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Ambiguous Name: Feminist Fantasy

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Deadlock Clock: Apr 5th 2017 at 11:59:00 PM
kjnoren Since: Feb, 2011
#76: Aug 26th 2017 at 7:54:29 AM

[up] I'd argue that as terms go, Feminist Fantasy is very different from Feminist Science Fiction.

Feminist Science Fiction very clearly refers to a form of the science fiction genre in some way, and it's possible to easily make up a list of important works within that genre that ("Houston Houston Do You Read", "The Female Man", "The Left Hand of Darkness", "The Gate to Women's Country", "The Handmaid's Tale" and so on). But the same is not true of Feminist Fantasy. It can refer to either Fantasy as a genre, or to Fantasy as the creative act. The Feminist qualifier will be fundamentally different in each case.

Looking at the use of the label on the net, I find the following:

  • A big list of feminist-friendly fantasy fiction; looking at it it's more focused on female protagonists than on feminist analysis
  • The TV Tropes page
  • A list of books where the protagonists are feminists in some way

To me, the genre meaning can be covered under Feminist Science Fiction, leaving Feminist Fantasy to the other meaning, as an analogue to Power Fantasy.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#77: Aug 26th 2017 at 8:12:32 AM

"A work written from a feminist perspective. Usually involves female main characters." is the definition I would use.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
HighCrate Since: Mar, 2015
#78: Aug 26th 2017 at 6:25:00 PM

That just sounds like "feminist fiction."

Memers Since: Aug, 2013
#79: Aug 27th 2017 at 12:44:39 AM

And likely in practice that just mean Female Protagonist and thats it.

Malady (Not-So-Newbie)
#80: Aug 27th 2017 at 5:31:31 AM

So... Should we just cut this then?

Or have a crowner, so we know what options are available?

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#81: Aug 27th 2017 at 5:52:05 AM

The concept "feminist fantasy" is used for several different, fairly broad definitions. Trying to wedge it into a specific definition would just cause misuse, we have had really bad experience with such attempts.

The difficult point here would be to have a definition that is not overly narrow and yet does not lead to every work with a female main character being listed.

So a fairly broad definition would be warranted. Such as

A work written from a feminist perspective. More than just being about female main characters, such a work discusses concepts such as gender roles and sexuality.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#82: Jan 7th 2018 at 11:00:15 AM

Locking per New Year Purge.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
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