[net.sf-lovers] Asimov and women

phil@rice.ARPA (10/22/85)

From: William LeFebvre <phil@rice.ARPA>

From: carol at MIT-CIPG at mit-mc
> Yes, Davis Tucker, Isaac Asimov does come off as being chauvinistic
> toward women.  He declares himself to be a former chauvinist, now
> reformed, but what this amounts to, as far as I can tell, is:
> 
> Women are so cute, and cuddly, and mysterious, and I just want to
> kiss them all!....(and they're smart, too).

I would hardly call Asimov's character Susan Calvin a "cute and cuddly"
woman!  So, at least if Asimov is a "former chauvinist" then it doesn't
always carry over into his s.f.

			William LeFebvre
			Department of Computer Science
			Rice University
			<phil@Rice.arpa>
                        or, for the daring: <phil@Rice.edu>

ramsay@kcl-cs.UUCP (ZNAC440) (10/23/85)

>From: William LeFebvre <phil@rice.ARPA>

>I would hardly call Asimov's character Susan Calvin a "cute and cuddly"
>woman!  So, at least if Asimov is a "former chauvinist" then it doesn't
>always carry over into his s.f.
>
>			William LeFebvre
>			Department of Computer Science
>			Rice University

This is a failing of many male sf-authors (probably including myself) that the
only way they can produce a strong female character is to create one that
behaves more like a man in a man's world. Admittedly, this does happen in
business, but it still remains very difficult to create a *female* character.
It takes a true genius like S. Delany.

				R.Ramsay
<Here I go!>