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The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction
How women and feminism helped to shape science fiction in America.
Runner-up for the Hugo Best Related Book Award (2003)
The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction is a lively account of the role of women and feminism in the development of American science fiction during its formative years, the mid-20th century. Beginning in 1926, with the publication of the first issue of Amazing Stories, Justine Larbalestier examines science fiction's engagement with questions of femininity, masculinity, sex and sexuality. She traces the debates over the place of women and feminism in science fiction as it emerged in stories, letters and articles in science fiction magazines and fanzines. The book culminates in the story of James Tiptree, Jr. and the eponymous Award. Tiptree was a successful science fiction writer of the 1970s who was later discovered to be a woman. Tiptree's easy acceptance by the male-dominated publishing arena of the time proved that there was no necessary difference in the way men and women wrote, but that there was a real difference in the way they were read.
Runner-up for the Hugo Best Related Book Award (2003)
The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction is a lively account of the role of women and feminism in the development of American science fiction during its formative years, the mid-20th century. Beginning in 1926, with the publication of the first issue of Amazing Stories, Justine Larbalestier examines science fiction's engagement with questions of femininity, masculinity, sex and sexuality. She traces the debates over the place of women and feminism in science fiction as it emerged in stories, letters and articles in science fiction magazines and fanzines. The book culminates in the story of James Tiptree, Jr. and the eponymous Award. Tiptree was a successful science fiction writer of the 1970s who was later discovered to be a woman. Tiptree's easy acceptance by the male-dominated publishing arena of the time proved that there was no necessary difference in the way men and women wrote, but that there was a real difference in the way they were read.
424 pages, Paperback
First published June 20, 2002
3 people are currently reading
555 people want to read
About the author
Justine Larbalestier
28 books742 followersJustine Larbalestier is an Australian young-adult fiction author. She is best known for the Magic or Madness trilogy: Magic or Madness, Magic Lessons and the newly released Magic's Child. She also wrote one adult non-fiction book, the Hugo-nominated The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction (Best Related Book, 2003), and edited another, Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century.
Her surname has been pronounced in several different ways, but the FAQ on her website says that Lar-bal-est-ee-air is correct:
Q: How do you pronounce your surname? A: Lar-bal-est-ee-air. It can also be pronounced Lar-bal-est-ee-ay or Lar-bal-est-ee-er. Those are all fine by me. Friends at school used to pronounce it: Lavaworm. I have to really like you to let you get away with that one, but.
Larbalestier was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. She now alternates living between Sydney and New York City.
In 2001, Justine married fellow author Scott Westerfeld.
Her surname has been pronounced in several different ways, but the FAQ on her website says that Lar-bal-est-ee-air is correct:
Q: How do you pronounce your surname? A: Lar-bal-est-ee-air. It can also be pronounced Lar-bal-est-ee-ay or Lar-bal-est-ee-er. Those are all fine by me. Friends at school used to pronounce it: Lavaworm. I have to really like you to let you get away with that one, but.
Larbalestier was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. She now alternates living between Sydney and New York City.
In 2001, Justine married fellow author Scott Westerfeld.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 1, 2018
The book sacrifices part of its amenity for the rigor of the thesis that it exposes, it is a more academic work than a journalism one, for example a bit monotone in some moments. However, Justine Larbalestier does a good job to explain to us the discrimination against women in the history of science fiction (as women writers, as women readers/fans and also as women characters inside the stories) from the perspectives of: feminist theory, literature, culture, semiotics and content analysis.
In general, the feminist revolution of the seventies - and the new wave, and those the successive evolutions of the genre - show that, fortunately, there is not a single definition of science fiction and that it is a genre in which everyone has a place.
In general, the feminist revolution of the seventies - and the new wave, and those the successive evolutions of the genre - show that, fortunately, there is not a single definition of science fiction and that it is a genre in which everyone has a place.
January 5, 2009
"The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction" by Justine Larbalestier is the fourth book in the Early Classics of Science Fiction series from Wesleyan University Press, and is unlike any of the other books in the series up to this point. The previous books in the series included whole works of science fiction along with supplementary material. This book is a study of the history of science fiction with respect to women as fans and authors.
Justine Larbalestier looks at the period starting in the mid 1920's and continuing up to today. She limits her look to that period, because that is when the genre of science fiction was first identified, and because the 1920's are the starting point for the pulp magazine publications of science fiction.
The book covers the portrayal of women in the stories themselves, and how poorly they were written by the male writers and how the male fans objected to the inclusion of female characters. It also covers the female fans and how their letters were treated compared with their male contemporaries. Ms. Larbalestier also talks about the women authors, how there is a perception that they didn't appear on the scene until the late 60's, and the reaction to their stories by fans, other authors, and editors. Lastly, she spends a great deal of space discussing James Tiptree Jr. (i.e. Alice Sheldon) and the award named after him/her.
In the stories from the earlier days, the female characters were mostly included to be saved, or purely as a diversion from the meat of the story. The objections of the male fans to these characters thus seemed reasonable to them and the editors, but at the same time they seemed unable to accept the idea that female characters might actually be central to the stories. It is amazing to think that the idea of women as scientists or astronauts would be more unbelievable than the aliens and civilizations which were portrayed in many of the early science fiction stories. Women were clearly seen as a threat to the male dominated genre. One area which is not talked about is the effect of science fiction being dominated by the pulps and shorter fiction. She does not mention or discuss the dynamic of female characters from the few longer works from the early days.
The fan letters are at the same time humorous, for how they sound today, and upsetting, for the sexist ideas which many of them contain. Some of the male fans of the time went on to become authors, such as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and others. Equally surprising are the responses from the editors, who patronize the few female fans who take the time to write in, although I do think that Ms. Larbalestier sometimes reads more into their responses than is actually there. However, in many cases when I initially thought this, I changed my mind after trying to view the situation from another viewpoint.
When discussing the presence of women authors, I can only agree with her conclusions based on my experience. I have been reading a lot of science fiction from that period, and there were several woman authors from the early days of science fiction, and their stories fit right in with those by male authors. The idea that there weren't any, or that their stories are easily identifiable as being by a woman is ridiculous, although I suppose that their ability to write believable female characters might be a give away in some cases, but then again there are some male authors who were able to do that.
The discussion of James Tiptree Jr., is a little too long in my opinion; it feels a little repetitive as she already discussed some of the same things earlier in the book. There is a large amount of detail in the discussion of the award which, though interesting within their context, seem out of place with regard to the rest of the book. These problems are small though, and there are few weaknesses in this very interesting discussion of women in science fiction, and the reaction from the male fans, writers, and editors.
Justine Larbalestier looks at the period starting in the mid 1920's and continuing up to today. She limits her look to that period, because that is when the genre of science fiction was first identified, and because the 1920's are the starting point for the pulp magazine publications of science fiction.
The book covers the portrayal of women in the stories themselves, and how poorly they were written by the male writers and how the male fans objected to the inclusion of female characters. It also covers the female fans and how their letters were treated compared with their male contemporaries. Ms. Larbalestier also talks about the women authors, how there is a perception that they didn't appear on the scene until the late 60's, and the reaction to their stories by fans, other authors, and editors. Lastly, she spends a great deal of space discussing James Tiptree Jr. (i.e. Alice Sheldon) and the award named after him/her.
In the stories from the earlier days, the female characters were mostly included to be saved, or purely as a diversion from the meat of the story. The objections of the male fans to these characters thus seemed reasonable to them and the editors, but at the same time they seemed unable to accept the idea that female characters might actually be central to the stories. It is amazing to think that the idea of women as scientists or astronauts would be more unbelievable than the aliens and civilizations which were portrayed in many of the early science fiction stories. Women were clearly seen as a threat to the male dominated genre. One area which is not talked about is the effect of science fiction being dominated by the pulps and shorter fiction. She does not mention or discuss the dynamic of female characters from the few longer works from the early days.
The fan letters are at the same time humorous, for how they sound today, and upsetting, for the sexist ideas which many of them contain. Some of the male fans of the time went on to become authors, such as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and others. Equally surprising are the responses from the editors, who patronize the few female fans who take the time to write in, although I do think that Ms. Larbalestier sometimes reads more into their responses than is actually there. However, in many cases when I initially thought this, I changed my mind after trying to view the situation from another viewpoint.
When discussing the presence of women authors, I can only agree with her conclusions based on my experience. I have been reading a lot of science fiction from that period, and there were several woman authors from the early days of science fiction, and their stories fit right in with those by male authors. The idea that there weren't any, or that their stories are easily identifiable as being by a woman is ridiculous, although I suppose that their ability to write believable female characters might be a give away in some cases, but then again there are some male authors who were able to do that.
The discussion of James Tiptree Jr., is a little too long in my opinion; it feels a little repetitive as she already discussed some of the same things earlier in the book. There is a large amount of detail in the discussion of the award which, though interesting within their context, seem out of place with regard to the rest of the book. These problems are small though, and there are few weaknesses in this very interesting discussion of women in science fiction, and the reaction from the male fans, writers, and editors.
December 16, 2011
The past few years there's been much discussion of the absence/decline in numbers of women published or winning awards in SF. So many arguments - "The stories are judged with no attention paid to gender". "Women just don't write SF." "Men just write better SF." It's a strange argument to listen to, since so much of SF _is_ women to me.
I started with McCaffrey, with Norton, with Diana Wynne Jones and L'Engle and Tanith Lee. Oh, there were men who wrote SF as well, and once you started scanning the shelves, there were probably more of them, but not that many more. Those stories were fun too.
That is a gift of timing. I started reading at a time when there were plenty of female writers (and kids could care less about awards) so was fortunate in what shaped my view of the genre.
I am glad not to have been born in the period this book primarily discusses. I am glad to have had my Harimad-sols and my Menollys and my Killashandra - women who did more than scream, or be raped, or be rescued, or be the prize. I'm glad to have seen so many female names on the spines of those books, and to have never had the impression that this was a genre where I did not belong. I'm not sure how I would have felt about letters suggesting that women tainted SF, weakened it, wrote only about babies and housekeeping, or were only there for the purposes of romance, and did not belong.
This is a book which makes me glad for the genre which was created for me, away from that (apparently continuing) rejection. Very interesting reading.
I did find ironic a chapter discussing the belief that women were not part of SF in the early years of the genre, that they only showed up on the scene as writers during a boom of the 60s and 70s. This book quotes different people reeling off lists of names of (mostly obscure) female authors who were writing SF before the 1960s. And then the book moved on to Alice Sheldon, a most remarkable woman and author of "The Women Men Do Not See" among others, and famed for the pseudonym of James Tiptree Jnr (a most manly writer, thoroughly seen).
All through the chapter discussing the fact that women did in fact contribute to the SF genre before the 1960s, I kept waiting for another Alice - one of my favourite authors, a GrandMaster of SF, who also published at first under a male pseudonym. Her first book was published in 1934. Her first fantasy book was published in 1951 and her first SF book in 1952. She had ten books published in that decade. Ironically, she was not mentioned a single time in either the chapter or this book. An author this book didn't see.
I started with McCaffrey, with Norton, with Diana Wynne Jones and L'Engle and Tanith Lee. Oh, there were men who wrote SF as well, and once you started scanning the shelves, there were probably more of them, but not that many more. Those stories were fun too.
That is a gift of timing. I started reading at a time when there were plenty of female writers (and kids could care less about awards) so was fortunate in what shaped my view of the genre.
I am glad not to have been born in the period this book primarily discusses. I am glad to have had my Harimad-sols and my Menollys and my Killashandra - women who did more than scream, or be raped, or be rescued, or be the prize. I'm glad to have seen so many female names on the spines of those books, and to have never had the impression that this was a genre where I did not belong. I'm not sure how I would have felt about letters suggesting that women tainted SF, weakened it, wrote only about babies and housekeeping, or were only there for the purposes of romance, and did not belong.
This is a book which makes me glad for the genre which was created for me, away from that (apparently continuing) rejection. Very interesting reading.
I did find ironic a chapter discussing the belief that women were not part of SF in the early years of the genre, that they only showed up on the scene as writers during a boom of the 60s and 70s. This book quotes different people reeling off lists of names of (mostly obscure) female authors who were writing SF before the 1960s. And then the book moved on to Alice Sheldon, a most remarkable woman and author of "The Women Men Do Not See" among others, and famed for the pseudonym of James Tiptree Jnr (a most manly writer, thoroughly seen).
All through the chapter discussing the fact that women did in fact contribute to the SF genre before the 1960s, I kept waiting for another Alice - one of my favourite authors, a GrandMaster of SF, who also published at first under a male pseudonym. Her first book was published in 1934. Her first fantasy book was published in 1951 and her first SF book in 1952. She had ten books published in that decade. Ironically, she was not mentioned a single time in either the chapter or this book. An author this book didn't see.
October 10, 2021
J'aurais définitivement apprécié lire cet essai avant de finir mon mémoire, quelques idées ça et là aurait pu m'aiguiller un petit peu, mais l'essentiel de l'essai ne se concentre pas sur l'analyse textuel et beaucoup des textes couverts dans la large première partie qui porte uniquement sur les textes étaient aussi couverts dans To Write Like a Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction de Joanna Russ qui est évidemment citée amplement.
L'inventivité de cet essai au niveau de la bataille des sexes est de se concentrer sur la formation d'un bastion science-fictionnel par les hommes, avec des figures connues comme Isaac Asimov qui tente de délégitimer la présence des femmes dans le genre (et dans le récit et dans l'écriture!), de l'émergence des figures féminines dans la science-fiction et un dernier gros chapitre sur les figures de James Tiptree, Jr/Alice Bradley Sheldon/Raccoona Sheldon et la création d'un prix de science-fiction qui s'inspire de sa vie et son oeuvre. Cette grosse deuxième partie, plus concentré sur les écrivain·es de science-fiction que leurs textes (bien qu'ils sont évidemment aussi adressé) permet d'adresser des questions très intéressantes autour de la chasse gardée science-fictionnel, des boys club et de l'émergence de la science-fiction féministe et des femmes dans le domaine.
L'inventivité de cet essai au niveau de la bataille des sexes est de se concentrer sur la formation d'un bastion science-fictionnel par les hommes, avec des figures connues comme Isaac Asimov qui tente de délégitimer la présence des femmes dans le genre (et dans le récit et dans l'écriture!), de l'émergence des figures féminines dans la science-fiction et un dernier gros chapitre sur les figures de James Tiptree, Jr/Alice Bradley Sheldon/Raccoona Sheldon et la création d'un prix de science-fiction qui s'inspire de sa vie et son oeuvre. Cette grosse deuxième partie, plus concentré sur les écrivain·es de science-fiction que leurs textes (bien qu'ils sont évidemment aussi adressé) permet d'adresser des questions très intéressantes autour de la chasse gardée science-fictionnel, des boys club et de l'émergence de la science-fiction féministe et des femmes dans le domaine.
January 18, 2013
I left the computer an hour ago with the single purpose of going to sleep for I have an essay to finish for uni and a presentation to prepare. As you might have guessed, my essay is related to science fiction. At first I thought of writing something about the characters from the television shows that have kept me company since I was a kid... but then I found this book. I don't even know where to start anymore. This book has changed my life as a science fiction lover. I knew nothing before I read this. I mean, I had read a few novels and whatnot, but I didn't know about ALL of this. There is so much to talk about, to discuss, to explain... how can someone not explode after reading this? I am fascinated. This world? It's incredible. It's huge. It's brilliant.
I have a feeling that this is just the beginning, just the tip of the iceberg, and you know what? I can't wait to dive further into it.
I have a feeling that this is just the beginning, just the tip of the iceberg, and you know what? I can't wait to dive further into it.
August 25, 2018
When I say what a fan I am of Larbalestier's fiction, and how pleased I am that she took her writing in a different direction, please understand that I mean no slight to the quality of her nonfiction. This is quite possibly the most engaging and pleasing works of scholarship I have ever read. Honestly there isn't anything else that comes to mind as competition, but sometimes I forget books.
Solid research, justified conclusions, a feminist perspective, and a deep dive into a narrow topic, which also manages to cover a lot of ground with a history of sci fi, a history of fandom, a history of second wave feminism within sci fi, and an unexpected insight into the way women are overlooked despite being vocal and in the room (literally and metaphorically).
All that and introduction to the Tiptree recommendation list, a treasure trove of new to me writers. And is it just me or do women's collectives come up with the best jokes?
Library copy
Solid research, justified conclusions, a feminist perspective, and a deep dive into a narrow topic, which also manages to cover a lot of ground with a history of sci fi, a history of fandom, a history of second wave feminism within sci fi, and an unexpected insight into the way women are overlooked despite being vocal and in the room (literally and metaphorically).
All that and introduction to the Tiptree recommendation list, a treasure trove of new to me writers. And is it just me or do women's collectives come up with the best jokes?
Library copy
May 19, 2012
I LOVED this book. It's been a while since I read it.
The chapter on Tiptree was enlightening. An author who wrote works that compared to Hemmingway in masculinity(according to a review by Silverburg). But, was a female author hiding as a male author. Impossible, these days with the interconnected nature of things, but quite possible in her day.
My favorite was the letter to the editor written by a young Isaac Asimov. The letter read like an intelligent version of "girls are icky" about females on SF(I don't remember whether as reader, author, or character).
It also gave me a good idea of the development of SF fandom(I've read very little on the subject). In a general way-not just from the point of view of feminism. For example, it started as a mailing list. The letters got collected into (what would now be called) fanzines. These fanzines eventually became the SF magazines that for a long time were the backbone of SF.
The chapter on Tiptree was enlightening. An author who wrote works that compared to Hemmingway in masculinity(according to a review by Silverburg). But, was a female author hiding as a male author. Impossible, these days with the interconnected nature of things, but quite possible in her day.
My favorite was the letter to the editor written by a young Isaac Asimov. The letter read like an intelligent version of "girls are icky" about females on SF(I don't remember whether as reader, author, or character).
It also gave me a good idea of the development of SF fandom(I've read very little on the subject). In a general way-not just from the point of view of feminism. For example, it started as a mailing list. The letters got collected into (what would now be called) fanzines. These fanzines eventually became the SF magazines that for a long time were the backbone of SF.
December 12, 2024
This is an entertaining and informative book about the history of writing about sex in science fiction. Even for those that already know a good amount of this history, the chapters that discuss the "battle of the sexes" texts are quite illuminating in drudging up older stories that - while mostly forgotten and often quite terrible - still form an important part of the history of discourses around sex in science fiction, and were stories that would have informed the narratives later, somewhat ironically more famous stories by female authors, responded to.
Most entertaining to me was the chapter about fan debates regarding the role of sex/women/romance in sf, particularly the absolutely insane letters teenage Isaac Asimov wrote. He was literally a 1930s incel absolutely fuming about women in sf - and the fact that women exist at all - and then has the audacity to later write in the 1980s that he has "always said: liberate women - and men will be liberated as well." ALWAYS??? Anyways, somebody really needed to tell teenage Asimov to chill out and as we say now touch grass. It is also very funny that he and other letter writers in this debate frequently use the word "slop" to refer to any plot involving women/romance; it's a word choice that is certainly still in vogue.
Most entertaining to me was the chapter about fan debates regarding the role of sex/women/romance in sf, particularly the absolutely insane letters teenage Isaac Asimov wrote. He was literally a 1930s incel absolutely fuming about women in sf - and the fact that women exist at all - and then has the audacity to later write in the 1980s that he has "always said: liberate women - and men will be liberated as well." ALWAYS??? Anyways, somebody really needed to tell teenage Asimov to chill out and as we say now touch grass. It is also very funny that he and other letter writers in this debate frequently use the word "slop" to refer to any plot involving women/romance; it's a word choice that is certainly still in vogue.
November 18, 2019
Whilst there was a lot of interesting content in this book, the structure and style made it a real struggle to get through. This is partially due to mis-representation - had I realised that this was a published thesis, in (what I imagine to be) its original format, my expectations would have been very different. Instead, the continuous referencing of every source destroyed the flow, chapters opened and concluded in that very particular, box-ticking university style (which I am not criticising - it is merely the formulaic approach that academia demands from students) and I wondered why it had not been adapted/edited for a wider audience.
February 15, 2017
I should have heeded the warnings that this book reads like a grad thesis. It does. And while that's not always a bad thing, it is a bad thing here, because this is kinda bad academic writing, bland and repetitive. I sure wish Larbalestier's editor had made her rework it a bit to make it more readable for a general audience. I can't help comparing it to, say, Trillion Year Spree, which is academically rigorous, hell yeah, but also actually fun to read. By the end of TBOTSISF I was skimming, eager to take the damn thing back to the library and be done with it.
And yet. And yet, I'm giving the book four stars. I dunno, I'm a sucker for the subject matter. And damn, is the research good. Isaac Asimov's fuckboy fan letters. Mary Hastings Bradley's account of the time she dressed her poor daughter (the future Uncle Tip) as a doll, complete with box from which she was forbidden to move. Wacky times.
Things didn't quite cohere as I would have liked (maybe it would have been better to turn the original thesis into a collection of related essays?) but I'm still glad I read it. If you're interested in women in science fiction it's worth picking up. And it's definitely turned me on to some feminist (and anti-feminist) SF novels that I'm gonna have to get a hold of.
And yet. And yet, I'm giving the book four stars. I dunno, I'm a sucker for the subject matter. And damn, is the research good. Isaac Asimov's fuckboy fan letters. Mary Hastings Bradley's account of the time she dressed her poor daughter (the future Uncle Tip) as a doll, complete with box from which she was forbidden to move. Wacky times.
Things didn't quite cohere as I would have liked (maybe it would have been better to turn the original thesis into a collection of related essays?) but I'm still glad I read it. If you're interested in women in science fiction it's worth picking up. And it's definitely turned me on to some feminist (and anti-feminist) SF novels that I'm gonna have to get a hold of.
November 20, 2012
This book looks at Science Fiction as a genre from its inception to modern day, and examines how women contributed to and were portrayed within said genre and how they are perceived to have contributed and been portrayed. By "perceived to have contributed" I mean issues like "every body KNOWS that women didn't start writing sci fi until the 1970s!" when actually women have written science fiction stories since before "science fiction" became the actual designated name.
This is a scholarly work, heavily cited, and a little repetitive. I've read some of Larbalestier's fiction and enjoyed it, finding it lyrical and engaging. This book is much drier and I had a hard time fully engaging with it until toward the end of the book, which surprised me because it covers subjects I'm interested in. Part of the problem might be my lack of familiarity with the source material she discusses early on. I did note that my attention perked up when she mentioned A. E. Van Vogt's "Slan," a book I'm familiar with (one of the very first hard sci fi books I encountered), and her later chapters on Tiptree the person and the award were captivating.
It's interesting how much of this book has been relevant to my life and the media I consume daily. It's also important to remember our past, our history. I recommend this book to anyone interested in science fiction, writing, or women's history.
This is a scholarly work, heavily cited, and a little repetitive. I've read some of Larbalestier's fiction and enjoyed it, finding it lyrical and engaging. This book is much drier and I had a hard time fully engaging with it until toward the end of the book, which surprised me because it covers subjects I'm interested in. Part of the problem might be my lack of familiarity with the source material she discusses early on. I did note that my attention perked up when she mentioned A. E. Van Vogt's "Slan," a book I'm familiar with (one of the very first hard sci fi books I encountered), and her later chapters on Tiptree the person and the award were captivating.
It's interesting how much of this book has been relevant to my life and the media I consume daily. It's also important to remember our past, our history. I recommend this book to anyone interested in science fiction, writing, or women's history.
May 4, 2010
This is a book I wish I'd written. It's also a book I've been looking for for a long time -- and I suspect had been putting off reading in case it wasn't what I hoped. It's not perfect (among other things it hasn't been fully translated from "my dissertation" to "book for people who aren't on my committee"), but where it rocks, it rocks hard.
What did I get? Among other things, letters columns from SF magazines and fanzines from the early years through the 70s -- which means you get the young & unformed Asimov spouting off about the harm girl-cooties will do to the genre, and Joanna Russ's hilariously vicious attacks against the old guard, and the reactions to the outing (if that's the right word) of James Tiptree, and all sorts of good stuff. Now what I really want to do is find the archives Larbalestier used and roll around in them myself for a few months. Maybe later.
What did I get? Among other things, letters columns from SF magazines and fanzines from the early years through the 70s -- which means you get the young & unformed Asimov spouting off about the harm girl-cooties will do to the genre, and Joanna Russ's hilariously vicious attacks against the old guard, and the reactions to the outing (if that's the right word) of James Tiptree, and all sorts of good stuff. Now what I really want to do is find the archives Larbalestier used and roll around in them myself for a few months. Maybe later.
Read
September 24, 2011I read the introduction, then skimmed bits of the rest. I wanted it as context for Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century, but I disagree (very mildly) with its very premise, that is, the construction--indeed, explicit reification--of a battle-of-the-sexes subgenre. So, um. And unlike Larbalestier, I began by reading older SF when I was quite young; she observes that she began by reading then-contemporary work, much of it by women. It's interesting to eavesdrop upon someone else's admittedly reasonably researched history of a strand of SF, but I have my own framework (overlapping much of that period) already....
January 2, 2017
I can't remember who read this, but thank you for the excellent endorsement all those years ago when I first joined Goodreads. This is definitely one of my favorite books of literary analysis. I grew up surrounded by SF but without any good female role models because those weren't the books my father liked to read. I've learned a little more about women's contribution to the genre since then, but certainly nothing compared to what the author covers in this wonderful book. Reading this analysis also gave me a better appreciation of the Tiptree award and a long list of women SF authors to read. Definitely worth reading if you're a feminist that enjoys critiquing culture.
Read
November 22, 2012I bought this from the huckster's room at WisCon the year the book was released. As a newcomer to the nexus of science fiction and feminism I found the book fascinating and insightful. Justine covers much of the history of women in fandom (including reprints of embarrasing letters by some SF luminaries) and includes the birth of a literary award in SF that's intended to celebrate gender diversity in genre lit.
May 31, 2008
Great if you're in the mood for a dry, academic analysis of long-forgotten debates from the letters columns of old pulp sci-fi magazines. Which I always am! Excerpts from hoary old "planet of the women" stories are always a hoot, and the writer is even more into James Tiptree, Jr. than I am, which is saying a lot.
December 22, 2011
A definite read for anyone who has a critical or passing interest in the history of the genre and women's roles in it. It's essential for those who wish to run their mouths about how women have/haven't been accepted in the genre, and how women are/aren't accepted today.[return][return]For the full review, just click here: http://calico-reaction.livejournal.co...
March 11, 2012
A great crash course of the "battle of the sexes" history in science fiction. The amount of research and material in the book is amazing. This is a great retrospective on the changes in science fiction culture and literature since the 1920s.
August 28, 2007
Great book about the history of SF, specifically women in SF. In my opinion a great read for any female who loves SF.
Want to read
May 7, 2009The birth of sci-fi, really.
Want to read
January 10, 2008available from Hillman
February 28, 2009
...time to revisit this one... and maybe some fantasy theory texts.
Yes, I know I'm weird.
Yes, I know I'm weird.
November 7, 2011
Has some really great, interesting parts. The narrative began to get a little tiresome in places.
August 26, 2014
Very informative. This book introduced me to a lot about flash fiction, and it also informed me of the James Tiptree Award.
February 23, 2015
This book was so-so. Mostly so much to skip reading. Not the best source for my project...but it had some decent stuff.
March 28, 2017
If you are interested in science-fiction history and criticism, then this is a must-read book. Larbalestier has a deep, incisive, and agile mind and she writes with humor and assurance.
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