Science fiction fandom

Overview

Science Fiction fandom centres around science fiction and related literature, and conventions of fans. The term is most commonly applied to fans of SF literature rather than TV/movies; for that community, see Media Fandom.

Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica - Cartoon by Dylan Meconis http://www.flickr.com/photos/quirkybird/3468223503/

Women in Science Fiction Fandom

Women are a distinct minority in science fiction fandom, whether measured by number of authors, attendees at conventions, etc. However, there are a number of well known women authors, big name fans, etc. For a broad list of women involved in the SF community, see List of women in Science Fiction.

There is at least one women-centred SF convention, WisCon, as well as an award for SF books which explore gender: the James L. Tiptree Jr. awards.

For lists of women who have won other SF awards, see

• Hugo Awards
• Nebula Awards
• John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Science fiction about women

The sub-genre of Feminist science fiction addresses feminist issues through SF stories.

Many other science fiction novels have strong female protagonists. See Female characters in SFF for examples.

See also:

• Terry Pratchett

Issues facing women in science fiction fandom

• Invisibility -- see What Chicks Don't Like About Science Fiction (io9.com) for example:

I love when clueless humans tell me to my face that women don't like science fiction. Usually they tell me this at a science fiction convention, after we have talked about scifi for an hour and I have said that I edit a science fiction blog. These humans have an amazing ability to not believe their eyes, which is the only way I can explain what's happening when somebody says to my face that women like me don't exist.

• Singularity

When a woman is alone at a Science Fiction event, be it con, club meeting, or online, her mere presence means that she is available. A select group of male geeks find female geeks attractive, and therefore they should not only be gracious to men that hit on them, but overly accepting of any male geek's attention and affection, because, after all, the man has interest and don't women live to fulfill a man's interests? This results in anger when a woman rebuffs a man's advances or otherwise indicates she does not want to be hit on and would rather attend the con/club/forum to talk about the topic at hand.

Famous incidents

• Harlan Ellison groping Connie Willis
• Open Source Boob Project
• René and Readercon
• James Frenkel attends and volunteers at WisCon 2014 after harassing an attendee the prior year (see SFF harassment revelations 2013). WisCon announces a temporary and provisional ban, a decision that dissatisfies many people.

Resources

• WisCon is an annual feminist SF convention
• FeministSF.net