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This week: Gender Identity in Speculative Fiction Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Fantasy Newsletter by Dawn
A brief look at the concept of gender and how our characters identify themselves within their world/story. Some thoughts on the spectrum and that our fantasy/sci-fi worlds can reflect aspects found in every day life. |
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Speculative fiction has many freedoms for exploration. Whether it's through the world, the plot or the variety of characters, the use of the other worlds can create a great backboard for exploring elements that we, humans, face in our own lives. One such option on the side of character development is the option to explore gender.
In college, one of the sci-fi short stories I had to read in class involved some dappling with producing a question of the concept in gender. I liked the idea but not the story. Not in relation to character, gender or world. It was written in second person point of view.
Much like orientation, there is the concept of gender also being on a spectrum and not just based on male or female. There are the ends where one follows the more expected roles/elements known for gender. Then a middle area exists between the two main forms of gender. A range based on expectations, reality and maybe even a little lack of fantasy.
And varying in gender even within a character can be that relates to us as the reader. Take me, for example. While, my username is elfmage7, some on occasion mistake me for male. Online presence has that allowance for ambiguity. In person, it's a little more clear that I'm female. But that is just one aspect of what we know as gender, that appearance. I'm not butch or overly masculine though I was a bit of a tomboy (played flag football one year even). However, I'm not all that femme either. Rarely ever wear makeup and while I do have fake eyelashes and nails, do not use them very often. I can change a tire if I had to but, well, I'd rather not. And I can walk in heels... oh right, no I can't. lol Either way, it's not about being defined in one way or another. There are so many elements to ourselves that go beyond the black/white concepts of being on one side or the other and it's more than just a quick glance of biology.
There is how the world sees us and there is how we see ourselves. And in our story creation, that is something we can question our characters, whether it is a part of the novel or not. How do I identify in the scope of gender? I'm middle ground. How do my characters identify? Depends on the character. Most will write on one side or the other, but there is a whole lot of middle ground and we do get to play with many characters in speculative fiction. A story/world can have a very dual use and sense but it doesn't have to follow that guideline. These worlds often are more intriguing in the large spectrum of gray that exists in our creations.
Where on the spectrum will your main character identify? That is up to you/them. Either way, explore that aspect of character and you might find something interesting in your story that you didn't expect to find. Happy writing.   |
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Do your characters have questions when it comes to their gender and what they identify as in the story?
Last month, I discussed the middle slump that can happen in books and stories in general. Received a couple of comments sent in return over the topic.
Comment by Quick-Quill 
I loved Brandon Mull's Fablehaven. Book one is my all time recommendation for parents to read with and to their children. I started book 2 but lost interest, maybe because I'm don't have grandkids and it didn't grab my interest.
I love this NL, its will be add to my reference NL for my WIP.
- Thanks for the comment. Book two was a bit more of a struggle to get through compared to book 1. We'll have to see how book 3 goes.
Comment by Osirantinous 
Hmm, I'm not aware of 'middle slumps' in my stories, but this could be because I don't write A-Z. So possibly I've started with the middle and it's the start or end that I have trouble with. Know what you mean about series, though. Often book 1 is awesome, and the rest are ho hum. But sometimes if I do hit a slump, I rewrite the original from a different character's POV or even do a 'what if this had happened in stead' and see if either of those things work better.
- That might be helpful to avoid the middle getting a bit boring. I tend to write start to finish but don't feel that there is always that slump, just sometimes but that is fixeable in rewrites and edits.
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Fantasy: June 21, 2017 Issue [#8355]
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