On Tue, 29 Apr 1997 13:35:38 -0700 Bonnie Gray wrote:
> From: Bonnie Gray <bgray@ECE.UCDAVIS.EDU>
> Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 13:35:38 -0700
> Subject: Re: Science as sexist
> To: FEMINISTSF@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU
>
> Well, everybody seems to have an opinion on this, thought I'd
add
> my own humble opinion :)
>
> Basically, I agree with Farah and Tonya. I think "Hard SF" has
> the same sexism that surrounds women entering "hard science"
domains.
> I really do think it's that simple (or that complex...). I think
> that there is a certain amount of status surrounding hard SF, similar
> to that which surrounds science and engineering. Speaking as a
PhD
> candidate in electrical engineering, I do have a clue about these
> things.
>
> I, personally, have had a love-hate relationship with hard SF.
> I love the science itself, but often dislike the stories surrounding
> it, particularly the roles women often play (or fail to play...).
> This was especially true of classic hard sf that I read growing up.
> Much as I love the science of my profession, but dislike the
> traditionally male ways that funding, good-old-boys-networking, and
> posturing that goes on.
>
> To write good hard sf, you have to know about good hard
science.
> (And also be a good writer, of course!) If women are discouraged
> for whatever reason out of these fields, it seems logical to me that
> they would not write "hard" sf, either.
>
> Maybe I'm just over-simplifying things. Also, I hope I'm not
> too far off the subject material of this server. I've only been on
> it a week...
>
> Bonnie
>
> PS: Linda Nagata's "Bohr Maker" is a piece of "hard sf" written by
a
> female author that hasn't been mentioned yet. I'm not sure if it
> classifies as "feminist sf", although it certainly has strong female
> characters in it, both on the "good" and "bad" sides.
I agree with Bonnie up to a point which ties into an earlier discussion
about male v female students in sf classes. As boys are increasingly
turning to computer games they seem to be less interested in
literature in general and sf in particular. The boys I went to school
with were just on this verge -- still reading sf but just as interested in
the new space invaders games. I suspect that increasingly boys are
moving out of literature altogether, just as women are starting to
move into many branches of science, We may see a big shift in who
the hard sf writers are in the next ten years.
Farah
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