User:Cvelmonte/Gender in speculative fiction

Female characters in early science fiction films such as Barbarella (1968) were often portrayed as simple sex kittens.

Professor Sherrie Inness has said that the portrayals of tough women in later science fiction embody women's fantasies of empowerment, such as the characters of Sharrow in the Iain M. Banks' novel Against a Dark Background (1993) or Alex in the film Nemesis 2, who both physically overpower male attackers.

Another example would be DC Comics portrayal of Catwoman, a character represents the ideal fantasy of an empowering female character. Although the character's seductive nature is polarizing to some, Catwoman serves as a way for women to ‘realize’ the power and authority that the female audience desires in their lives. Though the domineering DC character has settled itself as the queen of hearts among female comic book readers, her skin tight jumpsuit nods at her appearance being a feast for eyes among male audiences. However, Catwoman doesn’t fail to play a driving force of feminist ideals in comic book literature.

Many male protagonists of science fiction are reflections of a single heroic archetype, often having scientific vocations or interests, and being "cool, rational, competent", "remarkably sexless", interchangeable, and bland. Annette Kuhn posits that these asexual characters are attempts to gain independence from women and mother figures, and that this and their unfailing mechanical prowess is what gives them fans. The "super-male" and boy genius are also common stereotypes frequently embodied by male characters. Critics argue that much of science fiction fetishizes masculinity, and that incorporation of technology into science fiction provides a metaphor for imagined futuristic masculinity. Examples are the use of "hypermasculine cyborgs and console-cowboys". Such technologies are desirable as they reaffirm the readers' masculinity and protect against feminisation. This fetishisation of masculinity via technology in science fiction differs from typical fetishisation in other genres, in which the fetishised object is always feminine.

While that fetishised objects are always feminine, gender studies conclude that this and masculinity within literature stems from sociological concepts. Furthermore, it should be noted that masculinity’s complex nature has been oversimplified and made to be more comprehensible than that of femininity, according to Jonathan Rutherford. To that end, the concept of hegemonic masculinity was a point of examination. Better known as the universal definition of today’s perception of masculinity, hegemonic masculinity notions that there is a spectrum of masculinity. As such, this concept stems from post-structuralism. As masculinity tends to be defined under a singular trope of what a male protagonist should be, many men do not encourage this notion. In this same fashion, the majority of men that do help reform gender roles in a multitude of societies, from neoliberal to militaristic.

In the early 1940s the DC line was dominated by superpowered male characters such as the Green Lantern, Batman, and its flagship character, Superman. The first widely recognizable female superhero is Wonder Woman, created by William Moulton Marston for All-American Publications, one of three companies that would merge to form DC Comics. Marston intended the character to be a strong female role-model for girls, with "all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.

In this manner, the gender inclination of Wonder Woman has been a case of concern ever since her realization into the comic book world. In light of this, Wertham identified female leads in comic books to exhibit a stark contrast to female norms within the mid-century. Generally, female characters in comic books were perceived as frightening by readers of that time. Typically, this archetype of female character was often referred to as “molls”. These molls-female characters occasionally exhibit libertine and criminal tendencies-demonstrate essentially demonstrates feminine agency in a fantastical setting that’s otherwise idealized in the society of the time of the comic's publication.

In the early twentieth century, some women writers rebelled against the novels in which valiant men rescued weak women or fought against humourless, authoritarian female regimes. Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote Herland, an important early feminist utopia, and Virginia Woolf wrote Orlando. Both Perkins and Woolf identified strongly with the first wave feminism of the period, and its call for equal rights and suffrage for women.

As such, the reasoning behind the call for gender equality originates from men's perception of women. The deviated value of women to the devaluation of feminine characteristics, these keen characteristics of misogyny had characterized the fear and hatred that men had towards women back then. As such, men's inability to hold agency over the opposite sex incurred a feeling of insignificance within them. Over the years, gender politics have explored the nuances and differences between gender roles to the point in which gender identity loses its significance. In this manner, dropping gender discrimination has presented itself to be a huge step in the right direction for women’s suffrage and universal gender rights.