Okay, so I've tried to sit and think about about this
My first (but maybe not best) reaction to the reason for sepratism is
the time-frame the book was written. I don't know how good an answer
this is (late '60s, early '70s) but sometimes those of use who didn't
live through times (I'm only 25 and all my experience of feminist lib
during the '70s is vicarious and at least half academic) can't judge the
anger at the status quo. I get angry thinking about the problems then,
and sometimes it does seem (even now) that seperatism would be a
solution. It's just not going to happen. SO, the miraculous or
catastrophic ways to eliminate the other sex provide a way of working
out a vastly different cultural influence.
As to why there don't "seem" to be all-male separatist u/distopias, I
don't think it's solely biology. The men towards the end of Walk to the
End of the World wanted to eliminate women for the most part, and other
books work out (non-sep) means for artificial wombs, etc. One part
might be the prevalent male homophobia covered up by a "boys' club"
atmosphere. I would say it is technically easier for women to procreate
without men, but modern and SF technology often seems to work more
towards procreation without women. Besides, often in novels males in
the plot are separated from women (military, technology escapades) OR it
is much easier to envision a world (like the Holdfast) where men
dominate women and have no reason to eliminate them (esp immediately).
Freedom is something very interesting, especially where freedom of
person conflicts with society. I think one way this is more easily
expressed is through the prevalence of non-monogamous relationships
between women. From being "owned" by one (or many) men into
self-direction... it seems that one of the first ways (possibly) women
would express rebellion would be to try to eliminate this possessiveness
in sex/caring relationships. But again, it takes some time to get there
(witness the Free Fems' system still harem-like while the Riding Women
try hard for the opposite). I think (as on Whileaway) that promoting a
family of women so that even birth-mother doesn't have possession of a
child (unlike the patriarchal father).
I do want to emphasize this though
>"being free might mean the same as "being the master" if their only terms of
reference were those of the" master. I would say that is one of the
things to be fought against when becoming "free" as freedom would mean
different things. That's a way of looking at the differences between
the Js in the Female-Man and the methods of achieving separatism. Jael
said that Whileaway was started on a war, which would of necessity be
denied. Violence responses to violence begets Jael's world. Okay, this
is getting confused, but I hope you see what I'm trying to say. As for
why the violence exists, it would take a while to breed out the need for
violent action from an angry people who never were able to express that
agression physically. The Holdfast fems certainly were conditioned
against it.
As for a peaceful separatism... I think some of the most peaceful ways
that it sep could be achieved is via catastrophe. Are "masters" going
to (as a group) willingly give up control? One thing that comes to mind
is Piercy's _He, She, and It_ with the women in the Black Zone. They
took a created situation (assuming they did not create it themselves)
and separated themselves. Only by those convenient deadly to mostly
males pandemics is it otherwise going to happen, and if the women create
this... it's also warlike (IMO), even if an act of desperation.
Some other things to think about are the works that ostensibly have
women and men existing together (these two are very different, and i'm
not sure I like the implications of Sargent's) Tepper's _Gate to Women's
Country_ and Sargent's _Shore of Women_. Men aren't entirely eliminated
(used for procreation) but it was also a man-made catastrophe/war that
caused a situation women took advantage of. Slonziewsky (can't ever get
her name correct) does an interesting thing with _Door into Ocean_ but I
can't remember why there are no males.
Okay, so after typing forever, I'm going to hope you will comment back!
misha
>bernardm@colorado.edu
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:07:34 PDT