Women, Science, Science Fiction
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NO LONGER ESTRANGED: WOMEN, SCIENCE, SCIENCE FICTION by CHRISTY TIDWELL Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Arlington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON MAY 2011 Copyright © by Christy Tidwell 2011 All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation can be a very solitary process, but it does not happen in a vacuum. Therefore, I would like to acknowledge and thank all those who provided support, both intellectual and emotional, throughout this process. Stacy Alaimo, Tim Morris, and Ken Roemer provided valuable guidance and support throughout my graduate work. From Stacy Alaimo, I have learned an incredible amount over the years about feminist theory and science studies and her guidance in those fields helped me develop my initial concept of the dissertation. Ken Roemer’s expertise in utopian studies has been a valuable resource as I write about feminist science fiction and utopias. And Tim Morris’s wide-ranging knowledge about pretty much everything has challenged me to continually broaden my own spheres of knowledge and look for connections between seemingly disparate ideas and texts. At every stage, from coursework to comprehensive exams, from prospectus to final draft, I have been encouraged by their confidence in my ability to do this work and by their interest in what I have to say. Although they have always been available to me when I had questions or needed help, I have appreciated the freedom I have been given by this committee to write and explore on my own terms. This freedom was a necessary part of my transition from graduate student to professional scholar. I would also like to acknowledge the influence of James Gunn and Chris McKitterick in my education about science fiction. Even before I began work on this iii project, I had the opportunity to take part in the Intensive Institute on the Teaching of Science Fiction as part of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas. I attended two years in a row and learned an amazing amount about the history of science fiction, contemporary directions in science fiction, and ways that other students and teachers of science fiction from around the country are engaging with this genre. This learning took place in the classroom, led by James Gunn, but continued into the evenings and late nights during dinners and extended conversations led by Chris McKitterick and often hosted at his home. His generosity and enthusiasm have had a huge impact on my own science fiction education and scholarship. I would also like to acknowledge my fellow Institute attendees for their part in these conversations, particularly Nolan Belk and Nate Williams. Some of my most vital support has come from fellow graduate students and friends I have made through UTA’s English department. Kim Bowers has given me years of encouragement and wonderful friendship, as well as providing a model of what a successful and brilliant feminist scholar looks like. Bridgitte Barclay has been another model of success and brilliance and our shared interests in feminist science fiction and science have led to some great conversations about scholarship, reading, and teaching. Lorie Jacobs has also provided support throughout my dissertation, in the form of fun evenings out and extremely helpful conversations about teaching. Because of their readiness with words of support and willingness to talk about the challenges of graduate school, teaching, and writing a dissertation, but also because of the time spent with them iv away from these pressures, I am incredibly grateful to these women. This entire process would have been much more difficult without such friends. Finally, I would like to thank Cory Whiteland for being a wonderful husband and support. Over the last year and a half of writing, Cory has been a constant source of love and encouragement and has helped me keep going in both very practical ways and less tangible ones. Without him, I could not have finished this project as quickly nor come out the other end as sane and healthy as I have. April 18, 2011 v ABSTRACT NO LONGER ESTRANGED: WOMEN, SCIENCE, SCIENCE FICTION Christy Tidwell, PhD The University of Texas at Arlington, 2011 Supervising Professor: Stacy Alaimo Feminist science fiction (SF) and feminist science studies share common concerns—the gendered perception of science and women’s place in the sciences among them—but the two fields are rarely considered together. This failure to connect the two fields may be explained in part by the ongoing divide between the sciences and the humanities; it may be further exacerbated by the ghettoization of SF within literary studies. I gather together feminist SF texts, literary theories of feminist SF, and feminist science studies in order to add to the scholarship of each individual field as well as make a case for the value of combining these fields. Building on the historical exclusion or marginalization of women in the sciences, Chapters 2 - 4 examine three major responses to the place of women in science as represented in feminist SF: rejecting science, embracing science-as-usual, and reversing power relations associated with science. In Chapter 2, I explore a radical feminist vi approach to the relationship between women and science, examining in particular anti- science feminist utopias and “utopian science” in feminist SF and the consequences of rejecting or radically redefining science. In Chapter 3, I consider a number of SF texts that take science seriously and that, through representations of women as scientists, attempt to challenge stereotypes about women doing science and provide new narratives for girls and women to either use as models or warnings. Chapter 4 considers what happens when the inclusion of women in science seen in Chapter 3 is combined with the critique of masculine science explored in Chapter 2, asking whether it is the person doing the science that makes a difference or the science being done that matters. In other words, can science done by women be better than (i.e., more equitable, feminist, or productive) than science done by men? The final two chapters argue that a more fruitful response to the problem of women and science involves the development of a specifically feminist science. Through readings of feminist theory and science fiction by women, Chapters 5 and 6 consider feminist science as a project to revise the definitions and expand the limits of traditional science in order to include work traditionally associated with women, challenge hierarchical and dichotomous modes of thinking, and make space for more ethical, embodied scientific practices that are not limited by identity politics. For feminist science and feminist SF to be truly effective, they cannot be limited to women's writing and women doing science but must also work to incorporate men into feminist science and SF. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................iii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. iv Chapter Page 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………..………..….................. 1 1.1 (Mad) Scientists’ Daughters ............................................................... 1 1.2 Feminist Science Fiction: Whys and Wherefores............................... 5 1.3 Feminist SF and Feminist Science Studies........................................ 16 1.4 Overview ......................................................................................... 23 2. AGAINST SCIENCE: RISKS OF REJECTION............................................ 27 2.1 A Numbers Game: Gender Imbalance in the Sciences ..................... 27 2.2 Anti-Science Feminist Utopias ......................................................... 35 2.3 Utopian Science: Successor Science or Rejection in Disguise?........ 60 2.4 Fantasy Versus Science Fiction: The Importance of Generic Boundaries ............................................ 71 2.5 Conclusion: Caught in the Crossfire ................................................ 82 3. “SCIENCE GENIUS GIRL”: BRINGING WOMEN INTO SCIENCE AND SCIENCE FICTION............. 88 3.1 The Obstacle Course to the Sciences ................................................ 88 3.2 Women’s Place in Science Fiction.................................................. 104 3.3 Science Fictional Role Models ....................................................... 112 viii 3.4 The Leaky Pipeline......................................................................... 125 3.5 Conclusion: Future Dreams and the Mundane ............................... 143 4. ANYTHING MEN CAN DO: REVERSALS OF SCIENTIFIC POWER... 150 4.1 Addressing Sexist Science.............................................................. 150 4.2 Joanna Russ’s Whileaway: Science in the All-Female Utopia........ 158 4.3 The Shore and the Gate: Separatist Women’s Science ................... 184 4.4 Conclusion: When Numbers Aren’t Enough.................................. 200 5. FEMINIST SCIENCE: DISCOVERY AND CREATION........................... 203 5.1 The Goals of Feminist Science ....................................................... 203 5.2 What Is Feminist Science?.............................................................. 208 5.3 Redefining Scientific Practice: Home and Garden ......................... 221 5.4 Challenging Hierarchy and Dichotomy..........................................