Worldcon 2022, aka Chicon was a wonderfully busy long weekend with an inspiring, eclectic mix of subject matter to delve into, explore, get lost, and re-emerge with fresh eyes and thoughts revitalised. It was also genuinely tiring, despite attending virtually, being based in Chicago and the time difference that brings, so plenty of late nights. And now I’m still on catchup, cramming in viewing as many panels as possible before they disappear into the ether.
Thank you to all who endured time differences across the world to come to my reading and panels. There may well be a part two to this blog, but for the moment I’m thinking of subjects of panels I joined in with, talking all things non-conforming women characters: who we love, what we want to see more of, and why the subject matters at all.
Here in the UK, the modern world is a far cry from growing up in the 70s, when legal gender inequalities still blighted the decade. It still blows me away to think that the Guardianship Act wasn’t brought into law until 1973, when married mothers finally achieved equal rights with married fathers over their children, granting them the right to apply for passports and consent to medical treatment. Although in common law, children still belonged to their father. And so, before and after this time, saw women without agency to advocate for their own children, and in some cases, traumatised from being ripped apart.
From the perspective of storytelling, fantasy, the genre I work in, historically has some fairly horrible representations of women, with evil witches, evil stepmothers, damsels in distress, sleeping women, men kissing sleeping women – no consent written into those storylines… Oh, how grateful I was for Pippi Longstocking, an independent girl, living alone, with a monkey, horse and pot of gold. Perfect. And thankfully we had pioneer writers like Octavia Butler and Ursula Le Guin. Ursula Le Guin’s, Tombs of Atuan is still one of my favourite books of hers. It features the girl, Tenar, born into servitude to the Nameless Ones, destined to live her days in a dark underground world, the epitome of self-reliant. But when a stranger unlawfully steps into her world, she questions everything she thought she knew. As the truth shatters familiarity, she leaves to step into the unknown, choosing truth over the lie, an extraordinary and understated act of courage.
Moving onto the blockbusters, and some magnificent examples.
Thank you sci-fi for so often being ahead of the curve, giving us Sigourney Weaver’s iconic performance in Alien. A rational woman fighting to be heard in a male dominated world, with steely courage and determination, backed up by hard science. And by the second film, comfortable in her own skin, an expert in the deadly alien, and that fight scene when she straps herself into the powered work loader – ‘Get away from her you Bitch!’ A real cinema goosebumps moment. Compassion is also served up as a strength, as she takes Newt under her wing. And oh how I love that these two self-assured, resourceful survivors aligned with Jonesy the cat.
X-Files’, Dana Scully, respected scientist and medical doctor bravely takes on a quest into the unknown; a woman with a relatively conformist background teaming up with the exact opposite, with curiosity and courage to question all that lies as her foundation. A truly phenomenal character arc in a series spanning decades, with character and actress both reaching full-on empowerment. Gillian Anderson’s uncompromising demand for equal pay to David Duchovny shone through!!
Not forgetting Linda Hamilton’s portrayal of Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, unflinching, unhinged, uncompromising, unapologetic, on a mission to turn herself into a human machine to fight the actual machines…
There are so many more from the screen, but it would be remiss not to mention Star Trek, a testament to the power of stories and fictional characters. Nichelle Nichols, going where no woman has gone before, being convinced by Martin Luther King to stay in the show. In real life people were on the march fighting for civil rights, and she’s representing a character who portrays the equality they are fighting for. And to top it off, being approached by NASA to inspire African-American astronauts. It’s an apt example that begs the question, do stories reflect the world or can the world reflect stories?
Next up, some stand out titles in the world of books, but that is for another day…
Happy Reading!
