Schedule

From found families to werewolf clans to polyamory to alien hives, this panel will discuss the best (and worst) examples of alternate family structures in science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

The intersection of queerness and necromancy has cropped up several times in recent years. Is there something about defying heteronormativity that resonates with these themes? What inspiration can we draw from such works that challenge genre conventions?

Asexual characters are on the rise in speculative fiction, and it’s about time! Panelists will discuss their favorite recent ace characters and storylines, how to portray nuanced ace relationships, and common pitfalls and errors to avoid.

Rocky Horror shadow cast.

Some African countries have a reputation for homophobia and entrenched gender roles. Yet among younger African writers, feminism and concern for LGBTQI+ rights are almost signature issues, marking a clear generational divide. Panelists will discuss the history, the present, and expectations for the future.

Superheroes can mean something very different to members of marginalized communities than they do to members of a dominant culture. How do the dynamics of a superpower fantasy change when the hero is a member of an oppressed group?

Three academic talks:

Jennifer Zwahr-Castro: Author and Character Gender in the Hugos

From 2001-2020, over half of Hugo winners in this category have been women. The current study is a first step in a more nuanced understanding of gender representation among nominees in the best novel category and the central characters portrayed in those works. 

Nick Hubble: Where Will it All Lead?: Gwyneth Jones’s Life

I compare Gwyneth Jones’s novel, Life, with Marie Stopes’s Love’s Adventure, the novel to which Virginia Woolf repeatedly alludes (Chloe and Olivia) in A Room of One’s Own. I examine how Jones’s novel imagines the ending “of the great project”  in which Anna is free both to “like Olivia” and to run her own lab.

Marcia D. Nichols: Gynoids, Fembots, and other Mechanized Women

A mainstay of science fiction, gynoids and other mechanized women wreak havoc on the masculinist order.  I will trace the history of the gynoid from her roots in 18th century science and literature into the 20th century in order to provide a feminist critique of the traditional use of the gynoid as a projection of fear.