RTaylor.9993iLONS@RADC-MULTICS.ARPA (10/22/85)
From: " Roz " <RTaylor@RADC-MULTICS.ARPA> > Date: 16 Oct 85 13:15:17 PDT (Wednesday) > From: Caro.PA@Xerox.ARPA > Subject: Re: feminist sf/fantasy > To: smithcollege%umass-ece.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA > > Here are my favorites: > > * The Screwfly Solution, James Tiptree Jr. > For a man, Tiptree sure writes strong female characters well. I > also enjoy the upbeat endings that his novels always have. SORRY, SOMEONE JUST SAID 'JAMES TIPTREE JR.' (PREVIOUS ISSUE) WAS A WOMAN--DO WE KNOW (ON "AUTHORITY") WHO IS CORRECT? > * Witch World, etc., by Andre Norton > Another male writer who espouses feminist views. His female > characters are also very well written. SHE HAS BEEN MY FAVORITE SF AUTHOR FOR ABOUT 26+ YEARS (SHE AUTHORED MY FIRST SF BOOK). I BELIEVE SHE ALSO WROTE UNDER THE NAME OF ANDREW NORTH (SOMEONE PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG) FOR A WHILE AS WELL. > Others have suggested that John Norman's Gor series treat women in a > radically different way than most other authors, but I haven't had a > chance to read any of those books. SORRY, COMMODORE PERRY, IF I WERE A FEMINIST OR WANTED FEMALE CHARACTERS PORTRAYING WOMEN AS SOMETHING OTHER THAN PROPERTY, THE GOR SERIES WOULD BE LOW (VERY!) ON MY LIST OF READING. Please bear with me, I've not read a Gor book since 1977 or 1976. I read the first 4 or 5 books in the series and a few others later. (I wanted to see if they had improved since I had last read them). John Norman and the Gor books stick vividly in my mind because prior to reading them, I had never read material which I had considered as pronographic before [yes, I've read Ovid's _Metamorphoses_, and Heinlein's _Glory Road_, but not _Playboy_, et al. Please remember, I had a conservative upbringing and led (lead?) a very sheltered life!]. In a way, (and considering my age at the time, etc) they were fun, in part--but I also found them depressing! My comments ranged, in the 2nd & following books, from "I've got to finish this book to see how the hero solves this--Norman must have some twist to the end, NO hero is that stupid, that consistently" to "Norman must have some weird ideas about women to portray them consistently as 'slaves waiting for their master to fullfil them--even the free women secretly want to be slaves'". As I recall his characters and society were relatively consistent (for the ones I read), and I will admit thinking "oh, that's an interesting premise" or "that woman doesn't fit his mold [but she did, later]", but only those generic comments come to mind--not the specifics as with his characterizations of the hero and the women. Please feel free to 'educate' me if I have missed something, and am putting Norman's Gor books down unnecessarily. Roz