Kym wrote:
>> > Although it's exciting that a woman/women are invloved in the Mars
expedition ... it's important to look critically at the expedition istelf,
and at space "exploration" in general. To me, it is very
much a problem that billions of dollars are being spent on this, while at
the same time, there are more & more people living out in the streets ...
>> >
Martha responded:
>> >Very true. But where do you think all those billions of dollars get spent?
>> >Some, at least, go to salaries -- keeping people employed -- (including
>> >the janitors who clean the buildings and the truckers who bring in the
>> >raw materials)...
Robin responded:
>The fact is that not all the money spent on the project ends up in the
>hands of workers, and not even the same proportion as if the money was
>spent in other industries. The space industry is expensive-materials
>heavy, and labour costs create fewer high-paying jobs, which are
>traditional 'good jobs' in any event, high-tech/education science jobs
>which overwhelmingly go to men who are already most able to survive in the
>modern economy.
I agree with Kym and Robin ... to me, feminism IS a class issue because
women, as a class are underpaid, undervalued, and exploited. To wit, the
thread in this list about male/female engineers, librarians, computer
pioneers ...
To me, one of the most important aspects of feminist sf utopias is an
egalitarian vision that distributes resources and responsibilities among
men and women equally. LeGuin's *Dispossesed* and Starhawk's *Fifth Sacred
Thing* come to mind. Though specialized professions are developed according
to the individual's interests and abilities, so-called shit jobs (or
low-paying jobs, such as janitors and truck drivers) are everyone's
responsibility. The scarcity or abundance of resources affects everyone
more-or-less equally, so men and women work together as true equals to
improve the conditions of their community.
I agree with Kym that "feminism is about equality for all people, not just
for a few privileged women who get ahead in a formerly 'male' profession."
I disagree with Laura that "Feminism is definitely _not_ about equality for
all people. <snip> Feminism is about equality for women, so, as abhorrent
as a character such as Thatcher is, it's still progress for womankind!" I
don't think it's progress for womankind when women become like the worst
masculists on earth. 'Honorary men' like Thatcher simply prove the
masculist view: that a gal can get ahead if she's just as ruthlessly
competitive and aggressive as the rest of the boys in the club. What
interests me about feminist sf -- and feminist men -- is that they embody
an alternative kind of equality based on mutual respect and cooperation.
This has ramifications not only with regard to gender but also class, race,
sexual preference, disabilities, etc.
I too am concerned about "a continuation of the colonizing mentality and
activity that resulted in the theft of land and genocide of the native
peoples of the Americas." I find it interesting that "first contact"
masculist sf usually has some kind of mindless War of the Worlds
confrontation in which the aliens are simply the dreaded "Other" (the only
good alien is a dead alien). Whereas the feminist version (especially
Butler) conveys complex possibilities that value the alien's (Other's)
individual personality and culture.
I agree with Martha, that "cutting the space program won't do it. That
money won't go to public welfare." Setting the space program against public
welfare is fighting over crumbs. We've got to change our national and
cultural priorities. I think that socially-conscious feminism can play an
important role. Poverty in the U.S. is disproportionate by not only gender
but also by race and other types of "otherness." As Laura and Nicole point
out, the actual amount of cash needed to alleviate much suffering is
miniscule compared to what we spend on weapons. Which is, by the way,
historically the major impetus for technological innovation. Hey, I'd
rather see a woman on Mars than a new weapon of mass destruction any day,
even if she is white and middle-class (-; just kidding!!!:-)
Sorry, this subject really pushes my buttons. OK, I'll get off my soapbox
too and go back to lurking and making the book-exchange page.
Holly Yasui
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:06:27 PDT