Gay science fiction
Gay science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction which contains typical aspects of science fiction, except the main character or protagonist is almost always gay. It often has sexual imagery and aspects of science fiction erotica. It may also explore, in a wider scope, the varieties of sexual experience that deviate from the conventional.
One of the earliest examples of science fiction that involves a challenging amount of unconventional sexual activity is the early science fiction novel Odd John, by Olaf Stapledon. John is a mutant who will not allow himself to be bound by many of the rules imposed by the ordinary British society of his time. The novel strongly implies that he has consensual intercourse with his mother Pax, and that he "seduces" an older boy who becomes devoted to him but also suffers from the affront the relationship creates to his own mores. John also scales the side of the house of a neighbor girl of his own age and engages in sexual intercourse with her. Being a mutant, both more intelligent than and possessing more powers than an ordinary person, he finds none of these relationships totally fulfilling.
Another such odd sexuality appears in Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. In Time Enough for Love, also by Heinlein, the main character argues strongly for the future liberty of homosexual sex. Ursula LeGuin and others have explored trans-species sexuality and the sexuality of species in which individuals are normally possessed of both male and female sexual organs and reproductive abilities.
Perhaps the most successful gay science fiction writer is Samuel R. Delany. In his earliest stories, the gay sexual aspect appears as a "sensibility", rather than in overt sexual references. In some stories, such as Babel-17, same-sex love and same-sex intercourse are clearly implied but are given a kind of protective coloration because one character is a woman who is involved in a three-person marriage, the other two members of which are males. The affection all three characters share for each other is in the forefront, and sexual activity between or among them is not directly described.
In Time Considered as a Helix of Semiprecious Stones (1969). Delany describes with great sensitivity and affection a young man named Hawk who is possibly gay and definitely masochistic. In none of these early stories does Delany make sexual intercourse the focus of his writing. Sexuality is individual to the characters and secondary to the plot.
In his very long science fiction novel entitled Dhalgren, Delany spots his large canvas with characters of a wide variety of sexualities. Once again, sex activity is not the focus of the novel although there are some notable explicitly described interactions of various kinds. Delany depicts, mostly with affection, characters with a wide variety of motivations and behaviors, not, it would seem, with the intent of a kind of covert advocacy but with the effect of revealing to the reader the fact that these kinds of people exist in the real world. His affection for his characters, even his louts, might be compared to that of James Baldwin or of Cao Xueqin.
One of the endearing characteristics of science fiction is that it enables its authors to explore not only the world and human beings as they are, but also as they might be. The best of gay science fiction displays this characteristic, but at the other end of the scale there are many examples of stories marketed as gay science fiction that consist primarily of explicit depictions of sexual activities between or among same-sex individuals in some "futuristic" setting.
David Gerrold has a YA series that starts with Jumping Off the Plant. A father kidnaps his three sons and goes to the moon. One son is gay.
Gerrold received a Nebula award for a short fictional version of The Martian Child. He later expanded it. He later expanded it to book length. The story is biographical — a gay man adopts a child.
Julian May in The Milieu Trilogy has two gay characters – Luc Remillard and Ken Macdonald – and features their gay marriage. However, although they are both related to major characters their role within the novels is minimal.
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Bibliography
- Anderson, Poul
- Delany, Samuel R.
- Gerrold, David
- Jumping Off the Planet
- The Man Who Folded Himself
- The Martian Child (non fiction)
- Heinlein, Robert
- McHugh, Maureen F.
- China Mountain Zhang
- Stapledon, Olaf
- Odd John
- Sturgeon, Theodore
- Williams, Walter Jon
Awards
- The Lambda Literary Award includes an award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
- The James Tiptree, Jr. Award is for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore our understanding of gender
- The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards honor works in science fiction, fantasy and horror which include positive explorations of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters, themes, or issues.
- The Queer Horror Awards were created to honor works that involve significant, and generally positive, portrayal of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender characters, issues or themes within the area of horror.
See Also
External links
- [Gaylaxicon] – an annual Science Fiction convention
- GLBT Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature – A Web Directory
- Wavelengths Online – a review journal for science fiction, fantasy, and horror of special interest to gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered people and their friends
Categories: Science fiction | LGBT literature