{"id":5101,"date":"2018-05-16T12:28:50","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T12:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/?p=5101"},"modified":"2018-05-16T12:28:50","modified_gmt":"2018-05-16T12:28:50","slug":"women-speculative-fiction-men-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/women-speculative-fiction-men-write\/","title":{"rendered":"Women in Speculative Fiction \u2013 And the Men Who Write Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are writers still perpetuating stereotypes? How do we portray women in speculative fiction? We\u2019d like to believe that modern weird fiction has mostly moved on (we\u2019d like<\/strong> to think that), but are we right? Have the fantasy and SF genres done the same? When US author Balogun Ojetade<\/strong><\/span> recently made a strong statement of his views on the portrayal of women in SFF, focusing especially on black characters, we paid attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

The questions he asks can also easily be applied to how we present female characters of any colour in SFF – and horror.<\/span><\/p>\n

“A closet misogynist has a vast array of words, comments, phrases and attitudes they can employ to subtly put a woman down, or disconcert her, but without it being immediately apparent that is what they are actually doing.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0We asked Balogun if we could host his article here, and he kindly agreed. It\u2019s worth some thought… <\/span><\/p>\n

\"women<\/a><\/p>\n

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Bombshells and Bae: Sexism in Afrofuturism<\/span><\/h1>\n

by Balogun Ojetade<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I love reading and writing Afrofuturistic and Afroretroistic stories \u2013 particularly science <\/span>fiction,<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span> fantasy and horror featuring larger than life heroes and sheroes and eye-popping action. I really do. But I am growing increasingly disgusted by the sexism within a lot of it. I can no longer read books in which people of color and women are constantly oppressed and seen as lesser beings in a world based on fantasy and science fiction \u2013 even if WE are the authors of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lately \u2013 as the father of seven daughters who are all avid readers of Afrofuturism and Afroretroism \u2013 I have become particularly disgusted with the continuing sexism in the writing and in the visual art.<\/span><\/p>\n

Writers, you can create a world with any rules you choose. In your world, you don\u2019t have to continue to perpetuate the sexist tropes so prevalent in Fantasy and Science Fiction since its inception.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you that lacking in creativity that you cannot write something better? Are you that apathetic to the plight of our Sisters? Or have you convinced yourself you have to maintain some sexist status quo to sell?<\/span><\/p>\n

Bruh. Do better.<\/span><\/p>\n

Certain tropes have been formed and propagated. Given the overwhelming number of novels set in a sort of idealized, white, medieval Europe; given the grossly oversimplified and homogenized concept of medieval gender roles, stereotypes and sexist archetypes have arisen in Fantasy and Science Fiction and Black male writers are giving us the same old trite bullshit. Some examples of these played out, tired tropes are:<\/span><\/p>\n