We have explored many worlds and many science concepts this semester. The concepts of reproduction and sex in science fiction are broad and varied. Most of the variations in reproduction occur in dystopian worlds. There are very few stories of male only worlds (Ethan of Athos is one book). The Wraethu series by Storm Constantine imagines a world where an alternate sex can create a pearl (embryo) that becomes a child.
There are several books and short stories about female only worlds which deal with sex and reproduction in different ways. The Female Man by Joanna Russ, The Holdfast series by Suzy McKee Charnas and Ammonite by Nicola Griffith are excellent examples of alternate societies.
Some of the worlds have intentional separations of males and females while others posit a destruction of one sex.
Discuss why there are so few stories of male only worlds.
I definitely think the idea of an all male world has not been written abou as often because of the implicit power our society identifies within the identity of maleness. For only females to exist, and for them to take on restructuring society among themselves is inherently subversive to our ingrained patriarchal standards that assume female weakness, and therefore makes for more refreshing story-telling. Everone wants to root for the underdog. On the other hand, males are identified as the strong, the active, and most importantly, the virile procreators in our society. It is considered that women carry the child formed by their desires and actions. This places the woman in a role of submissiveness and dependency in the act of procreation so that the question is never "what will men do without women?" but only "what will women do without men?"
ReplyDeleteThere are so many few stories about all male societies because like, previously stated, it is quite refreshing to read a book about all females subsisting off of land cultivated themselves and hunting themselves and doing things that men would "normally" do if in the given dystopian societal situations. Another reason, I believe that all-males stories are far and few between is due to the fact that although we are progressing as a society, it is still somewhat more "frowned upon" to be "gay" or "womanly" than it is for females to be lesbians or "manly." As a society, we are progressing as a group that is starting to realize females can be bread winners, protectors and creators of the house whereas it is still quite stigmatized for men to be the submissive "female" role in films and novels. Male only worlds are also harder to come by, I believe, because as far as science is concerned, a human child needs a uterus to grow and develop properly. In Ammonite by Nicola Griffith, it seems more probable and fathomable for women to create soestre together because of the fact that the baby will grow inside of a uterus. Although a sperm is needed to create a child as well, it is more of a female-bodied person's job to care for and help the fetus grow into a baby. All male worlds are harder to fathom because of the "male pride" still displayed today. Stay-at-home fathers are still shown as inferior whereas stay-at-home mothers are most certainly more common. All male worlds are harder to create and fathom due to the fact that the science behind it would have to explained and altered in great detail to somehow account for the housing of the fetus as well as what the sperm would have to latch on to if eggs where no longer in the picture.
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