To boldly go where too few Gen X women have gone before…

By Sarah Atherton

As a woman who loves science-fiction (SF) I’ve been thinking lately about why I don’t see more women of my generation in this space and why I sometimes receive surprised and puzzled looks when I say ‘I like SF’.

Don’t get me wrong, there has been a massive amount of progress in terms of accessibility and diversity in all sorts of areas of life since I was a wee geek in the 1970s and 1980s but as a woman in my 50s, I still feel that I’m in the minority when wanting to read, watch and/or discuss SF.

But here’s the thing, I think there are lots of Gen X women out there who would genuinely enjoy reading or watching this ‘beautiful, progressive and imaginative’ art form but they have counted themselves out of this arena. Why is this?

Well, we can’t all like the same things, I get this. But I do also think that given our upbringing and the roles and identities we assigned for ourselves back in the day, some Gen X women might be masking aspects of their personalities, putting on a face to fit in with ‘the girls’ and deciding that certain hobbies, interests and pastimes are only ‘for the boys’. And in doing so they are missing out on doing things they might really enjoy including reading and watching SF (add playing board games here too!).

I remember how some of the sixth formers I used to teach felt liberated when they got to sixth form and were able to tell their parents, teachers and class-mates who they really were and what they really wanted to do with their lives. In a similar way, I’d like there to be more spaces like this for Gen X women so that they are able to let go of some of their gender conditioning, push the boundaries of their thought processes and try something new and not perceived to be a ‘traditional’ woman’s hobby or interest.

This might sound odd to younger women who don’t feel so defined by Gen X gender norms but as a comparison, for older women taking part in group cycle rides or swimming in women only sessions at the pool or in open water for the first time in their lives, this is an amazing, liberating and empowering experience.

Now, when I think about why I might like SF I have of course reflected on my way of looking at the world and how my early life has influenced who I am. Sure, I get bored easily and might be a bit ADHD, yes I was an only child who hung out with a lot of adults and I was a poor kid who needed to escape my reality through reading. I was bought up by an open-minded single parent and I do love ideas and politics. I studied and taught drama and some of my mates at uni did have maths degrees BUT I don’t think you have to tick all or any of these boxes to realise that as a Gen X woman, SF might be for you.

A guy I met at a board game convention recently said to me ‘wow, I was so pleased to see your board game stall at a market, it was great to see something that wasn’t candles’ and here’s the thing, candles are ok but it’s not just blokes who don’t only want candles in their lives. Gen X women need more choices too and don’t want to continually be defined by limited stereotypes.

It’s not rocket science (ahem) but I think there are a few things going on here:-

1) It’s takes courage to push against the mainstream especially if older women fear not being part of a group of other women, so we stick with doing things that ‘women’ our age are supposed to like even if we are bored of doing them and would rather be doing something else;

2) some Gen X women might not really know much about SF and make assumptions about what it is, maybe based on seeing Star Trek or Star Wars when they were 6 years old? It’s true, historically, some SF did not favour strong female characters (or even have many female characters) and perpetuated sexist imagery and ideas so some Gen X women may assume that all science fiction is like this and reject it as a non-representative genre.

3) In addition, I have read that women prefer ‘softer, character-driven’ fiction and like to ‘relate’ to one or other of the characters rather than read the fiction of ideas that science fiction is perceived to be. Wow! Don’t you just hate statements that start ‘women like….’ or ‘that’s what boys do’….or ‘isn’t SF about space-ships’? (I like space-ships but no SF is not just about them - more on this later!) And as for the other generalisations - well that’s for a longer piece of writing than this blog!

4) even if Gen X women did like SF when they were kids, they might have been excluded from being part of it when their brother was bought a light-sabre and they were told that playing with it was not for ‘girls’. For some Gen X women this rule just stuck and they sadly put down this toy and never picked it up again.

5) some women might have a belief that anything ‘make-believe’ is only ‘playing’ which is for kids and dads and that once women are ‘grown-up’ they have to stay in this role (a feeling that may have arrived with the shock of starting their periods when they were 11 or 12 and suddenly not feeling like a child anymore). Therefore, they might do one of the following when they are in mixed gender or age groups - nurture, facilitate, approve of, be impressed by or laugh at - but not join in the game or the discussion.

6) And maybe a space that is seen as male-dominated might appear threatening or other in some way and if older women aren’t invited then we aren’t going to invite ourselves (after all, wasn’t it the boys that had to do the asking out??!)

So what’s the answer?

Well, here are a few thoughts:

1) Let’s firstly challenge misinformation about SF and think about what SF is rather than what we think it is…

I love this description from Ian Blatchford in his opening to the book ‘Science-Fiction Voyage to the Edge of Imagination’ which was written as the accompanying guide to the Science Fiction Exhibition at the Science Museum in London:

‘Science-fiction is so much more than fiction…this epic genre straddles the event horizon between the known and the unknown…(providing) a tool for future-gazing, social commentary, art and satire…allowing us to ask hard questions about gender and racial equality and how we treat each other. The most provocative science-fiction is the kind that offers an ‘escape into reality’ according to Arthur C Clarke…science-fiction invites us all to imagine our futures for better or for worse.’

• here’s the Wikipedia definition of Science-Fiction - you might be surprised at how many sub-genres it encompasses and how rich and varied a genre it is

• and here’s Pan McMillian’s list of ‘best’ science fiction books - not necessarily my choices but it gives you a taste of the depth and breadth of this genre - with a video of one commentator’s top 5 SF books as well

• and here’s the Wikipedia entry about women in speculative fiction (speculative fiction includes includes SF, fantasy and horror) which highlights women who write SF and work in this genre (note that some of the best SF was written by women challenging all sorts of social norms in the 60s, 70s and 80s!)

2) most importantly those of us who feel comfortable in these spaces need to role-model to other women and invite them to join in. I have a women only board game night mostly made up of women in their 40s and 50s who are new to this hobby and I’m going to check out a women’s science-fiction book club in the coming weeks.

3) we need allies - so to the men out there in Geeksville - you need to let us in and make us feel welcome.

4) more women need to let go about worrying about how we appear to others especially if this is holding us back from trying new things. This of course, is a work in progress throughout our lives but one that definitely gets easier with age!

So the next time you stand in front of the wardrobe maybe thinking about what to wear on a night out, instead, why not be brave and go through that wardrobe to find the brilliant, beautiful, dangerous, exciting and different world of SF on the other side.

I’m interested in your thoughts. What would make it easier for more Gen X women to get into SF (and board-gaming)? It can be lonely in space (and in this space) and I would love for more women of my generation to join me on this journey…