That's the one. I believe I have that saved to a file somewhere, but I'm too lazy to dig it up. I know I wanted to keep it on hand for future reference, though.
The feminism question is a pervasive one for me. So much fantasy -- and I'm guilty of this in places, though I try to come up with a logic that justifies it, which may or may not ever make it onto the page -- so much fantasy just decides its setting has gender equality, and moves on from there. Which ignores the forces that produced gender inequality in the societies fantasy takes as its models. I once wrote a brief article (not for Strange Horizons) about how the quickest fix might be to say that magical healing allows for easier childbirth and lower infant mortality; with that, you can potentially lessen the pressure for women to spend most of their time pregnant and/or caring for children. I really do think that's one of the most limiting factors, especially in medieval-esque societies.
That's one of the things operating in Doppelganger, for example. People probably assume the goddess-based religion is another, but it isn't really; instead -- and I never found a good way to put this into the story -- they believe in the transmigration of the soul, including the possibility that you might be born a different sex next time. (I know at least some historical groups that believed in this had more gender equality, since gender was not viewed as an immutable characteristic inscribed on your soul.) The weird situation with the witches is a factor, too; they're powerful, and they only have daughters.
I'd be interested to see you identify, even in brief, what you think the "more and less sophisticated modes of feminism at work in spec fic" are.
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yati
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Date: 2007-02-06 04:36 pm (UTC)The feminism question is a pervasive one for me. So much fantasy -- and I'm guilty of this in places, though I try to come up with a logic that justifies it, which may or may not ever make it onto the page -- so much fantasy just decides its setting has gender equality, and moves on from there. Which ignores the forces that produced gender inequality in the societies fantasy takes as its models. I once wrote a brief article (not for Strange Horizons) about how the quickest fix might be to say that magical healing allows for easier childbirth and lower infant mortality; with that, you can potentially lessen the pressure for women to spend most of their time pregnant and/or caring for children. I really do think that's one of the most limiting factors, especially in medieval-esque societies.
That's one of the things operating in Doppelganger, for example. People probably assume the goddess-based religion is another, but it isn't really; instead -- and I never found a good way to put this into the story -- they believe in the transmigration of the soul, including the possibility that you might be born a different sex next time. (I know at least some historical groups that believed in this had more gender equality, since gender was not viewed as an immutable characteristic inscribed on your soul.) The weird situation with the witches is a factor, too; they're powerful, and they only have daughters.
I'd be interested to see you identify, even in brief, what you think the "more and less sophisticated modes of feminism at work in spec fic" are.