[net.startrek] female writers and male writers

chabot@amber.DEC (l s chabot) (01/22/85)

I have to disagree with a statement made in a review recently posted on Uhura's
Song. 

Saul Jaffe  ==  >
> Why is it that male authors have the females hidden in the background and
> female authors tend to have everyone fade into the background *except* the
> female character that represents them? 

It's not Saul's review with which I disagree (since I have not read the novel),
it's the generalization about authors.  Perhaps this is true in the subset of
novels consisting of startrek novels, I don't know, I haven't read much in that
area, and if that is the context of this generalization, I apologize for
misunderstanding.  But in literature general and even in science fiction and in
fantasy, this is not the case.  It is actually a kind of nasty generalization
to make, since it labels female writers as lacking the objectivity and male
writers as being reluctant or unable to create convincing female protagnists;
moreover it is largely a mistake to look for impersonations of an author in the
author's work.  The novels for which Saul's generalization fails are too
numerous to --er-- enumerate, a large enough number to discredit the term 
"tend" as used above. If I am to be pressed for examples, I suggest that
instead we move such a discussion, since we will be discussing non-startrek
matters, to net.women or net.books. 

L S Chabot
UUCP:	...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot
ARPA:	...chabot%amber.DEC@decwrl.ARPA

jaffe@topaz.ARPA (Saul) (01/23/85)

	To clarify my statement in an earlier message, I was indeed
refering mostly to the Star Trek books although there are other
series which are equally at fault.  (I will not go into them here).
-- 
Saul Jaffe
Systems Programmer
Rutgers University
ARPA: Jaffe@Rutgers
UUCP: Jaffe@Topaz

zubbie@ihlpa.UUCP (Jeanette Zobjeck) (01/29/85)

> numerous to --er-- enumerate, a large enough number to discredit the term 
> "tend" as used above. If I am to be pressed for examples, I suggest that
> instead we move such a discussion, since we will be discussing non-startrek
> matters, to net.women or net.books. 
> 
> L S Chabot

Make that net.books or net.sci-fi not net.women

Jeanette Zobjeck
ihnp4!wlcrjs!zubbie