Nicole Kimberling lays it on the line! (And quotes the StoryBundle authors)

Rosemary

In a nifty article in The Mary Sue, Nicole Kimberling reminds us why we still need feminist science fiction — and the different forms it can take.

 

“Happy Snak is about a woman who owns a dinky snack bar in space. She fraternizes with aliens and refuses to comply with arbitrary regulations but is otherwise largely apolitical. Why, I wondered, would anybody consider this feminist? Then, thinking further, I realized that for many women, just being themselves and making (and spending) their own money is still considered a threatening and subversive act. (I’ve got my eye you, Quiverfull.)”

Nicole goes on to explore the whole question of  how a non-political story can be “feminist,” with lots of quotes from the other authors in the bundle.

The books in the Feminist Futures bundle really do show a wide range of styles, points of view, content — but what I see common among them is that they show women being themselves, and not a sidekick in someone else’s adventure.  Western society at large formally accepts the idea of women’s autonomy, but when it comes down to some of the folks you meet in life — well, let’s just say that there are significant holdouts.

We need lots more good examples, lots more engaging tales to be read and loved for their own sake.  And when they also promote the idea that a woman as protagonist is perfectly acceptable, even normal — well, that’s helping us create the future, right?

The Feminist Futures StoryBundle is still available for one more week — and then it will be gone!

It includes:

Starfarers Quartet Omnibus – Books 1-4 by Vonda N. McIntyre
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein
Happy Snak by Nicole Kimberling
Spots the Space Marine by M.C.A. Hogarth
The Terrorists of Irustan by Louise Marley
Alanya to Alanya by L. Timmel Duchamp
Code of Conduct by Kristine Smith
Queen & Commander by Janine A. Southard
The Birthday Problem by Caren Gussoff
To Shape the Dark by Athena Andreadis

 

I am a bonus.


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