Interesting Links for 09-09-2013

[andrewducker]

• Why women still have to use pen names in science fiction (and comics)
  (tags: scifi comics women )
• E-cigarettes more effective than nicotine patches
  (tags: cigarettes nicotine health )
• Top tip: If you wave at the bears then they will wave back.
  (tags: bears )
• Understanding Sex Work in an Open Society
  (tags: viasupergee sexwork society )
• Dubstep:

Comments

[bart_calendar]

Of course. Attwood has managed to write incredibly well received science fiction while still being overtly female.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/books/review/maddaddam-by-margaret-atwood.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[xenophanean]

She famously denies being a science fiction writer, which has the perverse effect of making the science fiction community furiously declare that she *is* one.

To be fair, one of the lead proponents of this, is her big fan, Ursula Le Guin (also an excellent sci-fi writer).

[bart_calendar]

She certainly is a sci-fi writer despite her protesting that fact.

[xenophanean]

Indeed so, however the dogged insistence, from a community where other female writers have such trouble being recognized is an amusing irony. Which is possibly why she still does it.

[chess]

Mostly because she got famous writing The Handmaid's Tale which was a gender issues book, and women are allowed to write SF if it's romance or gender issues, though?

[philmophlegm]

I think that's a good point. Also, since lots of the more prominent female SF authors do write SF with a "gender issues" bent, your more sexist 'traditional' male SF reader may assume that when he sees a new SF paperback from a female writer in his local bookstore, that it's going to be an avant-garde exploration of far-future gender issues and a searing indictment of the contemporary patriarchy, or whatever. If all he wants is some military space opera where cool guys shoot aliens and get the girl, he'll move along the shelf.

[andrewducker]

Which would be a shame, considering Lois McMaster Bujold!

[philmophlegm]

Quite.

(Userpic selected in honour of Tanith Lee, who while generally regarded more as a fantasy author, has written SF, including two episodes of Blake's 7.)

[strawberryfrog]

Probably. Though Oryx and Crake and the two sequels aren't (mainly) about gender issues. They are definitely Science fiction to me, albeit not SF written by someone very familiar with its cannon of end-of-the-world stories.

[woodpijn]

I haven't read those, but that's about what I thought of Handmaid's Tale: SF written by someone who hasn't read any SF.

[strawberryfrog]

it's quite well articulated here. Though IMHO Atwood's books are still very much worth a read.