Transgender Themes in Science Fiction
Filed by: Guest Blogger
September 3, 2008 10:00 AM
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/09/transgender_themes_in_science_fiction.php (http://www.bilerico.com/2008/09/transgender_themes_in_science_fiction.php)
Editors' note: Cheryl Morgan is a cheryl.jpgscience fiction critic who takes a particular interest in feminist and gender issues. Her online book review magazine, Emerald City, won a Hugo Award in 2004. While the magazine has now ceased publication, Cheryl still occasionally writes about books and gender at her personal blog, Cheryl's Mewsings.
stonegolem.jpgIn the future, all sorts of things will be possible. One day we may even get jet packs and flying cars. We may also be able to re-shape our bodies in all sorts of interesting ways. It is not unexpected, therefore, to find sex changes featured in many science fiction stories. But just how relevant are such stories to real transgender people? Do these stories portray transgender experiences accurately? Could they help non-transgender people understand the issues somewhat better? Or is there something else going on?
That's interesting. A lot of the Culture novels by Iain M. Banks have the premise that anyone can change their sex just by thinking about it, and a lot of characters do, usually more than once (man to woman then back to man again). There doesn't seem, from the books I've read, to be any sense of gender identity whatsoever.
One novel, 'Excession' the main character changes sex from male to female just to be with the woman he loves. She then changes back to male once the love interest is gone. The interesting thing is that these changes are all-encompassing (ie a man who changes to a woman can then proceed to give birth and has the full genetic makeup of a biological woman). In another novel, a character changes from male to female just to see if being the other gender will make them any more attractive.
There doesn't seem to be any permeating sense of core identity with any of these characters at all. They choose which body fits them for a given purpose, not because of who they are and see themselves to be.
As a result, these novels don't, in my opinion, provide any insight for non-transgendered people, or relevance for transgendered people, other than to provide an entertaining read. I'm not sure it's actually possible for an author who isn't transgendered to accurately portray such characters in a wholely realistic way. The real-world experiences and predjudice faced could be replicated... but unless an author actually knows what it feels like, the emotional aspect and psychological interaction is, I think, something that no amount of research can ever fully compensate for.