Nature Narratives in Fiction & Photography
"...The story of an astronaut as she struggles to adjust to life on Earth!" the radio ad promised. My car's dashboard briefly transformed into the glowing cockpit of a space shuttle. Space, psychology, and a female protagonist? That sounded like a movie I'd see (or a book I'd write). But when I looked up which... Continue Reading →
In the first post in this series, we discussed subjectivity and objectification when describing female characters. But "beautiful" isn't the only contentious adjective frequently applied to them. Lots of readers claim to love “strong” heroines; what does this actually mean? As a kid in the 90s, I caught the leading edge of the "more strong heroines!"... Continue Reading →
Fantasy author Intisar Khanani featured a great guest post on her website this week, in which SFF author Anela Deen examines the challenges female sci-fi writers face in creative circles. The incisive piece really hit home for me. Although compelled to respond, I don't have a Disqus account and my remarks are unreasonably lengthy for website comments, so... Continue Reading →
Last year my Laddie bought me a wine caddy puzzle for Yule. There can’t be much challenge in such a basic construction, I thought. But the sleek toy proved deceptively complex. How does the hook fit into the loop? And what do the balls have to do with it?! It took some mental effort and... Continue Reading →
“Seriously?” I deadpanned, startling my Laddie from his bedtime Kindle doze. My own e-reader cast its moonbeam light on my pillow, emanating a serenity I didn’t share. “We finally get a female character and the first thing they talk about is her breasts?” This irritating discovery wasn’t completely unexpected. When I launcher a personal initiative... Continue Reading →
My guest post on the gender gap in science fiction posted on the LibraryJournal SELF-e blog today, just as Iron Man 3 co-writer Shane Black revealed that Marvel's corporate interests forced him to change the gender of the movie's villain to sell more toys. According to Black, the original script featured a female version of antagonist Aldrich Killian,... Continue Reading →
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