Language and Gender in Utopian SF

For my Utopian Science Fiction class, we just finished reading Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy. We have also recently read The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin, Triton by Samuel R. Delaney, and The Female Man by Joanna Russ. The following post looks at the use of language and gender in the utopian society (Mattapoisett) in Woman on the Edge of Time and compares to the other books.

Connie, an older Mexican-American woman in a mental hospital, is the protagonist from our time (the 1960s) and Luciente is a woman from the future who is able to mentally link with her and allow her to see her time.

In class, we discussed terms having to do with feeling such as "bottomed" (sad), "feathered" (happy), and "bumped" (frustrated/angry). We observed that these terms feel more physical in nature, rather than abstract like our current terms and what this means about the difference between our society and Mattapoisett. If we accept the premise that these terms are used because that is how these emotions feel to the "mems" of Mattapoisett, I think we have a very interesting novum-language in effect.

The language in the novel mirrors the society itself, in that it both clearly evolved from our own society and has its own contained set of references or "structure of feeling." Unlike the language of Anarres, it is not an invented language and so carries older connotations. Terms like "mem" and "crit" are abbreviations of words we use. Following our own language trends, many common terms are abbreviations of longer words, like "coms" for co-mothers. However, like the feeling-words, the language also reflects the way the society has changed.

I particularly want to look at the use of "person," "per" and "pers" as pronouns. Binary gender still exists in Mattapoisett...but it has ceased to differentiate between the sexes. Neither men nor women procreate, both men and women breastfeed, nurture, defend, engage in physical labor, live on their own, and have multiple sweetfriends and handfriends. The differences are so muted that Connie at first takes Luciente for a man. "Person" is a gender-neutral term from our own language and it becomes used as a pronoun when the difference between "his" and "hers" is irrelevant.

This leads me into how the novel addresses gender differently from others we have looked at. On Triton, anyone can become the gender of their choice which means that one can escape the set of gender stereotypes one is born with, but not escape gender stereotypes altogether, as Brom discovers. In The Female Man, we encounter societies where the genders are segregated, so that each can develop without the oppression of the other. However, of all these, I prefer Mattapoisett's solution, where everyone is given the "powers" of both genders, so that gender stereotypes can be eliminated, and through inclusion rather than exclusion.

In conclusion, "pers" is my new favorite term.

Every Boy Should Have a Man

14. Every Boy Should Have a Man by Preston L. Allen Release Date: May 7, 2013

Every Boy Should Have a Man is a classic in the vein of Voltaire and Swift. A quick read in simple language, this account of a world where giants keep men as pets and for food has many implications on issues ranging from animal rights to racism to environmentalism. There is nothing else quite like this being written right now.

This is one of those books that will appeal on many levels to multiple people. Both children and adults could get something out of this. In the first half of the book, I couldn't help thinking my dog would get a kick out of it! What is the relationship between ownership and companionship? Can loyalty be commanded? What is consent and what is bestiality? Some of those latter questions might not have relevance to our world, but then again they might or might in the past or future.

I wouldn't strictly define Every Boy Should Have a Man as science fiction, but it definitely fits Darko Suvin's definition, of creating a world where estrangement breeds cognition for the reader. Also, though nominally less thought-provoking, the myths in the appendices should not be skipped. Strongly recommended-to everyone.

I received an ARC from the publisher via LibraryThing.

Mini Reviews

I have been doing more reading than the blog lets on, but I don't have enough time to dedicate to full reviews. Below, I've marked the books that I intend to review fully later on and provided brief reviews for the rest.


6. Shattered Pillars by Elizabeth Bear

I received an ARC from the publisher and there will be a longer review to come. Briefly, Shattered Pillars moves further from alternate history and closer to fantasy than Range of Ghosts and is one of those rare second books in a trilogy that outshines the first.

7. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

Gregory opens with a teaser from Katherine of Aragon's divorce trial, but this book isn't really about that-it's about Katherine's time as a Princess of England-first, as Arthur's wife and then as the princess dowager who tempted both Henry VII and Henry VIII. I don't agree with Gregory's take on the central controversy of Katherine's life, i.e. whether or not she was a virgin when she married Henry VIII, but Gregory is back in form here, making a case filled with intrigue for a flawed but incredibly sympathetic protagonist. A must-read for fans of Tudor fiction.

8. The Joys of Love by Madeleine L'Engle

An early book from the late great Madeleine L'Engle. This honestly isn't anything impressive and is totally skippable, but it does provide insight into the character of the author as a young woman.

9. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I probably built this up too much in my head, but, frankly, I was incredibly disappointed. Without the closeness I felt for the characters, this book was choppy and jumped all over the place. There was too much going on and the character development that was clearly supposed to be there failed, at least for me. At this point, I don't even care what happens and I don't think I'm going to read the third book.

10. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

See my earlier post.

11. The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich

A surprisingly well-written historical fiction romp into sixteenth century Venice and Malta. The plot was rather melodramatic and contrived, but the characters were likable and engaging, and the settings well-rendered. I'd recommend this as a pleasure read that's a step above the usual.

12. Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

I really enjoyed Cleopatra's Daughter and I'm glad I gave Moran another chance! With Selene as the only narrator, the problem I had with her other novel was satisfactorily solved, and I could really enjoy the fruits of her clearly extensive research. Moran hit just the right note between heart-rending and light-hearted, and the novel felt true to life in the way that, even after the worst has happened, life does go on. And after the tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra's defeat, life did go on for their daughter. Moran even imagines to create some sympathetic Romans, and though I fear that's more the product of her imagination than the reality, it makes for a better story.

13. Triton by Samuel R. Delaney

Longer review to come, but I will say I should probably be a little frightened by how much I related to Bron Helstrom, the protagonist. We are all a "type" and maybe there isn't one utopia for all of us, but "heterotopias" can exist side by side-or can they? Is there really a category for everyone or is there such a thing as a category of one?

Top Ten Phrases That Make Me Pick Up a Book

Happy late Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Phrases That Instantly Make Me Pick Up a Book

1. Science fiction

2. A cross between Jane Austen and J.R.R. Tolkien-basically if it mentions a book or author I love (especially more than one), I will take a look.

3. Nineteenth century Britain/Victorian

4. Elizabethan/Renaissance/Tudor/Stuart

5. Strong heroine

6. Epic fantasy (although this tends to be overused)

7. Hugo/Nebula/Man Booker/Newberry award winner

8. Washington D.C./Boston/Chicago-a book set in a place that I'm familiar with

9. Venice/Rome/London-a book set in a place I really want to travel to

10. Weird/unusual/quirky-I look books (or at least the idea of books) that are different

Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like More or Less Than I Did

Happy Top Ten Tuesday! It's been a little while for me.

Books I Thought I'd Like More Than I Did

1. The Second Empress by Michelle Moran

I wanted to like it better than I did, and the novel did have its strong points in the characters and history, it just wasn't as developed as it could have been and the writing could have been better.

2. At the Mercy of the Queen by Anne Clinard Barnhill

I was really interested in the Anne Boleyn story from Madge Shelton's point of view, unfortunately the writing was so painful I couldn't get through it. Madge just kept babbling about herself in anachronistic language and her character was such a weak, whiny girl.

3. Neuromancer by William Gibson

It won a Hugo and a Nebula and I'm generally a huge sci fi fan, but this world was just too hard to get into and I wasn't invested enough in the characters to try.

4. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper

I thought I would love this Arthurian legend-based kids' story, unfortunately I found it far too predictable and just, well, childish. I probably would have liked it better if I'd read it as a kid.

5. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

It's a classic and I wanted to like it, but it was too much of a simple kids' story for the age I was when I read it.

6. The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

I LOVE the title and the metaphor, but I just couldn't relate to the main character and felt like I didn't get the "point" of the book beyond the obvious. Maybe it's a generational thing. Atwood also tends to be hit or miss for me. I love The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake, but I haven't been able to get into her other stuff.

Books I Thought I'd Like Less Than I Did

7. The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

I had no idea how much I would LOVE this book. Especially since the beginning didn't really do it for me, but as soon as I met the main narrator, I was hooked.

8. The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

I requested to review this book because it's set in Boston and written by a professor who taught at the school I went to (I didn't know her), but I usually don't like mysteries, so this was a really pleasant surprise.

9. The Complete English Poems of John Donne, edited by A.J. Smith

Not really a book, but I took a class on Donne last quarter (and am taking a seminar on him again this quarter). I had no idea how much I would love his poetry, especially the love elegies. I finally know what kind of poet I want to be-let's get metaphysical baby!

10. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I wasn't really sure how I would feel, especially since it got so much hype. But I really, really ended up liking it, a book all about the world and less about the characters. Unusual for me.

An Ambiguous Utopia

In class (I got in!) we are reading The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin.

The subtitle is "an ambiguous utopia." I've read other books in the Hainish Cycle, and this one is both noticeably different and recognizably Le Guin. It's the first in chronological order, and the protagonist discovers the equations that will lead to the ansible-"an instantaneous communication device." In the rest of the cycle, this is the device that the protagonists use to record their observations of other worlds. Shevek is the only protagonist in the cycle (at least of those I've read) that is of the race that he observes. However, he is and is not.

Shevek is from Anarres, a desert mining colony on the moon of Urras, a water-rich planet. On Anarres, the Odonians have built a two-hundred-year old anarchist commune, where nobody owns anything. On Urras, the larger powers are still "propertarian" (i.e. capitalist) and exploit their resources, using a money economy and class-based hierarchy. Without a doubt, the situation is analogous to the Cold War, but neither world is utopia or dystopia...or perhaps, perhaps both are acceptable modes of existence.

There are so many excellent questions that this book raises about the nature of utopia and the relative merits of alternative forms of government. These days, we're riding a wave of dystopian literature, but I wonder how helpful it is to be utterly pessimistic to the point of not exploring all our options? it's not that dystopia doesn't have a place, but I think the most "useful" kind of dystopia would be that like in Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, a pretty bad situation, but one with a viable solution. In a world like where The Hunger Games takes place, for example, well, it's not as if there's no hope, but hope...somehow has lower expectations? And seriously thinking about an ideal world doesn't at all seem to be the point of the book. It's more about individual happiness for the characters. Which brings me to my next point.

One of my main criticisms of Ursula K. Le Guin is that I rarely personally relate to her characters. I don't find them to be fully developed, and the minor characters certainly aren't. I just don't have an emotional connection to Shevek or any of her other narrators the way I do with Katniss Everdeen. But I always respect Le Guin's ideas and her world-building, which is why I keep reading her, and in this book I think she very clearly gets across that she's aware of this and this is part of her style on purpose. It's one of the main questions in the book: Is Shevek an outsider because that's how he was born or because that's how he was raised? Is Shevek unique because of who he is or because of his society?

At one point, Shevek thinks:

"The Settlers [of Anarres] had taken one step away. He had taken two...he had been fool enough to think that he might serve to bring together two worlds to which he did not belong" (34).

But later on, he thinks:

"He was therefore certain by now that his radical and unqualified will to create was, in Odonian terms, its own justification" (116).

At the very least, Shevek justifies himself through the lens of his society, even when his society rejects him. But there's a question of whether they have become a society with laws, laws of conventional behavior, evn when their aim is to be without, to promote true freedom. So perhaps Shevek is true to his upbringing after all, the pure Odonian. Or maybe he gives into human nature, which may be essentially "propertarian," essentially selfish.

Then again. It is only the outsider who can step outside, who can evaluate whether or not a society is what it thinks it is. Or maybe only the reader can do that.

An Interesting Definition for SF-Discuss

Grad school is subsuming my life, but I came across this definition in the reading for a class I'm hoping to take (*fingers crossed*) on Utopian Science Fiction:

"SF is a literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the author's empirical environment."

-Darko Suvin, "Metamorphoses of Science Fiction."

That would seem to count a lot of fantasy novels as SF, which traditionally upsets the SF hardliners. However, it jives well with my view of the genre and its uses (and pleasures). Thoughts?