University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 8-2019 Gender in Apocalyptic California: The cologE ical Frontier MaryKate Eileen Messimer University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Modern Literature Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Messimer, MaryKate Eileen, "Gender in Apocalyptic California: The cE ological Frontier" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 3322. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3322 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Gender in Apocalyptic California: The Ecological Frontier A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English by MaryKate Messimer University of North Texas Bachelor of Arts in English, 2009 University of North Texas Master of Arts in English, 2012 August 2019 University of Arkansas This dissertation is approved for recommendation by the Graduate Council. _____________________________ Robin Roberts, Ph.D. Dissertation Director _____________________________ Keith Booker, Ph.D. Committee Member _____________________________ Lisa Hinrichsen, Ph.D. Committee Member Abstract Climate change is the consequence of ideologies that promote human reproduction and resource consumption by sacrificing human justice, nonhuman species, and the land. Both biology and queer ecologies resist this notion of human separation and supremacy by showing that no body is a singular, impermeable entity, that all beings are biologically and inexorably connected. My dissertation demonstrates that fiction writers use this knowledge to locate a utopian vision that can counteract the dystopian impotence of living within climate change. This argument is founded on novels written by women and set in California, a state that uniquely inhabits a utopian and dystopian place in the American cultural imagination. Early ecofeminist utopias depict environmentally sustainable and socially egalitarian communities that arise after apocalypse, but they are ultimately modeled on pastoral and primitivist idealizations of Indigenous societies. Contemporary dystopias reject the early model to show that pastoral fantasies are impossible in a world that has been so altered by climate change. By embracing queer ecologies to empathize more deeply with the rest of the world, characters in novels by Octavia Butler and N.K. Jemisin give readers a way to reconceptualize methods of ecological justice that could combat climate change. These visions of a queer ecological utopia respond to the ideological stagnation caused by climate change to provide an innovative environmental ethic that could guide humanity into surviving responsibly within and alongside the world. Acknowledgements Special thanks are due to Dr. Robin Roberts, my dissertation director and mentor. Thanks also to Dr. Keith Booker and Dr. Lisa Hinrichsen, for their guidance on this project. My gratitude to the University of Arkansas English Department, for their advice and support. Love and thanks to Brandon and Bailey, my fellow adventurers. Finally, thanks to the Bummer Club, for everything. Dedication To my parents, who gave me my love of reading, integrity, and asking questions. To my Nana, who would be so proud. And to Tofu, my constant companion all these years. Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter One: Indigenous Influences on Early Ecofeminist Utopias 21 Chapter Two: Cruel Optimism in the Slow Violence of Apocalypse 46 Chapter Three: Dead Citizenship in Climate Change Dystopia 72 Chapter Four: Queering the Apocalypse: Urban Dreams of Utopia 90 Chapter Five: Ecological Empathy in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower 108 Chapter Six: Embodying the Land in N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season 134 Works Cited 160 1 Introduction An unusually large number of American science fiction texts have been composed in, inspired by, or set in California. Partially, this is because so many science fiction authors lived in California, including Philip K. Dick, Kim Stanley Robinson, Neal Stephenson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ray Bradbury, Octavia E. Butler, and William Gibson (Grossman). One can attribute this phenomenon to the progressive politics of the state, the expansive University of California system, the creative and productive influence of Hollywood, and the natural beauty of the region. California’s rich and important history might also attract forward-thinking writers of science fiction, who understand that “no region on earth has had more to do with shaping the twentieth century than California” (Worster 53). However, these obvious attributes of California might not be the only reasons that science fiction and California have such an intertwined history. In these chapters, I consider apocalyptic science fiction texts that are set in California. Apocalyptic science fiction appears, usually, in one of two forms: utopian, portraying utopian societies formed after apocalypse has destroyed society as we know it, or dystopian, as characters struggle to survive in their post-apocalyptic setting of social chaos and environmental destruction. California itself reflects the utopian/dystopian divide of apocalyptic narratives, as prominent Californian historian Kevin Starr writes, “There has always been something slightly bipolar about California. It was either utopia or dystopia, a dream or a nightmare, a hope or a broken promise” (Starr 343). Some critics even identify a geographical split of dystopia/utopia in the state, positing that southern California has many dystopian attributes, while the northern region is more utopian (Miller). Though I find such a stark geographical split too reductive, the twin natures of California in its history and in the American cultural imagination make it the perfect setting for apocalyptic narratives that portray both utopia and dystopia. 2 The first recorded mention of “California” occurred in an early fantasy novel, “First described in a bestseller, California entered history as a myth” (Starr 5). In 1510, Garci Ordonez de Montalvo wrote a novel called Las Sergas de Esplandian , in which he imagined a mythical island of California, populated by a a griffin-riding “race of black Amazons under the command of Queen Calafia” (Starr 5). This fantastical female utopia is an early predecessor to many of the narratives I examine here, as well as the female utopias that, while not set in California, are these texts’ literary ancestors. California started its history as a utopian fantasy, then, and that origin has characterized it ever since. The utopian perception of California was only enhanced as the United States began to settle the continent. California was the final continental frontier for the settlement of the United States, the furthest point west. Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier hypothesis insisted that American democratic identity is founded on the forward motion of frontier expansion, conquering, and settlement (Purdy 31). This forward motion, central to utopian and science fictional thinking, created a sense of never-ending possibility, of countless possible better futures for the American people. It also meant that California, the last place to be settled, was the utopian frontier. The expansion of the United States was the foundation of the American Dream that promoted the infinite possibility of improving one’s circumstances, of locating new opportunities. But as the continent was progressively settled, the possibilities for new American frontiers dwindled and Americans were left without a clear path to defining their identity as a nation. For many science fiction writers, this issue could be solved by creating new frontiers in outer space or on new planets, thus perpetuating the expansion needed to maintain American identity. Many early science fiction texts therefore have their roots in the genre of the Western; authors often set these works in space as a notion of the “final frontier” after the exploration of 3 the Earth’s face was complete. The backdrop of outer space allowed these authors to repeat the generic conventions of the Western: plundering, exploration, high adventure, and conquering new worlds and new peoples. Science fiction set in California manipulates this tradition, then, by situating itself in a precarious location, the end of the continent, the symbolic end of American expansionism. Because California was the final frontier of the United States, it seemingly has always retained its regional identity as a place of hope and opportunity. As the West was settled, California was the only Western state with enough independent wealth and resources to be confident that it could survive alone without the eastern United States (Worster 227). Due to this wealth and aura of promise, California was and is a place where people went to chase their dreams. The Gold Rush, a mad hunt for gold in the Western United States that occurred in the 1850s, characterized California as a place of luck and wealth. That historical moment still symbolizes California’s promise to people around the world, “such a hope, such a psychology of expectation, fused the California experience