as
"privilege" in society, more from the perspective of trying to
explain what the term means in this context. Some links related to the 2013
SFWA "kerfuffle" are also included.
Fake
Writer Girls, by Jim C. Hines
Fantasy, Female Writers and the Politics of Influence by Tansy Rayner Roberts.
Fantasy, Female Writers and the Politics of Influence by Tansy Rayner Roberts.
Of
Dogs and Lizards, a Parable of Privilege. Sindeloke
On the Subject of Unlikable Women Protagonists
On the Subject of Unlikable Women Protagonists
The
Issue of Gender in Genre Fiction, by Susan E. Connoley
Smallest Number of Film Speaking Roles For Women in Five Years
Smallest Number of Film Speaking Roles For Women in Five Years
The
Strange Horizons Count for 2013 This shows the proportion of SFF books by
women and PoC received by Locus
compared to the percentage reviewed.
Fandom and Gender: I've
had a heck of a time getting any hard data on the percentages of fantasy
readers who are women. If anyone knows of any surveys or data on this, please
let me know.
Female writers of SF
and F: Names of female SF and F writers and some statistics about the
gender breakdown of writers.
Gender identity and
sexual orientation in writing SFF: Though the issues facing people who are
LGBTQ are not the same as those facing women, both as writers and readers,
there is some overlap. I included some sites that may be handy for writers who
are interested in including more diversity in their work but are afraid of
perpetuating stereotypes.
Changing
Images of Trans People in Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, by Cheryl
Morgan
Gay Fiction Booklist That Doesn't Suck
GLBT Fantasy Fiction Resources
Gay Fiction Booklist That Doesn't Suck
GLBT Fantasy Fiction Resources
Queer 101: Rooster Tales Comics.
Reaching Into the Quiltbag: The Evolving World of Queer Speculative Fiction, by Julia Rios
History and sociology:
Historical accuracy is often used as an excuse for excluding women from
fantasy (more than SF) or from limiting women to supporting roles in stories.
There are a huge numbers of misconceptions about the roles women have played in
history. And of course, one of the largest is that fantasy is usually taking
place in a real historic setting to begin with.
Inspiration: Sites
that might be a source of ideas for characters, cultures, or stories: Some
women from history and legend. Truth really is is often stranger than fiction.
Science, Sociology
and Gender Differences: Some links to make you rethink everything you
always thought you knew about gender differences. No one is saying men and
women don't differ, or experience many things differently, for both biological
and sociological reasons. But the variation within one gender is generally greater
than the average differences between the genders.
Stereotypes and Tired
Female Tropes in Fiction: Some of these are amusing, some are eye rolling.
It's not so much that stereotypes are always wrong, or that any one use of
these tropes is a problem in of itself. It's the rarity of stories and
characters that don't embrace them that is the problem.
Writing as a Woman: Some
reflections on issues facing women writers at a more personal level.
Writing female
characters: Some more resources to help writers of either gender who wish
to include more women in their stories and to make them better-rounded
characters.
How
To Write Well-Rounded Female Characters by Cindy Grigg
Older Women Protagonists in SF and F (40 and up) story list by C. Lundoff
Older Women Protagonists in SF and F (40 and up) story list by C. Lundoff
The
Omniscient Breasts: Male Gaze in Fantasy, by Kate Elliott
Writing Women Characters as Human Beings by Kate Elliott
Writing Women Characters into Epic Fantasy Without Quotas by Kate Elliott
Writing Women Characters as Human Beings by Kate Elliott
Writing Women Characters into Epic Fantasy Without Quotas by Kate Elliott
Fun stuff Related to Gender
in SF and F: Some things that are worth a chuckle, and also some thought.
Blogs by SFF Authors
Who Often Write About Gender-Related Issues.
