League 1

Introduction
[more stuff here]
There appears to be a gap in research about the ways that feminist speculative fiction
serves as an exploration and reflection of gendered rhetoric in society, highlighting the womans
experience and the negative effects of gender roles and the gender binary. This paper will
analyze several speculative fiction novels through a feminist lens to investigate and understand
the critical commentary of the reality of our world and its unequal nature in regards to gender.
However, it is important to note that a diversity of standpoints influenced by other forms of
affiliation in relation to class, nationality, race, sexual preference, and so on exist and that these
must be considered as well in an analysis that purports to view ideas through a feminist lens
(Felski 10). Before these texts can be analyzed, an explanation of my understanding and
definition of realism, speculative fiction, and feminism is necessary.
Realism
The relationship between fiction and truth is a debatable topic and different scholars from
various fields have different understandings of it. It is not difficult to find philosophical scholars
arguing that fiction cannot possibly contain truth as fiction, by definition, centers around makebelieve stories. However, many literature and fiction scholars argue that these false stories
contain information about the truths of our world for various reasons and by various methods.
For the purposes of this paper, I will argue that fiction contains certain degrees of realism and
real-world reflection that prompts connections and understandings by and for the reader.
Literature is a medium which can profoundly influence individual and cultural selfunderstanding in the sphere of everyday life (Felski 7), already giving it a connection to the
readers reality. Reading prompts changes in the understanding and perception of the
surrounding world, which might be why so many readers preach the importance of reading and

League 2
the growth that reading can cause. MacKay says that it would be hard to overstate the
importance of this feeling that the novel matters because of its closeness to the real world and
its deep connection to the realities of everyday life (3). She especially focuses on the realist
novel, which is historically and politically vital because it explains who we are, who we are,
and how we got there (13). While this paper does not look at novels advertised as realist, the
aspects that MacKay describes of the realist novel can also be applied to fiction. Unrealistic texts
can also tell us about ourselves, our world, and our history; for that reason, unrealistic texts do
contain aspects of realism. Realism, then, has been the key term in most accounts of why the
novel matters (MacKay 14).
Makinen draws a connection between fiction and the readers understanding about
reality, paraphrasing Jean Pfaelzers explanation: fiction creates a profound restructuring of
readers assumptions about contemporary reality (146), which allows us to see that this fiction
has to contain information about reality if it is changing the way readers see reality. Realism,
even if it is only present in small portions, is why fiction is important and can change how
readers view the world. Shaw says that the best way to read fictional texts is to see the very real
conditions for which they are metaphors (179).
Cranny-Francis explains that reading about other worlds and seeing different ways that
societies functions illuminates the injustices and limitations of the present and increases the
readers distaste for the mechanisms of patriarchal ideology (43). Texts are able to provide a
political critique of the readers own society by showing a different society and different
conventions and ideological discourses, which allows the reader to step back from their reality
and evaluate it critically instead of accepting it as a natural state of being (Cranny-Francis 61).
If political activity in reality is spurred by reading fictional texts, then it is clear that these

League 3
fictional texts are, on some level, discussing reality and its shortcomings with the goal of
provoking a reaction in the reader that could change reality.
One genre of writing, magical realism, capitalizes on the strangeness of unrealistic
writing and the realism that writing contains. As one might expect, these novels combine magical
elements with realism, setting themselves firmly in our world but adding magical attributes.
MacKay discusses how authors of this genre believe that realistic texts might be pretend[ing]
that reality is something stable, single, and wholly knowable; that reality cannot be captured by
writing that claims to be realistic because that form of realism only describes limited versions of
reality (MacKay 150). Reality, in their argument, is actually more fractured and multifaceted,
much more like the strangeness found in magical realist texts that deny the traditional realistic
novel in a gesture toward pluralism and relativism, an embrace of multiplicity, uncertainty, and
possibility (MacKay 150). Even when the text seems to be going against reality, reading beyond
the surface will show that realism is actually the overriding force. The magical realism novel
reminds you that all fictional worlds are indeed fictional, [and] that realism is no less fabricated
than the fantastical (MacKay 149).
Felski notes that feminist writings exemplify a form of realism, even though it may not
employ the traditional methods of realist texts (82). Felski qualifies that even though literature
cannot be understood as a completely accurate representation of the real, it still holds value
through its existence as a medium of self-exploration and social criticism, thus functioning on
some level as a reflection of existing reality (79). She also purports that feminist literatureis
itself involved in the construction of [the female identity] as a cultural reality, a social tool that
interacts with the rest of society and the identification of the self as female (78). Feminist

League 4
writings reveal real, private experience[s] of the writer, which can connect the characters to the
female audience as a whole and publicize the female experience (Felski 139).
Makinen notes that speculative fiction has been a popular choice for women writers
because it allows them to inscribe the forbidden, suppressed, or silenced aspects of their lives
(142), an idea that will be expanded in later sections. If writers can insert real experiences into
novels or themes and generalities from their lives into novels, then it follows that these novels
contain some degree of realism.
Speculative Fiction
By nature, speculative fiction (SF) is a widely debated topic with no clear consensus for a
definition. Speculative fiction is an umbrella term that can include a variety of other subgenres
that are more commonly known, like fantasy, science fiction, and magical realism. According to
Canavan and Ward, the most commonly cited definition reads: SF is, then, a literary genre
whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and
cognition, and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the authors
empirical environment (248). They note that this strict definition leaves out many genres
currently recognized as part of SF. Perhaps the easiest, yet potentially vaguest, definition of SF is
that it is fiction that speculates and causes speculation.
Speculation about what? Some may argue that SF speculates upon the future and other
worlds and is , therefore being unrealistic, but many argue that SF actually speculates upon
reality because it by imaginesing the future and things that could potentially happen. Ursula
LeGuin, the author of The Left Hand of Darkness and one of the case studies in this paper,
explains that SF sets out to describe reality, the present world instead of trying to predict the
future (xiv). SF writers are not trying to tell the reader what the future might be or

Formatted: Font: Italic, Complex Script Font: Italic

League 5
predictforetell anything; instead, all they can tell the reader is what they know and what they
have seen by observing reality (LeGuin xv). The next logical question is to wonder why SF
writers try to describe the world by writing about things that seem to belong on other worlds and
in other times far removed from our present reality, even contrary to our reality (Card 17).
LeGuin answers that all fiction is metaphor. Science fiction is metaphor (xviii). What cannot
be said clearly and accurately in words, otherwise known as truth, is instead said through
elaborate, fantastical stories known as speculative fiction. So, to answer the original question at
the beginning of the paragraph, SF speculates on reality, the here and now, the truth of our
world. Shaw explains that SF writers write to express a truth, a concept, a conviction or a
question whichfind their most potent expression through the invention of imaginary worlds in
which the future has already happened (178), showing us that there are indeed deeper rhetorical
reasons behind the choice of SF as a medium of truth-telling.
This paper primarily deals with novels classified as science fiction, one of the genres
under the umbrella of SF. Orson Scott Card, a rather well-known author in the field of science
fiction (you may know him as the author of Enders Game) quotes a definition of science fiction
by Damon Knight: Science fiction is what I point at when I say science fiction (12). Card then
explains that this does not seem like a satisfactory definition but that it is the only completely
accurate definition (12). Makinen notes that science fiction raise[s] questions about society, in
relation to technology and thus clearly falls under the speculative nature of SF, requiring its
own subcategory because of the technological aspect of speculation (131). He Card also offers a
way to differentiate between science fiction and fantasy: science fiction is about what could be
but isnt; fantasy is about what couldnt be (22). Fantasy also appears in the case studies of this
paper, so his distinction will be useful in considering the implications of each genre.

League 6
Most importantly, SF serves a larger purpose beyond new worlds and fantastical ideas.
By telling stories very different from the reality we see around us, SF allows the reader to step
back from, and thus offer a critical perspective on, her present (Shaw 2). This critical
perspective can have a social or political purpose (Shaw 2), which becomes even stronger and
clearer when feminism is brought into the novel. Makinen describes science fiction as having
revolutionary potential because of its structural premise to question things-as-they-are (139),
an important facet of the genre that is true of the umbrella term SF as well. Readers must ask
themselves what they can learn from reading SF novels in relation to our world, its truths, and its
possibilities.
Feminism
A popular and hotly contested idea of the 21st centuryour time, feminism is defined by
Merriam-Webster as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.
Felski uses Alison Jaggars definition of feminism, which states that all those forms of theory
and practice that seek, no matter on what grounds and by what means, to end the subordination
of women are feminist (13). Feminist viewpoints can be found in almost all genres and
mediums that exist. Another buzzword associated with feminism is sexism, defined by MerriamWebster as prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially discrimination against women
(emphasis in original). Sexism, like feminism, is widespread through all genres and mediums
available and can be seen as almost an antithesis to feminism. Sexism is inherent in our language
itself and the meanings of the words that we speak and write. Sexist language prescribes certain
roles and attributes to the male and female genders, creating the ideas of masculinity and
femininity, the ideal man and the ideal woman, always in favor of men due to the patriarchal
basis of our society (Cranny-Francis 2).

Formatted: Space After: 0 pt

League 7
Although feminism is present in almost all genres and mediums, literature Looking at
literature through a feminist lens focuses on the representation of women and the conditions
surrounding the womans experience, intending to expose sexist patriarchal structures in our
society and the oppression that women face because of these structures
(https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/11/).
Feminist Fiction
Although feminist literature includes nonfiction and other forms of writing as well as
fiction, fiction is the primary focus of this paper. Feminist fiction is a reaction to the way society
is structured toward sexism and the oppression of women, critiquing and challenging the status
quo as well as calling for change by describing current conditions and emphasizing the hardships
and inequalities that women face (Felski 1; Makinen 140). Fiction gives feminist writers a way to
discuss and analyze the framework surrounding a womans life without having to write directly
about personal experiences and specific events that have happened. Knowledge of general
themes and experiences faced by all women can be applied to a fictional world with the intention
of highlighting certain aspects that the writer wants to discuss with the reader and with the larger
discourse surrounding the single text. Feminist fiction even earned its own defined category,
womens literature, in the late 1960s because of the recent cultural phenomenon of women's
explicit self-identification as an oppressed group, which is in turn articulated in literary texts in
the exploration of gender-specific concerns centered around the problem of female identity
(Felski 1). The feminist movement led to feminist fiction as a way to analyze these concerns.
Of course, fiction, even womens fiction, is a broad category and can be broken down
into other subcategories: literary fiction and genre fiction, which can again be broken down into
more subcategories. For a basic understanding of literary fiction versus genre fiction, Novel

League 8
Writing Helps description explains that [l]iterary fiction is more character-driven and less
concerned with a fast-paced plot than genre fiction (http://www.novel-writinghelp.com/literary-fiction.html#sthash.NKYCkV7l.dpuf), while a Huffington Post articles
description focuses on the purpose of each: [t]he main reason for a person to read Genre Fiction
is for entertainmentan escape from reality. Literary Fiction separates itself from Genre
because it is not about escaping from realityit provides a means to better understand the
world (emphasis in original) (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-petite/literary-fiction-vsgenre-fiction_b_4859609.html). The general understanding is that genre fiction offers no critical
commentary of the world and exists purely for fun, while literary fiction has a social and/or
political purpose that tends to focus on character development as opposed to the plot-driven
novels in genre fiction.
SFs subcategories are often classified as genre fiction, which is also called generic
fiction. One could argue that genre fiction, in addition to providing entertainment, also provides
a means to better understand the world; clearly, the boundaries between each genre fiction and
literary fiction arent as clear as many would like to pretend. Some texts seem to straddle the line
while others seem to fit comfortably in both or neither. Feminist fiction exists as both genre
fiction and literary fiction, but the texts in this paper fall into science fiction or fantasy, both of
which are generally classified as genre fiction.
Although they write across all mediums including literary fiction, why might some
feminist writers choose genre fiction as their medium, especially if genre fiction tends to be
disregarded for its apparent lack of deeper meaning? Why not use more respected forms of
writing that can convey more truths, meaning, critique, and analysis, especially for such a
socially important and nuanced issue such as feminism? The answer that Cranny-Francis

League 9
provides is simple: genre fiction possesses a wide and varied readership, which provides a larger
audience for feminism than literary fiction would (2). Writers trying to raise awareness about
feminism and influence others with a text would naturally gravitate toward formats that can
reach a wider audience.
Using genre fiction has other benefits as well. Readers might notice that sexism [is]
seamlessly and invisibly stitched into the textual fabric, both into its structure and into its story,
the weave and the print" (Cranny-Francis 2); stories tend to focus on men doing traditionally
male things, being heroes, saving girls and winning the girls, rarely showing weakness, and
always achieving success as it is defined in a patriarchal society. Language is phallocentric and
gender roles are strongly enforced. The story of the woman and her triumphs are not shown. The
realm of genre fiction is another battlefield for feminists; here, they can challenge the sexist
discourse inherent in the form and start changing the status quo. Cranny-Francis explains that
feminist genre fiction doesnt just replace male heroes with female heroes following the same
pursuits and patriarchal storylines; it revises the form and critically evaluates the ideological
significance of textual conventions and of fiction as a discursive practice (10). By challenging
the structure of the typical male-centered genre text, feminists can show the intrinsic sexism in
fiction and begin to work toward an equal representation of gendered viewpoints. Choosing
genre fiction and working within genre is a social strategy (Cranny-Francis 17).
Feminist Speculative Fiction
Feminist writers tackle all subgenres of genre fiction, including speculative fiction and its
subcategories. There are many reasons writers embrace speculative fiction and many ways that
speculative fiction furthers the feminist movement and goals. Reflected in feminist SF are the
discussions and considerations in the larger feminist community from the past five decades,

League 10
ranging from explorations of phallocentric language, to strong action-women agency; from
ideal feminine communities, to the phallocentric dystopias; from explorations of the alien 'other,'
to questions of identity with the cyborg (Makinen 129). Women choose to write speculative
fiction tales because SF offers freedom: freedom to discuss, freedom to criticize, and freedom to
reimagine. SF as a genre offers women a language [that] enables the expression of radical and
feminist ideas that otherwise cannot be conveyed (Makinen 145), a language that makes use of
fantastical metaphors and stories to tell truths. Shaw quotes Jen Green and Sarah Lefanu to
further explain this concept, discussing science fiction in particular: SF allows us to take the
present position of women and use the metaphors of science fiction to illuminate it. We may be
writing about the future, but we are writing in the present (Shaw 3).
Separating the fiction from the everyday world, while at first glance an odd way to talk
about the everyday world, is a way of showing and deconstructingthe patriarchal gender
discourse of sexism by removing readers from their current reality and placing them somewhere
else thats radically different, causing them to naturally compare their surroundings and
experiences to those of the novel (Cranny-Francis 61). One way that SF sheds light on the reality
of womens reality is to blend and weaken the traditional boundaries between masculinity and
femininity by confronting the contradictions in gender representation (Makinen 149). Blurring
these boundaries and seeing the binary as a spectrum allows for a diversity of exploration in
the roles of women and men in SF novels (Makinen 129). No longer is the female character a
damsel in distress or a trophy for the male hero to win, and no longer is the male character the
star and strong conqueror discovering himself as a man. SF challenges the traditional gender
hierarchy and role placement. Women can now be heroes, be remarkable, and even be
dominant (Cranny-Francis 43). Showing women in new roles, liberated from the sexism

League 11
endemic to their society in another reality provides readers with a comparison to their own lives
and draws attention to their oppressed state (Cranny-Francis 42). Without the overriding force of
the patriarchy, characters in SF novels show a potential for women in this world. Barr notes that
it is, after all, logical to think about women's disempowerment while reading feminist power
fantasies (5), showing how these revisions to genre conventions lead readers to reflect upon
current situations while reading SF.
Feminist SF provides writers a way to manipulate patriarchal society. Women can share
their voice and experiences through the freedom provided by writing about other worlds,
presenting blueprints for social structures that allow womens words to counter patriarchal
myths (Barr 7). Writers can distort our worlds patriarchal structure in a variety of ways, like
flipping society to matriarchal or enlarging sexism as it currently exists, providing a lens to view
and uncover the hidden agendas and imperatives of the patriarchy (Barr 3). When readers
see these exaggerated sexist constructions that would not be acceptable in our world, they are
able to examine and identify the basis of these exaggerations in reality (Barr 4). Feminist SF
challenges our sexist assumptions and norms in this way, drawing attention to them by enlarging
them for the public eye. The writing is in direct opposition to the dominant gender ideology of
Western society, patriarchal ideology (Cranny-Francis 1).
Through SF, readers can discover a fictional description of the kind of world that a
gender-free or differently gendered society might produce (Shaw 6), prompting reflection upon
our world, our gender hierarchies, and the implications of the sexism inherent in the patriarchy.
As an example, utopias, a commonly used SF concept that feminist writers have used to
deconstruct our reality of gender and oppression, provide writers a route to imagine different
gender politics. Feminist utopias produce new models of womens experience (Makinen 146),

League 12
showing readers what it would look like to live in a world where women are equal to men or, in
some cases, where women exist without men. With this equality women experience a newfound
power and have agency, which can allow writers to explore divergent forms of sexuality that
often appear in speculative fiction (science fiction in particular) via robots, aliens and cyborgs
(Makinen 144). Through these SF novels, the female reader gains a way to live as freely as
possible (Barr 4) and experience feminist escapism, leaving behind the reality of our
gendered society (Barr 22). Barr argues that these power fantasies are essential for women
readers, especially in the form of nonrealistic fiction as they are otherwise constantly forced to
exist in a reality that brands them as Other (24).
The idea of other is used quite frequently in SF, where aliens are a common feature of
science fiction and used to parallel the marginalization of groups of people in our world
(Makinen 142). This is especially evident in feminist SF, which can examine the ways that
sexism and racismfunction in unison (Cranny-Francis 61). Both sexism and racism serve to
other a group of people, to marginalize and oppress them. Issues of race are important in
feminist SF as true feminism encompasses the equal rights for women of all backgrounds and
colors who are often excluded in Western feminism that focuses on the rights of a group of
women that is primarily white. SFs use of aliens and others allows the opportunity to both
express and explore alienation (Shaw 6) in terms of both race and gender. Cranny-Francis notes
that using aliens can be a method of deconstruct[ing] contemporary gender ideology (67).
Feminist science fiction in particular challenges gender roles and assumptions by
including women in the realm of science users and knowledge creators. Writers can expose the
gender-based ideology which informs what counts as scientific knowledge and deconstruct
current male speculations on the future while simultaneously creating new and often

League 13
revolutionary alternatives to those speculations (Shaw 2). Simply put, feminist science fiction
gives women agency in a genre that males have traditionally dominated and continue to
dominate, especially in the science world at large. As Shaw notes, men have been the primary
influencers and predictors of the scientific future; feminist science fiction brings female
viewpoints and contributions to the field. Shaw explains that specific scientific theorieshave
motivated women to imagine new female identities and social orders which present a reevaluation of the place of science in womens lives (2), transferring to SF that puts women
firmly into the creation and imagination of the future and dismantling gender barriers to science.
Case Studies
To show how feminist speculative fiction contains aspects of realism that reflect on our
current world by discussing other worlds, I will look at six different texts as case studies. These
six novels prove that fiction mirrors reality in a variety of ways. Some writers examine current
societal structures and norms surrounding gender through speculating on the here and now by
imagining the future consequences and projecting future realities that could logically follow if
our world remains as is (Cranny-Francis 68). [as evidenced by atwood, butler] Others present
entirely different worlds seemingly unconnected to ours, in a separate universe, yet still provide a
commentary and critique on the patriarchal structures of our world and the inequalities that the
gender binary causes. We will first examine an author who has been proclaimed as the single
most important women writer of science fiction (Makinen 152), and whose approach provides
worlds parallel to ours that show the potential outcomes of our societal norms.
Joanna Russs The Female Man
The Female Man is driven by Joanna Russs desire to engage the reader in a
consideration of patriarchy and the damage it does on women more than a desire to tell a story

League 14
for the sake of telling a story (Makinen 155). Many passages and events are paired with Russs
textual aggression towards patriarchy as a way to further the storyline, and Russ uses
caricature and invective to delineate the normal mid-Western relationships between men and
women in the 1970s, which are still practiced in the current decade and easily recognizable
(Makinen 154).
The novel follows four women: Jeannine and Joanna, who live in our version of 1975;
Janet, who lives in a different world without men; and Jael, who lives in a different world where
the split between genders has become geographical and was instigated by warfare. Each
character embodies different aspects of womens existence and can draw the readers attention to
Russs critiques.
Jeannine essentially symbolizes the ideal woman in the eyes of the patriarchy. Shes
focused on finding a man and settling down with him to start a family and live her life as a
dutiful wife. Jeannine ends up depressed from a lack of fulfillment a lack of ability to fulfill the
typical female role of falling in love, getting married, having kids, and taking care of her home,
instead pining away for men. Through Jeannines character the reader can see the epitome of the
patriarchys expectations for women and how this affects women. When Jeannine visits her
family, the narrator tells her, You dont want to be a dried-up old spinster at forty but thats
what you will be if you go on like this. Youre twenty-nine. Youre getting old. You ought to
marry someone who can take care of you, JeannineIts all right to do that; youre a girl (Russ
114). Through this the reader can see that Jeannine is supposed to end up married and be taken
care of by a man, because she is a girl and needs to be taken care of. Further showing the gender
roles, the narrator describes Jeannines brother as a firm, steady man who makes a good living
for his wife and children, and his wife as a woman who wants nothing more in the world than

League 15
her husband and her little boy and girl (Russ 113). This couple demonstrates exactly what each
gender is supposed to do and what Jeannines future should look like. These two quotes are also
a scolding for Jeannine, who knows she is not fulfilling her role in society and becomes upset at
her failure. She spends much of her time laying around, bemoaning her fate, and altogether not
enjoying life in the slightest.
Jeannines behavior also reflects how a woman should act: Shepauses, catching sight
of herself in the wall mirror: flushed, eyes sparkling, her hair swept back as if by some
tumultuous storm, her whole face glowing. The lines of her figure are perfect, but who is to use
all this loveliness, who is to recognize it? (Russ 109). Jeannine tries to achieve the ideal
feminine beauty and look the way men want her to look. Her goal is to attract a man, thus
centering everything in her life around men and eventual marriage. Joanna, previously ensnared
in the same patriarchal trap as Jeannine, notes that [b]efore Janet arrived on this planet...I spent
my whole day combing my hair and putting on make-up...all I did was dress for The Man, smile
for The Man, talk wittily to The Man, sympathize with The Man, flatter The Man, understand
The Man, defer to The Man, entertain The Man, keep The Man, live for The Man (Russ 29).
Jeannine, for the majority of the novel, spends her time doing exactly those things.
When Jeannine is with her boyfriend, she feels unable to discuss things because hell
say shes nattering again; worse still, it would sound pretty silly; you cant expect a man to listen
to everything (as everybodys Mother said) (Russ 108), degrading her own voice and elevating
a mans attention above the topics and ideas that she wishes to share. An important facet of that
quote is that she attributes this knowledge to her mother, showing that women are taught from
childhood to think of men as superior. Another character, Laura, discusses the construction of
gender roles from childhood, venting her frustration about being denied her goals and dreams

League 16
because they werent feminine enough. She sarcastically explains: Everyone knows that much
as women want to be scientists and engineers, they want foremost to be womanly companions to
men (what?) and caretakers of childhood (Russ 60). This is, supposedly, an inherent truth, a role
that women are supposed to embrace. As her therapist says, Men make the decisions and
women make the dinners (Russ 67), delegating each person to their specific role that theyve
been taught since childhood . No deviation is allowed; yet still, Laura wants to be more than just
a woman.
Joanna tries to achieve the transcendence of woman, becoming what she calls the
female man. She aims to do exactly what Laura was always taught not to do: to inherit male
roles and achieve the successes that only men are allowed to achieve. She summarizes her
education of prominent figures in the world: You told me ghouls were male. / Rodan is male
and asinine. / King Kong is male. / I could have been a witch, but the Devil is male. / Faust is
male. / The man who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima was male. / I was never on the moon
(Russ 133), enforcing Lauras descriptions of her childhood and the discrimination she faces
from her parents, educators, therapist, and peers when it comes to her career and goals. Both
Laura and Joanna, representing millions of women in our world, have few female role models
and rarely see stories of feminine power and success.
Makinens analysis notes that Joannas choice of identifying as a female man allows
her to assum[e] the nominal title of man [and]inhabit all the positive binary constructions
within the culture (155). In her description, Joanna explains that she became a man by first
becoming completely female, learning what it means to be female. One of her sections shows the
mans idea of female: You really are sweet and responsive after all. Youve kept your
femininity. Youre not one of those hysterical feminist bitches who wants to be a man and have a

League 17
penis. Youre a woman (Russ 94), placing female as completely opposed to male. To merge the
two, Joanna then embraces traditionally non-female roles to become a female man and inhabit
the world of men as a woman.
Existing as a woman in the workplace meant that Joanna had been neuter, not a woman
at all but One Of The Boys, yet still objectified by her body. If you get good at being One Of
The Boys [the objectification] goes awayI suppose they decided that my tits were not of the
best kind, or not real, or that they were someone elses, so they split me from the neck up (Russ
133). It was impossible for her to exist as a woman in a professional space; either she did not fit
in, or had to dissociate parts of herself to be accepted. Makinen agrees with this assessment,
saying that women are trying to ignore their sex in order to be treated equally, butthey are
turned into a negative construction of femininity by male denigration (155). Once women fit in
the workplace, they have lost their femininity and are therefore not true women, which is a bad
thing. Once Joanna reworked herself to remain female yet occupy male roles, she had a different
view of men and the world: For years I have been saying Let me in, Love me, Approve me,
Define me, Regulate me, Validate me, Support me. Now I say Move over (Russ 140). Instead of
tailoring her needs and decisions around the opinions of men, she creates her own space to be
successful by her own definitions. Using the label the female man puts her in a unique place
that is neither traditionally male nor female and allows her to move among the ranks of men.
While Joanna is able to do this and be successful, the gender binary does not allow twoway movement. Jeannine describes her boyfriend as such a baby and finds it pathetic that
when he does it, you know [sex], sometimes he cries. I never heard of a man doing that
(Russ 83). When he crosses the gender line and has a characteristic of women, crying, Jeannine
is disgusted and concerned. If he doesnt behave like a man, then there must be something wrong

League 18
with him. She even notes that sometimes he likes to get dressed upIs that what they call
transvestism? (Russ 83). Behaving like a woman and wanting to look like a woman is
completely wrong for men in our society; a man trying to move across the gender binary is
unacceptable. This double-standard of gender fluidity is a side effect of the patriarchy because it
paints women as weak and pathetic, and when a supposedly strong man demonstrates those
qualities, he is ridiculed, especially by other men. A woman like Joanna moving into a more
man-like state is at least acceptable in the sense that she can still function in the workplace and
achieve recognition and success, while Jeannines boyfriend would never receive respect for his
womanly behavior.
Jael, the last major character to be introduced, exists among men and sometimes as man,
but in an entirely different way than Joanna. In her world, men and women occupy separate sides
of the planet, the culmination of unequal gender roles and expectations turned into warfare. The
Manlanders and Womanlanders, as they are called, hardly see each other due to their separation.
The Manlanders, without women, cannot have children. Instead, they buy infants from the
Womanlanders and bring them up in batches, save for the rich few who can order children made
from their very own semen (Russ 167). All of the infants are male, and if they grow up deciding
that they dont want to be a man, they can become changed, or half-changed if they decide
too late for body modifications to be made. These changed and half-changed function as women
in the society, used for sex and domestic activities. One of the men notes that the half-changed
are weak and cant protect themselves; what do you think femininity is all about? (Russ 172),
reminding the reader and the characters that the patriarchy places women and non-men in a very
specific role. Without women around them, the men have fallen even further into degrading
women. Jael speculates that one day theyll fall so far that theyll invade Womanland, rape

League 19
everyone in sight (if they still remember how) and then kill them, and after that commit suicide
upon a pyramid of their victims panties (Russ 171).
Jael is an assassin who targets high-rank enemy men, but she also specializes in
portraying men and occupying their roles as a spy or infiltrator. She has a high status within the
women and is thus granted fairly free movement among enemy troops and higher-ups, none of
whom know that she is usually among them as an assassin. Jael describes her situation: I come
and go as I please. I do only what I want. I have wrestled myself through to an independence of
mind that has ended by bring all of you here today. In short, I am a grown woman (Russ 187).
The freedom she has is the freedom that men are afforded in our world; a grown woman here
would rarely describe herself in such a manner.
In addition to being able to move around with the freedom of a man, she revels in her
ability to destroy men and maintain her power over them, almost reversing patriarchal standards
by placing herself as the oppressor in her extreme hatred of men. After one of the other
characters asks her if it was necessary to kill the male leader in her signature violent manner, she
says, I dont give a damn whether it was necessary or notI liked it (Russ 184), and as a
narrator explains that theres no doing business with them; you have to kill them anyway, might
as well have fun (Russ 182). Her attitude toward the life of men seems to almost exaggeratedly
mirror the disdain and disrespect men have for women. Russ presents this as a poor alternative to
the patriarchy its still dangerous and unequal, and Jaels all-consuming rage and justifications
for her actions are neither healthy nor productive. Instead, her situation and planet prove the need
for equality rather than a reversal of the patriarchy that would place women at the top. Makinen
addresses this in her analysis: The narrative [of Jael's role reversal of the male world leader],

League 20
aided by [Jeannine, Janet, and Joannas] horror, problematizes the issues of role reversal as an
effective feminist strategy, whilst bitterly explaining the attraction of such a course (153).
Unlike everyone elses worlds, Janets world, Whileaway, has no men at all. Their
technology is advanced enough that women dont need men to reproduce, and society has been
moving smoothly for the centuries without men: there have been no men on Whileaway for at
least eight centuries I don't mean no human beings, of course, but no men (Russ 9). The story
is that a disease killed all of the men on the planet, and that words like men are no longer in
use. Her world brings up an entirely new view of patriarchy and other problems with gender and
sexuality. Janet is allowed to do all of the things that men traditionally do because there are no
men there to occupy those roles or tell her that she cant do them. Women have choices and
freedom, which brings the reader to realize that there arent as many choices and freedoms in our
world. Janet can be both masculine and feminine and both are expected and acceptable; here, the
genders are divided and crossing that boundary brings ridicule and outcast.
Upon her entry into our world, Janet cannot become acquainted with the rules and
regulations that women face. Interacting with men and assuming the role of woman do not come
naturally to her, and she cant fit in. The voice and agency she has on her planet do not belong to
her here. When a man grabs her and she says, Let me go, Joanna as narrator tells her to say it
loud. Somebody will come rescue you. Janet replies, Cant I rescue myself? Joanna says,
No. Janet argues, Why not? (Russ 45). On our planet, as a woman, Janet does not have the
authority and power to save herself. She has to rely on another man to come save her. This is
completely different from her planet, where she is able to do what she wants and stand up for
herself. Her freedoms are stripped away in our world, and by seeing her shoved into our box of
woman, the reader identifies with the limitations and sees the inequality.

League 21
Even without men, love still exists on Whileaway. Women love women and form
relationships and families based off this love. This brings up the question of lesbianism and its
implications. When Janet meets with a reporter on our planet, he asks her how women on
Whileaway cope with the lack of sexual love, even though he has no doubts that mothers of
Whileaway love their children and are still capable of love (Russ 11). Confused, Janet asks,
you say we dont have that?...How foolish of you. Of course we do (Russ 11). In our
heteronormative world, where males and females are supposed to be in love with each other, not
the same sex, it seems impossible and wrong to have women love women. Laura, discussing her
upbringing again and the discrimination she faces for not loving men, says, Ive never slept
with a girl. I couldnt. I wouldnt want to. Thats abnormal and Im not, although you cant be
normal unless you do what you want and you cant be normal unless you love men (68). Samesex love on Whileaway is quite obviously the standard and can show the reader how normal and
acceptable same-sex love is and how the heteronormative, patriarchal state of our society harms
those who are not deemed normal for their love of the same sex.
Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale
The Handmaids Tale describes the life of a woman named Offred who lives as a
Handmaid, valued for her reproductive capabilities in a world where pollution has contaminated
peoples bodies and caused a shortage of healthy babies and mothers. Each Handmaid is
assigned to a high-status man whose wife cannot reproduce. She acts as a sort of surrogate
mother, and the wife owns the child. This world is a projected future of our world; Offreds
generation saw the switch from the world as we know it to a world where people are categorized
based on their status and reproductive capabilities. Women have no freedom; everyone performs
a specific role to keep the functioning of the country in check; and every deviance from the

Commented [VL1]: transition

League 22
desired order of things is punishable. Offreds situation reflects and amplifies inequalities and
problems that exist in our world.
One main theme is that a womans only value comes from her body and reproductive
capabilities. Men and even other women only view Offred as useful and worthwhile because
shes able to produce a healthy child for her assigned man. They dont see her personality and
mind as the most important parts of her existence; her body is the most valued thing she can
offer. Offred explains that the Handmaids are containers, its only the insides of our bodies that
are important (Atwood 124). When she was trained for being a Handmaid, punishments for
deviance resulted in bodily harm to hands and feet, which the trainers explained was fine because
for our purposes your feet and hands are not essential (Atwood 118). The Handmaids can be
used and abused so long as they remain capable of reproduction; other aspects of their existence
are negligible.
Because of this, Offred is constantly talking about how she wants to be more than just a
body; she wants to exist for herself and be seen for more than just the use of her reproductive
organs. Her value of her soul struggles against societys value of the body her soul inhabits. In
our world, there seems to be a slightly bigger importance on the soul, although women are
clearly still objectified and seen as bodies instead of people. In Offreds world, however, there is
no focus at all on her soul; the new world only wants her body, its capabilities, and biological
destiny. Everyone in her world has been reduced to their bodys essence, and their purpose
comes from the body they inhabit instead of coming from the person that they are. Offred is
constantly talking about becoming empty and feeling empty: [the Aunts trained them to become
empty so that they could be filled]. In a literal way, their bodies will become filled with a child,

Commented [VL2]: find a quote

League 23
but their personalities, values, goals, and dreams have to be eradicated as well to make room for
their purpose as a Handmaid.
One could argue that Gilead is very woman-centered because it places so much value and
importance on women. Wouldnt this be an improvement from the way that women are devalued
in our society and placed below men in their level of importance, since without the Handmaids
humanitys potential to reproduce is significantly reduced? Isnt feminism looking to increase the
worth of women? Yet Gileads idea of woman-centered means that everything revolves around
the worth of a woman's body, not a womans potential as a person and as an equal to men.
Feminism wants to level the playing field and see men and women as equals; Gilead does quite
the opposite, placing men in positions of power and giving them the sole decision-making
capabilities while women simply conceive, bear children, and eventually die. Each world, ours
(in terms of feminism) and Gilead, looks at the worth of women in completely different ways.
Gileads argument for valuing women is completely destroyed when the reader realizes that only
healthy and child-bearing women are important; women unfit for birthing children or for being
trophy wives to prominent men are cast aside into designated places called the Colonies, where
they are forced to do hard manual labor in nuclear zones with an increased chance of death. The
Colonies are the dumpster for useless women. A Handmaids reward for bearing a healthy child
is that Shell never be sent to the Colonies, shell never be declared Unwoman (Atwood 163).
The Handmaids are further objectified and devalued when their assigned men take them
to an underground, secret club called Jezebel. Here, the men parade their women around as
trophies to prove their masculinity and power. One of the workers at Jezebel, not a Handmaid but
more of a sort of prostitute, explains that the men like to see [the Handmaids] all painted up.
Just another crummy power trip (Atwood 316). Offred, upon being taken to Jezebel and

League 24
walking around in a promiscuous, ridiculous pin-up outfit under the guiding hand of her
Commander, realizes that he is showing me off, to them, and they understand that, they are
decorous enough, they keep their hands to themselves, but they review my breasts, my legs, as if
theres no reason why they shouldnt (Atwood 307). The other men at the club approve of each
Commander bringing his Handmaid to prove that he is still a man, that he has control of women,
and that he has possession of his Handmaid. There are no reasons why they should not continue
to objectify and evaluate the women based on their bodies when that is their entire role in
society. Women readers will recognize and understand Offreds unease at the mens prying eyes
as it is something we experience in our world as well.
In Gilead, the women are made to feel like they deserve these injustices from men around
them. During Handmaid training, a portion of their day was spent convincing victims of rape that
they deserved it and had led on their rapist. At first, the women insisted that they were innocent
and as the victim did not deserve blame, but when one of the trainers asks the crowd, But whose
fault was it? the other Handmaids-in-training chant, Her fault, her fault, her fault (Atwood
92). This could sound like an event far removed from our reality, but victim blaming occurs very
often in our own society. Some individuals believe that the victim was asking for it due to her
(or his) clothing or behavior, even though no one wants to be sexually violated against their will.
This passage reminds readers that their reality is not so different from the world that the
Handmaids experience; cruelty and injustice toward women exist in both Gilead and our world.
Women may continue to be objectified in Gilead, but sex is not a choice or a freedom for
the Handmaids. In their role as surrogate mothers, they perform a Ceremony with the
Commander and his Wife in which the Commander has sex with the Handmaid, who is laying on
the Wife. These positions are strict and required, and no physical contact besides what is

League 25
necessary is permitted. As Offred explains, It has nothing to do with passion or love or romance
or any of those other notions we used to titillate ourselves with. It has nothing to do with sexual
desire (Atwood 122). It is simply a ritual to have the Commander impregnate the Handmaid. If
the Handmaids try to make their own sexual choices, they are taken away by law enforcement.
Offred, in her desperation to have some choices in her life and do things for herself instead of for
others, visits the Commanders chauffeur, Nick, for sex. She explains herself: I went back to
Nick. Time after time, on my own, without Serena knowing. It wasnt called for, there was no
excuse. I did not do it for him, but for myself entirely (Atwood 344). Here the reader can see
that she makes these choices in order to have control and agency, but that she also feels shame
for behaving in this way. This is not a Gilead-only trait; women in our society often feel
shameful for having sexual freedom, or others around them shame them. Its ingrained in
everyone, in both Gilead and our world, that if a woman wants to have anything to do with sex or
just have sex for her own reasons, then shes a slut, horrible, and deserving of shame. Men do not
face this stigma; they are encouraged to be sexually promiscuous because that increases their
masculinity. These double standards enforce the gender binary and inequality between the sexes.
Gilead adheres strictly to gender roles, which is already evident through the existence of
Handmaids as baby carriers. There are women in charge of the house as well, a wife for each
Commander, and the Commander himself, who runs the house and contributes directly to
society. Atwood is reestablishing the traditional roles of women as another facet of their
oppression in this society: home-makers, mothers, and trophies. Instead of allowing them to do
things outside of their gender role, enforcing the traditional gender roles sticks them more firmly
in their boxes. They must play the part of a true woman and that means acting like a woman.
There is no room for deviance and its accepted that everyone does what they are expected to dol

League 26
no one can risk acting outside of their gender roles. The men are constrained too, and its
important to remember that they are affected by the oppression of women as well. Commanders
are supposed to be respectful, follow the rules, and run the household perfectly, but Offreds
Commander breaks rules by changing some scripted roles, like the Ceremony where he is not
supposed to have any emotional or sexual connection with the Handmaid, in an attempt to have
control of his situation instead of being controlled by society. He also brings her to Jezebel and
allows her to visit him privately to engage in discussions, games, and illicit activities like reading
and writing. Jezebel is another example of the performance of gender roles; although everyone
feels like theyve gained agency by breaking rules by visiting and being promiscuous, theyre
essentially moving into different assigned roles. The women who work there are performing their
role of prostitutes. The men, the Commanders, are performing their role as a powerful,
masculine, in-control figure. The Handmaids are performing their role as objects to be paraded
around the club. The societys emphasis on performance and roles continues to separate genders
and encourage the oppression of women.
Atwood also makes use of language to show the oppression of women. Women in Gilead
arent allowed to read or write, and certain words and phrases are banned while others are
required in situations. Language is used to control thought and shape perceptions about the
world. Makinen observes that feminist SF has tried to challenge patriarchal language structures
(147), and Atwood is no exception. Offred spends a lot of time considering words and
implications. When she visits town, she sees that In front of us, to the right, is the store where
we order dresses. Some people call them habits, a good word for them (Atwood 33). Habits
reflects the structured nature of the society and how the Handmaids function in habitual ways.
When she remembers the past, she says, They [the people before Gilead] wore blouses with

League 27
buttons down the front that suggested the possibilities of the word undone. These women could
be undone; or not. They seemed to be able to choose (Atwood 33), considering how clothing
reflects choice and how women in Gilead are no longer able to make choices. When she says
goodbye to her shopping partner Handmaid, the Handmaid replies, Under His Eye, which
Offred notes is The right farewell (Atwood 59). Their conversations are rigid and only certain
phrases and responses are acceptable, showing how the language has cut off any real
communication between women and forces them to adhere to their roles. Controlling the
language controls what people can say and communicate to each other. The expected responses
that the Handmaids have to say to each other are completely limited by what society deems
appropriate and correct. Complete control of the language is complete control of the people.
Felski notes the the constraining, legislative, and socializing aspects of language (34) as well,
lending credibility to Atwoods manipulation of language and its effects on the inhabitants of
Gilead. The Handmaids end up creating a code within the closed system of language in Gilead
to create a kind of womens language, using phrases like MayDay, already acceptable to
indicate the first day of spring, to signal distress. Maneuvering within the patriarchal and
oppressive language structure is difficult for the Handmaids and can lead to imprisonment or
death if they are caught.
When Offred is in her bedroom, she explains that The night is mine, my own time, to do
with as I will, as long as I am quiet. As long as I dont move. As long as I lie still. The difference
between lie and lay. Lay is always passive.I lie, then, inside the room (Atwood 49). Choosing
the active verb gives her agency over her actions instead of continuing to be controlled by
society. Her obsession with language is the one thing she holds onto because she has control over

Commented [VL3]: transition

League 28
it: control over her knowledge, thoughts, meaning, and uses of language, even though it is so
entirely controlled by the society.

Commented [VL4]: yeah put this somewhere else

Writing is powerful too; women aren't allowed to write, and when Offred offers to spell a
word for the Commander and write it, he hesitates at this novel idea. Possibly he doesnt
remember I can (Atwood 240). Writing, as an indicator of power and knowledge, is no longer
associated with women, thus demoting them to a lower and less respectable position. When she
holds then pen, she says, The pen between my fingers is sensuous, alive almost, I can feel its
power, the power of the words it contains (Atwood 241). She realizes the power and control that
the pen gives her over language, communication, and meaning. Reading is a luxury not afforded
to women, either; the entirety of literacy is not theirs to claim. Women are incapable of learning
through words at all due to the barriers on spoken language, writing, and reading. When Offred
reads with the Commander, she says, I read quickly, voraciously, almost skimming, trying to
get as much into my head as possible before the next long starvation (Atwood 239). The chance
to read comes to rarely to her that she has to take advantage of it and binge read when she can.
The Commander also lets her play Scrabble with him, which Offred enjoys because it
gives her power over language. She can use Scrabble to retain her hold over her language and
demonstrate her proficiency in it even though everything she says otherwise has to follow strict,
controlled guidelines. As she plays, she says, I hold the glossy counters with their smooth
edges, finger the letters. The feeling is voluptuous. This is freedom, an eyeblink of it. Limp, I
spell. Gorge. What a luxury. The counters are like candies, made of peppermint, cool like that.
Humbugs, those were called. I would like to put them into my mouth (Atwood 180). Theres an
almost erotic pleasure in regaining control of language and embracing the power that comes with
it. Being able to use and mold language is beyond the role of women in Gilead.

Commented [VL5]: fix this

League 29
Ursula LeGuins The Left Hand of Darkness
Octavia Butlers Parable of the Sower
Conclusion
20.

"Feminist science fiction can inspire real-world change." (Barr 8)

xi.

"Realism, then, has been the key term in most accounts of why the novel matters, and it has

come to mean many things. But one point unites all these claims: that realism means more than juts
representing what 'really' is. That is to say, the novel may act upon us all as cultural texts do, and thus
potentially change the world in the act of describing itCan a novel change the world simply by making
people look at it differently?...novels are doing something by teaching you how to feel, and, in theory,
when we 'feel right,' we act rightly." (MacKay p.14)