2008-01-21: Feminist SF Wki
by Emily
I just came across a site that is dedicated to feminism in speculative fiction. Someone was kind enough to list Meg and my games in their records, and I added a bit more information about them. The site seems to be in development, but it has some good features: a timeline of women in SF, solicitation for nominations for a Women in SF award, articles on women in SF and indices of female characters and women of color in the fiction.
Here is the site:
Seems like Steal Away Jordan should be listed as well, especially with Julia running a scenario based on the late Octavia Butler's novel Kindred at Dreamation, about a woman transported into the ante-bellum South, who suddenly has to deal with the reality of slavery as it affects here, a black woman misplaced in time. Should be an excellent game, Julia.
Also, Shock: social science fiction is a game that actually supports exploration of the kinds of themes that feminist sci fi writers have engaged in. Stories like LeGuin's worlds of the Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness, much less the Lathe of Heaven could well be found from play using the grid of shocks and issues that Joshua uses in the game.
2008-01-21 17:20:07 ScottM
Somewhat relatedly, I recently stumbled on Scifichick's blog, which has lots of good sci-fi reviews.
2008-01-22 07:44:27 Joshua
Sweet!
It starts off pretty strong even!
2008-05-24 00:47:25 sven
"The site seems to be in development, but it has some good features: a timeline of women in SF, solicitation for nominations for a Women in SF award, articles on women in SF and indices of female characters and women of color in the fiction."
The wiki is perhaps somewhat new, but the main site of http://feministsf.net/ has been around since I first found out about this internet thing back in 97 or so and has looked basically the same since then (although the content is ever growing).
For some reason I was hugely into this site during high school and for several years followed the e-mail list connected to the site and community. It was often excellent, but I haven't read it in years now, so I don't know if it's even there now. I don't know for sure why I spent so much time there. I have never had a huge interest in feminism. Probably the cool thing was that most people there were talking seriously about sf. In addition: a couple of the best sf-authors ever to be around are rather staunch feminists: Le Guin and Joanna Russ are the ones I have read most from (although a lot of feminists - including Le Guin herself - have been highly critical of Le Guins earlier work). (Le Guin is somehow the backbone of my life; few things give me more comfort than the knowledge that I still have a few unread books written by her.)
It is almost strange that the indie-community haven't created more games that deal directly with gender issues and feminism. It might be a hard sell, though.
2008-05-27 14:56:09 Emily
Hi Sven!
It is almost strange that the indie-community haven't created more games that deal directly with gender issues and feminism. It might be a hard sell, though.
Yes, indeed. Shock is well suited to it, though not necessarily tailored. And the larp Mellan himmel och hav (Between Heaven and Sea) was modeled on stories by Ursula K. LeGuin. We are missing our Marge Piercy-esque games. Or Ayn Rand, for that matter. :)
2008-05-27 20:34:10 Sven
It's funny you answer me with a larp made in my own language and country. (To be honest, I think you and me have discussed that larp together at some other forum in the past).
Although my political inclination leads me to the waters of Ayn Rand rather than anything else I would do something with Joanna Russ before anyone else. 'Cause she is the angriest.