Sexism in SF - that Big Finish competition

[matgb]

Hmm. The BBC and Big Finish have announced the winner of their short story competition and bibliophile1887 observes that the list is overwhelmingly male. snapesbabe entered and shares the concern (interesting comments discussion in both posts). This put me in mind of a discussion last week at nihilistic_kid's over recent submissions to his magazine:

there is a long history of women writers obscuring their gender ... One hundred percent of the authors who submit their work to Clarkesworld under an initialed byline are women.

I'd like to think that such attitudes are in the past, but looking at my shelves, the overwhelming majority of my SF books are also written by men; my current favourite author may be female, but most of the rest of my picks are male. Is this because less women are writing, because I have 'male' tastes or is there still sexism in the publishing industry?

Having said that, (Cllr) Nick submitted an entry, and as it didn't win, he's posted it to his LJ.

Comments

[tinuvielberen.livejournal.com]

You've got a little typo -

the list is overwhelmingly MALE.

And I've been thinking about this summore. Male SF editors pick stories that appeal to them, which are more likely to be written by other men. Hence the anthologies they publish appeal more to male readers. So it's a self-perpetuating cycle.

I seem to recall reading somewhere (how's that for reliable data!) that, in general, women buy WAY more books than men. So SF is ignoring a vast, untapped market.

[matgb]

Fixed, thanks, proofread that twice and still missed it.

I think you're right in many respects; literary SF is seen as a 'male' market and thuspitches at male readers, despite evidence from elsewhere (TV show fandom for a start) that shows women like SF just as much. It's very hard to quantify though, and I've seen more than a few dinosaur authors railing against "PC publishers who only pick girly SF" and similar.

Your data about disparity in purchasing is right, I've seen it many times. But, conversely, is that not possibly evidence that there isn't enough stuff aimed at men in different markets?

Loads of chick-lit romances, but fewer Nick Hornby style aimed at blokes books...

Meh, gotta go.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

And that's without even opening the can of worms that I HATE romance but love sci-fi and horror...

I'll be posting my losing entry later, but apart from any sexism or anything else, I think mine was probably rejected for being too violent and nasty LOL

[tinuvielberen.livejournal.com]

I don't buy romance novels either. But I do like to see heroes with foibles, strong yet vulnerable. I like to see strong women, too; interesting female characters who think about something other than a man. I like complicated, sciency plots but also strong characterisation. I'm not too keen on violence or gore; I prefer more psychological horror.

You can write an excellent SF story with these characteristics which will appeal to BOTH women and men.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

So can you, but neither of us got picked.

[tinuvielberen.livejournal.com]

I meant to say, "One can write" or "it is possible to write" etc.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

LOL I know. I meant to put a ;) on the end of that, too.

[matgb]

So the question is really why there aren't many succesful women authors doing so, and why SF is still seen as a male market, despite the palpable female presence in online discussions on the subject?

[matgb]

Well, yes, I think most sane people do, but a large proportion of fiction sold is within the broad 'romance' category, which means it's bought almost exclusively by women.

So where's the male equivalent, and why is it so popular?

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

missdiane reads romance novels, or used to. You could ask her why they are so popular; I have NO clue.

[pickwick.livejournal.com]

(um, it says "overwhelming male" now...)

I'm not sure if I've got any female SF, though I've got loads of female fantasy. Hmm. I will watch this with interest.

[matgb]

Fixed also.

To be honest, I'm using the 'SF as all encompassing' classification, so it includes fantasy (whereas sci-fi or science-fiction doesn't), hence Swainston is favourite SF author of the moment, while Lynch is possibly second but I'm holding judgement until book two.

Which given my stated preference for science fiction and the overwhelmingly large amounf of sci-fi over fantasy on the shelves is slghtly strange.

[mdmnmdllr.livejournal.com]

Mat, if you DO include fantasy as part of an "'all encompassing' classification" for SF, then I think it has to be understood that there is and has been over the last several decades at the very least an extremely large influx of female-authored material. And that's in addition to some very time-honored names, as well, such as Norton or Kurtz.

In fantasy, especially nowadays, I think the equivalence is rather close - certainly closer than people think. If I look in my latest copy of the Sci-Fi Book Club flier, I would NOT be surprised to find an actual predominance of ladies' names within, because of this. And when it comes to fantasy novels, my shelves are AT LEAST as populated with ladies' works as they are with gents'. The genre simply fits, and fits well.

It would fairer to say that there is a lack in hard SF - although I am aware of some few excellent writers ... but I wonder how much of this is simply a lack of INTEREST in writing in the particular genre as opposed to a more sinister reason?

I'd be pleased to debate this on a more exhaustive basis.

[tyrell.livejournal.com]

Woo! Swainston's put the solstice and quarter-days in her books (and latest blog entry). Awesomeness.