Today’s topic comes from QSFer Brian Cherry:
How about a discussion of different gendered beings, such as Storm Constantine’s Wraeththu?
it’s a good question. We’re starting to move, as a society, beyond the idea that there are only two genders, male and female. This first hit me when I was watching Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and I realized that Terence Stamp’s character was really neither.
In recent years, we’ve started to see “third gender” passports. More and more people are identifying publicly as gender queer, eschewing being strictly identified with either of the “traditional” genders. And even Facebook, flawed as it may be, offers at least 58 gender options to choose from.
So my questions to you today: What is gender, really? Why do we defend our own views of it so fiercely? And how can we use sci fi, fantasy or paranormal stories to open ourselves and others up to the possibilities that exist beyond the male-female binary system?