Sci Fi Author Shocks World With GIRL Protagonist!

[james_davis_nicoll]

Your next book will have a woman as the central character. Given that “gender wars” in science fields is still a contentious topic, why did you decide to go with a lady lead? What kinds of challenges does your protagonist face, and does her gender play any role in those challenges?

I don’t take part in any political debates. So I’m certainly not trying to make a point by having a female lead. She’s just a character I came up with that I thought was cool, so she’s the lead.

The book is another scientifically accurate story. The main character is a low-level criminal in a city on the moon. Her challenges are a mix of technical/scientific problems, as well as juggling personal interactions—staying a step ahead of the local police, working with shady and dangerous people to do illegal things.

She doesn’t encounter any distinctly “female” challenges. There’s no love plot. And the story takes place in a future society where there is practically no sexism.

Comments

[seth ellis (from livejournal.com)]

I allow my women to do romance for me, as is proper.

The death of Prince has made me think that mainstream masculine attitudes have retrogressed since the Reagan years. His 80's self would be an indie figure now.

[hand2hand.livejournal.com]

So much this. The pendulum always swings, I know, but it's hard to see the regressions.

[seth ellis (from livejournal.com)]

Hopefully the pendulum will turn out to be swinging in a spiral pattern, so to speak.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

I think it's probably easier for a male star to be openly gay now, but less easy for him to be freaky and androgynous: that's not a standard part of the pop-star toolkit any more. It's OK for a female one, though.

[seth ellis (from livejournal.com)]

Yes,, a gay pop star couldn't really dress like 80's Prince now, and a straight one really couldn't.

Androgynous and/or freaky female pop stars, my impression is that it's sort of allowable—certainly more than for men—but they need to be able to re-assume femininity, and a rather exaggerated version of it, at the drop of a hat. Otherwise they too are relegated to the indie-pop status. Q.v. Lady Gaga's recent reinvention as a mainstream diva; that was always within the possible even for her performance-artist persona, or I don't think it would have been allowed by her handlers.