We need tshirts, ya think?

Razib over at the GNXP blog ended up with way more than he bargained for when he pronounced his surprise over finding a “hot chick” who read science fiction. Enough people have already denigrated and defended Razib, so I’ll only touch on a few things here, but if you read or write science fiction/fantasy then you should check out the blog entries on this topic, such as the following:

• Aetiology: Science, Intelligence and the Pretty, by Tara C. Smith
• Mixing Memory: Piling On, by Chris
• Adventures in Ethics and Science: Gender profiling at the wine bar, by Janet D. Stemwedel
• Doc Bushwell’s Chimpanzee Refuge: Hot or Not? by Dr. Joan Bushwell

I’m just supremely tired of the stereotype that women don’t like science fiction. We do. A lot of us do. A lot of us don’t. Whether I’m hot or not is irrelevant (even though, I am hot, incidentally…), just don’t treat me like an anomaly. I am not unusual because I am female and (insert favorite anomalous pursuit here).

Razib said in his long “I, Coolie?” explanation post: “And yes, when I see beautiful women I do stand in awe, and worship even.”

Just don’t. Don’t put beautiful women on a pedestal. Because if they want to discuss Hyperion, you’ll be too befuddled to listen.

One commenter on Aetiology seemed to think that D&D/Sword and Sorcery stuff was a good sample of the science fiction/fantasy genre. Have you ever worn chainmail? Let alone a chainmail bikini? What is the purpose of a chain mail bikini anyway? It might protect one’s nipples, that’s it, and sometimes not even that.

No, thanks. I don’t even think about those kinds of books when I think of science fiction and fantasy. I almost consider it a separate “D&D Genre,” though I do see some overlap. Technically I suppose it’s part of the science fiction/fantasy genre, but it certainly isn’t a representative sample.

Admittedly, I have a tendency to read mostly female authors. It’s just who I’m drawn to, not a consciously Feminist decision. I do read male authors, certainly, but the stories that have stuck with me are generally by female authors. And there quite a few of those. I would add to this list Kay Kenyon and Elizabeth Bear.

I would also point you to a New York Times article on this topic:

• Women and Science Fiction by Susan Schwartz

Oh, and for some fun, check out Ernest Cline’s recipe for Geek Porno. (Not for the faint of heart, BTW.)

But I don’t wanna watch this misogynist he-man woman-hater porn.
I want porno movies that are made with guys like me in mind:
Guys who know that the sexiest thing in the world
is a woman who is smarter than you are.

You can have the whole cheerleading squad,
I want the girl in the tweed skirt and the horn-rimmed glasses:
Betty Finnebowski, the valedictorian.
Oh yes.
First I want to copy her Trig homework,
and then I want to make mad, passionate love to her
for hours and hours
until she reluctantly asks if we can stop
because she doesn’t want to miss Battlestar Galactica.
Summa cum laude, baby!
That is what I call erotic.