I got it for my birthday last year, I believe it was. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet (I wanted to finish this one first), and I don't plan on reading it until I get her Language of the Night under my belt. :)
Despite the fact you're replying out of context, I will say that science fiction is a different playing ground than fantasy of the modern, pop variety, like the women you mention above. And despite the fact there are women writers in the science fiction genre (hello, Le Guin), it's an uphill struggle for a genre stereotypically associated with gagets and technology and science and flash and such. Some women can and enjoy writing that sort of thing, but I know a lot of women who prefer to use SF as a setting rather than a focus, and have a difficult time because of it
( ... )
No need to apologize. I never gave much thought to women in SF because of the number of women I see writing in fantasy and horror, until I spent an afternoon in my local Barnes & Noble LOOKING for SF books written by women as a kind of personal research project. I was dismayed at how few there were. Granted, many of the writers I'm familiar with (Molly Gloss, Maureen McHugh, Nancy Kress, Catherine Asaro) are not SF writers that I easily find in the stores anyway, but it's shame.
There's SF by women OUT THERE, but it's so sad I have to hunt for it, especially the kind judged as quiet, soft SF versus the mainstream SF.
But no, one shouldn't judge the quality of a story by the sex of the author. And anthology editors each have their own tastes, and the stories chosen will always greatly depend on the editor's taste. Still, it's very, very interesting to look at the results. :) Are the women just not writing SF, or is the SF they're writing not to mainstream tastes?
Is that the technical term? She didn't use it, and nor have I heard it before. Granted, I never had a chance to take feminist theory in college either...
It's not one of LeGuin's, nor is it from a college theory class. It's a derivation of straw man, or scarecrow argument, that ginmar and I both independently came up with, to designate attacks on imaginary feminists using misrepresentations of that sort.
What is the point of saying that LeGuin's not a "man-hating feminist"? To reassure your audience? When you use that negation to support the idea that she's neither extremist nor paranoid, you paint the imaginary comparison point, "man-hating feminists", as extremist and paranoid, and that keeps on validating the misogynist use of "man-hating feminist" as a slur. Is that your intention?
There are various shades of feminism, which we are both aware of. However, a lot of people don't, and associate the word feminist with "man-hating". What I consider paranoia or extremist actually has little to do with her feminist views, which is one of the reasons I made the statement. The other reason is so that those people who only consider feminists "man-haters" couldn't dismiss this book because they think it doesn't apply to them.
Does that explain it? Like it or not, there are "man-hating" feminists out there. Sadly, I went to school with many. I can put names with faces. So please don't presume to preach to me about misrepresenting feminists. I clearly labeled one kind, and I'm fully aware there are many kinds out there.
Ah, nice review. I definitely have to check this out, since I'm such a fan of Le Guin. (And, as a writer and a woman AND a minority, I suppose I have no excuse not to, hmm? ;P)
LeGuin is one of my favourite authors - I think I have almost everything she's written (I may be missing some poetry, but that's about it).
I see above that you plan to read more of her collections of essays, so I will limit myself to one fiction recommendation - Always Coming Home, particularly with reference to her thoughts on sex and structure.
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Have you read The Wave in the Mind? Another amazing collection from her.
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But I'll get around to it eventually. :)
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There's SF by women OUT THERE, but it's so sad I have to hunt for it, especially the kind judged as quiet, soft SF versus the mainstream SF.
But no, one shouldn't judge the quality of a story by the sex of the author. And anthology editors each have their own tastes, and the stories chosen will always greatly depend on the editor's taste. Still, it's very, very interesting to look at the results. :) Are the women just not writing SF, or is the SF they're writing not to mainstream tastes?
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That's a strawfeminist argument.
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What is the point of saying that LeGuin's not a "man-hating feminist"? To reassure your audience? When you use that negation to support the idea that she's neither extremist nor paranoid, you paint the imaginary comparison point, "man-hating feminists", as extremist and paranoid, and that keeps on validating the misogynist use of "man-hating feminist" as a slur. Is that your intention?
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Does that explain it? Like it or not, there are "man-hating" feminists out there. Sadly, I went to school with many. I can put names with faces. So please don't presume to preach to me about misrepresenting feminists. I clearly labeled one kind, and I'm fully aware there are many kinds out there.
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I see above that you plan to read more of her collections of essays, so I will limit myself to one fiction recommendation - Always Coming Home, particularly with reference to her thoughts on sex and structure.
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