Girls wear pink. Boys wear blue. Girls stay in the house and do housework; boys like to go outdoors and work. Girls are told to wait their entire lives for the boy they will marry and their happily ever after. Stereotypes surround each and every person. Gender is often one of these stereotypes. Can a girl not enjoy the outdoors? Can a boy not enjoy the color pink? Can a girl not like outfits that contain the color blue? The way that individuals are raised can affect the way they act and their personality. Women seem to be inferior in earlier science fiction, but authors are now trying to include women as main characters. Girls are beginning to be included, but their roles remain typical female roles. “We also tend to focus on gender
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“The Cold Equations” is a story where only men are found to be in charge. When a girl was found on an EDS ship, no one seemed to know what to do. If a man was found to be a stowaway on a ship, he would be ejected immediately, but “the stowaway is a girl” (Godwin 5). The presence of the young girl played on the emotions of the EDS captain. Gender equality can be found in few scenes in this short story. The commander states that “any stowaway discovered in an EDS shall be jettisoned” (Godwin 5). The rule does not apply any differently to a man or a woman. The rule just simply states that a stowaway shall be removed from the ship. Although the young girl ultimately had the same fate that a man in her position would have gotten, she was given the chance to write final letters to her parents and tell her brother goodbye one last time. A man in the same position would probably not have gotten that same opportunity. Nor would a man leave an impression on the captain, as the young girl did. After sending the girl into space, the captain could only think of her final words, which continually haunted him. She didn’t fully understand why she would be sent into space when she “didn’t do anything to die for” (Godwin 16). This story can be viewed in different ways. Was the captain unfair? Why does a young girl get the chance to live a little longer when a man would be ejected into space immediately? This is an example of men being treated unfairly in a story. This is also an illustration of a young girl getting special treatment because she was viewed as a more innocent and gentle
“The Cold Equations” is a story where only men are found to be in charge. When a girl was found on an EDS ship, no one seemed to know what to do. If a man was found to be a stowaway on a ship, he would be ejected immediately, but “the stowaway is a girl” (Godwin 5). The presence of the young girl played on the emotions of the EDS captain. Gender equality can be found in few scenes in this short story. The commander states that “any stowaway discovered in an EDS shall be jettisoned” (Godwin 5). The rule does not apply any differently to a man or a woman. The rule just simply states that a stowaway shall be removed from the ship. Although the young girl ultimately had the same fate that a man in her position would have gotten, she was given the chance to write final letters to her parents and tell her brother goodbye one last time. A man in the same position would probably not have gotten that same opportunity. Nor would a man leave an impression on the captain, as the young girl did. After sending the girl into space, the captain could only think of her final words, which continually haunted him. She didn’t fully understand why she would be sent into space when she “didn’t do anything to die for” (Godwin 16). This story can be viewed in different ways. Was the captain unfair? Why does a young girl get the chance to live a little longer when a man would be ejected into space immediately? This is an example of men being treated unfairly in a story. This is also an illustration of a young girl getting special treatment because she was viewed as a more innocent and gentle