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Queer Fantasy Roots: Gender Transformations in Ovid’s Metamorphoses

Ovid Metamorphoses

(My apologies for posting this a couple days late. I’m deep in editorial revisions of my current novel Mother of Souls and am scrambling to keep up with my blogging schedule.) We sometimes think of Greek myth as representing an ancient pre-Christian religious tradition, but many of the most elaborate and familiar sources for these stories come from relatively late, primarily literary authors who were re-working fragments and allusions into carefully crafted stories with a didactic or satirical purpose. Many of the familiar Greek stories of transformation come down to us in their most elaborate form, not from an early … Read more

Asta’s Annotations: Editing Tips for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Writers

Today I thought I would cover three of the common editing queries I see from science fiction and fantasy writers. 1) World and Race Names The common issue here appears to be whether or not to capitalise. My advice is to follow standard English conventions, unless you have a strong reason not to do so. In either case, the real key is consistency. Don’t swap and change from chapter to chapter; make a decision on your preference and stick to it. Here is an example based on common English usage, followed by a fantasy rendering. In Denmark, many Danes enjoy … Read more

Review: Every Heart a Doorway.

Title:  Every Heart a Doorway Author: Seanan McGuire Series: Wayward Children Genre: Magic Realism, and Queer Fiction Publisher: Tor Books Pages/Word Count: 176 pages Blurb: Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children No Solicitations No Visitors No Quests Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss … Read more

For Readers: Non Binary Gender

Non Binary genders

Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Hank T. Cannon: What books do you like where masculinity/femininity, etc. is portrayed as a continuum, avoiding monoliths, and acknowledging class difference that cause those who occupy those spaces to view those outsides of them as “more” or “less?” How does that affect your view of characters who aspire, covet, or fetishize those other characters who live on the other side of their continuum? Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks! Join the chat

Dispatches from Hogwarts G.S.A.: A Game of Thrones Report Card

We love HBO’s Game of Thrones. It’s some of the best storytelling on premium cable, possibly the best production quality ever for a TV series (DRAGONS!), and the directing and acting are pretty darn awesome to boot. We’re also really happy the phenomenally popular show has increased interest in high fantasy on the small screen, big screen, and in books. Another thing we love about GoT is that it has gay, lesbian and bisexual characters and decent portrayals of women. The Hogwarts G.S.A. believes gender equality and LGBTQ equality go hand-in-hand, so strong, diverse female characters are important to us … Read more

Discussion: Changing Your Gender and Orientation

DNA

We’re learning more about human genetics and sexuality each year. Soon we’ll be able to make babies form the DNA of a gay couple together, and maybe someday soon we’ll be able to predict a child’s sexual orientation. What if science advanced to a point where it would be possible to change sexual orientations? Where you could flip a switch and go from being gay to straight, or bi, or…? What if you could fully change your gender (internal and external)? Would you do it? For a day or a week or a lifetime? And how would true orientation and … Read more

Reflections on *The Great Mirror of Male Love*

Gomen nasai! I’m Jim Comer and I read, edit, and post on QueerSF. This is the third of an irregular series of dispatches from the front: I read very widely across the fields of history, science, language and religion, and want to make sure that the QUILTBAGs back home are suitably informed. For writers and readers, here is the third in a series of book reviews, on tales of same-sex love (“nanshoku”) in Japan. I hope that you enjoy it. Reflections on The Great Mirror of Male Love, by Ihara Saikaku J. Comer Reading a text from another place, and … Read more

Discussion: Differently-Gendered Beings

Facebook Genders

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Brian Cherry: How about a discussion of different gendered beings, such as Storm Constantine’s Wraeththu? it’s a good question. We’re starting to move, as a society, beyond the idea that there are only two genders, male and female. This first hit me when I was watching Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and I realized that Terence Stamp’s character was really neither. In recent years, we’ve started to see “third gender” passports. More and more people are identifying publicly as gender queer, eschewing being strictly identified with either of the “traditional” genders. And even Facebook, flawed … Read more

News: Sci-Fi Classic ‘Left Hand of Darkness’ to Be an E-Book

Penguin Random House announced Wednesday that the digital edition of the 1969 novel will be on sale July 15. Le Guin, 85, has written more than 20 books and last fall received an honorary National Book Award. “The Left Hand of Darkness,” a gender-defying tale set in the distant future on the planet Winter, has been widely praised for its insights about feminism and sociology. About The Left Hand of Darkness Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an … Read more