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Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century by Justine Larbalestier
outcolder's review
4.0
I enjoyed all of the stories, even the re-reads. My favorites were “Rachel in Love” by Pat Murphy and “Wives” by lisa Tuttle. Gwyneth Jones’s near-future story, written in the 90s, is so accurate a picture of today that it’s terrifying. The academic essays — one per story — were more of a mixed bag. I especially got annoyed by one reference to NAACP led sit ins, hello, the NAACP didn’t lead any of that 1960s direct action stuff. That wrong note will have to stand for a bunch of “white feminism” vibes in a few of the articles, although some of the others had very sharp analyses of race in the stories collected here. And of course, there’s an Octavia Butler story as well. I recommend this book very highly.
rachelhelps's review
5.0
This was a fantastic collection of feminist science fiction and criticism. I encountered it while doing research on a woman SF writer for my job and it was TOO GOOD not to read. I loved receiving an education in Feminist SF from the essays and I learned a lot about the history of the genre.
I learned that women's science fiction was once called "diaper SF" or "housewife heroine SF"... and learning about that genre was very relevant to the videogame I'm helping to write, since it's about childrearing in an SF setting. I learned about the controversial hyper-masculine James Tiptree who turned out to be the pen name of Alice Sheldon, and whose works took on a different meaning when readers found out that Tiptree's main persona (?) was a woman.
As I look over the table of contents, I'm reminded of how many of these stories were absolutely revelatory. "And I Awoke and Found Me Here On the Cold Hill's Side" was about a world where humans felt attracted to aliens in unexplainable ways yet were constantly rebuffed, with obvious and problematic parallels to human colonization but nevertheless disturbing.
"No Light in the Window" was about a husband and wife striving to qualify to qualify to be on a space shuttle, with the husband reacting stoically to all psychological tests while the wife responded candidly and emotionally. In a twist ending, she was the one to qualify because she found outlets for her frustrations. I felt SO surprised by the ending; I felt a little silly but also grateful for an SF story that supported the importance of emotional expression even in 1963.
Octavia Butler's "The Evening and the Morning and the Night" also made me think. It's about a woman with a disease that could make her start mutilating herself at any minute. The disease was a byproduct of cancer treatments. Bizarre enough, right? But Butler takes it further. The protagonist is uniquely situated to help others with her disease before she succumbs to it, and she decides to help them out of duty, even though it's not her passion. I recommend actually reading it because this summary isn't adequate to convey the emotional power of her decision. The accompanying essay also made me want to read some of Butler's novels.
The essay on "What I Didn't See" highlighted the importance of knowing the history of feminist SF to understand current feminist SF. The author argued that, essentially, the way the story references Tiptree's "The Women Men Don't See" places it in the SF genre and changes the way readers view the story. The essay also helped me to really delve into what the ending meant and helped me piece together a few things I missed.
If you like science fiction I highly recommend this book! One of my favorites of 2017.
I learned that women's science fiction was once called "diaper SF" or "housewife heroine SF"... and learning about that genre was very relevant to the videogame I'm helping to write, since it's about childrearing in an SF setting. I learned about the controversial hyper-masculine James Tiptree who turned out to be the pen name of Alice Sheldon, and whose works took on a different meaning when readers found out that Tiptree's main persona (?) was a woman.
As I look over the table of contents, I'm reminded of how many of these stories were absolutely revelatory. "And I Awoke and Found Me Here On the Cold Hill's Side" was about a world where humans felt attracted to aliens in unexplainable ways yet were constantly rebuffed, with obvious and problematic parallels to human colonization but nevertheless disturbing.
"No Light in the Window" was about a husband and wife striving to qualify to qualify to be on a space shuttle, with the husband reacting stoically to all psychological tests while the wife responded candidly and emotionally. In a twist ending, she was the one to qualify because she found outlets for her frustrations. I felt SO surprised by the ending; I felt a little silly but also grateful for an SF story that supported the importance of emotional expression even in 1963.
Octavia Butler's "The Evening and the Morning and the Night" also made me think. It's about a woman with a disease that could make her start mutilating herself at any minute. The disease was a byproduct of cancer treatments. Bizarre enough, right? But Butler takes it further. The protagonist is uniquely situated to help others with her disease before she succumbs to it, and she decides to help them out of duty, even though it's not her passion. I recommend actually reading it because this summary isn't adequate to convey the emotional power of her decision. The accompanying essay also made me want to read some of Butler's novels.
The essay on "What I Didn't See" highlighted the importance of knowing the history of feminist SF to understand current feminist SF. The author argued that, essentially, the way the story references Tiptree's "The Women Men Don't See" places it in the SF genre and changes the way readers view the story. The essay also helped me to really delve into what the ending meant and helped me piece together a few things I missed.
If you like science fiction I highly recommend this book! One of my favorites of 2017.
robi_locksley's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
kserra's review
4.0
A collection of 11 science fiction stories and essays about them. I liked the more recent stories much better than the older ones, but would recommend alongside The Left Hand of Darkness, Woman on the Edge of Time and the Xenogenesis trilogy as a great introduction to feminist science fiction.
cameliarose's review
4.0
One can not claim to be a feminist and an avid reader of sci-fi without knowing any of the writers in this collection. Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century includes eleven sci-fi short stories written by women and with some or strong feminism theme. It begins with Clare Winger Harris in 1927, and ends with Karen Joy Fowler in 2002. I have read Octavia E. Butler and Karen Joy Fowler before, but none of the eleven stories. They are all excellent, well worth reading. Here are stories that impressed me most:
The Conquest of Gola (Leslie F. Stone, 1931), is the first that introduced the (now well-spent) plot of "battle of sexes" in science fiction.
And I Awoke and Found me Here on the Cold All Side (James Tiptree Jr. 1972), deals with the topic of human nature: can human race, the gene-propagating machines, never be able to get off the hedonic treadmill?
Baliness Dancer (Gwyneth Jones, 1997), a near future world in a gradual apocalypse. I like the subtle writing style.
The Evening and the Morning and the Night (Octavia E. Butler, 1987), a prediction of manmade genetic decease.
Each story is followed by an essay written by a feminist scholar. The essays are academic and informative--you get a very good picture of the development of feminism in science fictions in last 100 years.
The Conquest of Gola (Leslie F. Stone, 1931), is the first that introduced the (now well-spent) plot of "battle of sexes" in science fiction.
And I Awoke and Found me Here on the Cold All Side (James Tiptree Jr. 1972), deals with the topic of human nature: can human race, the gene-propagating machines, never be able to get off the hedonic treadmill?
Baliness Dancer (Gwyneth Jones, 1997), a near future world in a gradual apocalypse. I like the subtle writing style.
The Evening and the Morning and the Night (Octavia E. Butler, 1987), a prediction of manmade genetic decease.
Each story is followed by an essay written by a feminist scholar. The essays are academic and informative--you get a very good picture of the development of feminism in science fictions in last 100 years.
qnoodles's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
readingrainbowroad's review
3.0
So this is the first anthology I've read from cover to cover including critical essays and all. And I enjoyed it quite a bit for the most part.
As far as reading the stories with a feminist critique and with the critical essays, all of the stories are important and bring up good points. It was kind of like reading a history of feminism throughout the twentieth century but via stories. Which I think is a very good way to study history. Looking at influential stories can really show what the public felt and thought at the time.
For plot and pure story enjoyment, I enjoyed about half of these stories. All in all I did like it though.
As far as reading the stories with a feminist critique and with the critical essays, all of the stories are important and bring up good points. It was kind of like reading a history of feminism throughout the twentieth century but via stories. Which I think is a very good way to study history. Looking at influential stories can really show what the public felt and thought at the time.
For plot and pure story enjoyment, I enjoyed about half of these stories. All in all I did like it though.