Science Fiction has been a hopeful prediction of both accomplish utopias and disastrous-dystopias. From the first televised interracial kiss, to a matriarchal society, the sci-fi genre has been dependent upon pushing the societal box a little bit more than we are used to. Unfortunately, since its creation by Mary Shelley in 1818, minorities and general equality have fallen behind, and the thought of a utopia, forgotten.
Sometimes, simple steps can kickstart a new beginning for entire movements. The ignition of this genre could be influenced by writing stories that show that the actions we encourage today, impact the consequences of the future. Though this seems difficult, this idea is just a slight step aside from what most science fiction …show more content…
George Lucas), Carrie Fisher was told by the director that underwear did not exist in space, and thus was later forced to wear an overtly sexualized bikini (Fisher). So begs the question is the sexism in science fiction getting better from forty years ago? Well, could it be getting worse?
The sexism in the science fiction genre has such an integral part of the stories that have been to the public, that no one knows any better. In today’s society, woman are still being used as objects instead of a people, and plot points, instead of a character - sexism in this genre is not a history that has to be discussed, it is an issue that must be abolished …show more content…
Sci-fi started without women, and it hasn’t gotten much better. But why continue that trend? Not even a wise old woman or a innocent young girl? The answer is just as simple and particularly more disgusting. Isaac Asimov, one of the fathers of the genre, wrote in his final memoir Gold, “Prior to public recognition in the United States that babies are not brought by the stork, there was simply no sex in the science fiction magazines [..] But if there is no sex, what do you do with female characters?” (Asimov 225). Specifically, women in science fiction stories were not characters at all if they were included. They were either sexual objects, or nothing at all. There are no sexually unappealing women in science fiction, because women are solely for the sexual use of men in the narrative. That’s why not even a grandmother or daughter appear in many cases. Alas, this representation, as degrading as it is, gets lost within the sea of male protagonists. Similarly, in one of the cases mentioned, prolific science fiction writer Ursula Guin continues using women to further the male characters in her novels, and does it with a flare of sexualization. In Guin’s novel The Dispossessed, women play roles as seemingly dynamic and different characters throughout the story; in the end, however, they only serve to further the main man. Guin introduces the second woman in the
Sometimes, simple steps can kickstart a new beginning for entire movements. The ignition of this genre could be influenced by writing stories that show that the actions we encourage today, impact the consequences of the future. Though this seems difficult, this idea is just a slight step aside from what most science fiction …show more content…
George Lucas), Carrie Fisher was told by the director that underwear did not exist in space, and thus was later forced to wear an overtly sexualized bikini (Fisher). So begs the question is the sexism in science fiction getting better from forty years ago? Well, could it be getting worse?
The sexism in the science fiction genre has such an integral part of the stories that have been to the public, that no one knows any better. In today’s society, woman are still being used as objects instead of a people, and plot points, instead of a character - sexism in this genre is not a history that has to be discussed, it is an issue that must be abolished …show more content…
Sci-fi started without women, and it hasn’t gotten much better. But why continue that trend? Not even a wise old woman or a innocent young girl? The answer is just as simple and particularly more disgusting. Isaac Asimov, one of the fathers of the genre, wrote in his final memoir Gold, “Prior to public recognition in the United States that babies are not brought by the stork, there was simply no sex in the science fiction magazines [..] But if there is no sex, what do you do with female characters?” (Asimov 225). Specifically, women in science fiction stories were not characters at all if they were included. They were either sexual objects, or nothing at all. There are no sexually unappealing women in science fiction, because women are solely for the sexual use of men in the narrative. That’s why not even a grandmother or daughter appear in many cases. Alas, this representation, as degrading as it is, gets lost within the sea of male protagonists. Similarly, in one of the cases mentioned, prolific science fiction writer Ursula Guin continues using women to further the male characters in her novels, and does it with a flare of sexualization. In Guin’s novel The Dispossessed, women play roles as seemingly dynamic and different characters throughout the story; in the end, however, they only serve to further the main man. Guin introduces the second woman in the