penthius ([personal profile] penthius) wrote2008-07-20 03:32 pm

A Question of Gender: Science Fiction

It was a question of gender, really. She wasn't sure what she wanted, but she knew it wasn't standard-she, as she'd been born, though of course nobody called kids he or she; that would be rude, and limiting. She thought she might be a she-gear, one of the creatures of grease and iron and muscle that still had a disconcertingly earthy mind and a knack for luring in he-suits that didn't know what they were getting into, or liked pretending they didn't. She wasn't sure, though. Her mother was a house-she, a woman content with childrearing and home decor and gardening, though she'd gone through a phase of being he-femme before he met her father and became a house-she.

Inspiration: That discussion Phil and I had about necessary thought-about parts of science fiction framing.
Story Potential: High.
Notes: The other key part is that this can't be the story. It *has* to be the background, where the story takes place in this. I find the notion of gender speciation interesting.

[identity profile] prof-vencire.livejournal.com 2008-07-20 10:06 pm (UTC)(link)
I didn't much care for "Code of the Lifemaker", but it's opening sequence explaining how robots evolved into A) an actual ecology and B) a GENDERED ecology is worth every cent. Of time.

[identity profile] penthius.livejournal.com 2008-07-20 11:01 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll have to check it out. At least the opening sequence.

[identity profile] wilowisp.livejournal.com 2008-07-21 12:10 pm (UTC)(link)
This really draws me in - I'm quite fascinated by the world presented. But I definitely see the danger of the gender speciation details overwhelming any plot.