Last month, I brought up the subject of Why Do Some Horror Authors Write About Rape, Incest and Abuse? This ended up sparking a conversation with other commenters who had some pretty strong feelings on the subject.

To follow up, I thought I’d broach the topic of gender portrayals in genre fiction. Based on the reactions from last month’s post, I’d like to provide you with a small caveat. Race, class, gender, sexuality and religion are sensitive topics for many people, which is why I hope you understand that I am not, by any means, trying to present you with the “one true way” to think about these things. Instead, I believe these topics are important to bring up every once in a while to see what you think about these subjects. To some of you, you may not even think that gender portrayal is an issue; to others, you might believe that it’s still a problem.

Having said that, I engaged some other authors and game designers in a conversation about gender portrayal just to get a feel for what people were thinking about. One article that came up out of these conversations was Carrie Vaughn’s Analysis of Urban Fantasy. (Special thanks to Paul Jessup for providing the link.) It was interesting to read her comments on the matter, partially because she talks about how the women and men are depicted. The women gracing these covers are often shown from the back and have so-called “tramp stamps” on them; in her mind, the men are emasculated. After reading her thoughts, I realized that it’s extremely difficult to look at gender portrayals in a straightforward manner because the marketing department may characterize the protagonist’s (or antagonist’s) gender differently than an author does. (Remember that, in many cases, the author has little to no control over what appears on the cover of their book.) Whenever a visual representation of a gender is present, that portrayal can influence the reader’s decision about whether or not they’ll buy the book. In other words, “Sex sells.”

When I think about science fiction, horror and even traditional science fiction, however, even though the sexuality is there I do see a slow evolution of how gender is portrayed. For example, I recently read a traditional fantasy novel that was written twenty years after the first book. In that novel, there were five male protagonists and each one of them were depicted differently — two of them were even gay. Now you might argue that a homosexual character doesn’t affect how a gender is portrayed, but I would say that I believe it does. I don’t think you can have a conversation about gender without discussing sexuality; the two are not mutually exclusive. Regardless of what you might think, fifty years ago it was a lot less common to read about a gay character.

In early science fiction and even horror, gender roles were often idealized according to the culture and the author’s views and experiences at the time the work was written. A good example of that are the few female characters in H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction and his attitudes toward other races and classes. While it may be extremely difficult to read some of his stories now, because they are rife with depictions that we would not deem to be politically-correct, Lovecraft was also a product of his generation. Could the absence of women in Lovecraft’s work be the reason why there are so few mainstream horror female authors today? Hard to say. I think what we can say is that an author’s lifestyle and background often play a subconscious role on the evolution of their characters, too. Whatever Lovecraft believed played a role in not only what he had

H.P. Lovecraft

In many cases, our personal beliefs about what a gender role “should be” may have an impact on how we respond to any particular work. I can’t listen to old science fiction radio shows, for example, because in my mind the women are too whiny and overly delicate. The point that I’m trying to make here, is that our perceptions of gender are a lot more complex than we might think they are — especially when it comes to looking at the different genres — because your views and opinions are just as important as the author’s are. Combined, that author-reader (or filmmaker-viewer, etc.) relationship is a delicate balance to achieve. If you think about it, this is probably why gender roles are often visually portrayed according to whatever popular culture deems to be ideal at the time. By shooting for a standardized gender, or a subset like the “alpha male,” that depiction will not only be acceptable to more people — it will also be attractive to them as well.

Regardless, you could also argue that our perception of gender is frequently changing. If we boxed up ten genre titles and revisited them fifty years from now — who’s to say how well those gender roles will age over time?

This particular topic is one that many authors and other individuals have also written about including Jim C. Hines and Ari Marmell. There are a few websites and conventions that are also considered “feminist” which often address the issue of gender in different genres. For example, Ax Wound is a feminist horror webzine and WisCon is a feminist science fiction convention. Last but not least, if you’re an author and you want to interact with a fun tool, check out The Gender Genie.

Again, remember that my thoughts are merely meant to be the conversation starter. Like all complex issues, there is no one “right” or “wrong” answer because your own experiences will definitely contribute to how you think about this topic.

Having said that, I’d like to turn the conversation over to you. What are some of your thoughts with gender portrayals in different genres? Do you think that highly-idealized genders are even an issue? Why or why not?

MONICA VALENTINELLI is a professional author and game designer. Described as a “force of nature” by her peers, Monica is best known for her work in the horror, dark fantasy and dark science fiction genres and has been published through Abstract Nova Press, Eden Studios, White Wolf Publishing, Apex Magazine and others. Her credits include: a short story entitled “Pie” in the award-winning BURIED TALES OF PINEBOX, TEXAS anthology through 12 to Midnight and the upcoming release entitled THE QUEEN OF CROWS through Flames Rising Press. For more information about Monica, her work and her contact information, visit www.mlvwrites.com.