“There are plenty of images of women in science fiction. There are hardly any women.” —Joanna Russ, “The Image of Women in Science Fiction”

1. Ausencia/Presencia
del género en Ursula K. Le
Guin y Ann Leckie: dos
ejemplos paralelos
Begoña Martínez Pagán
Universidad de Murcia
1

2. “There are plenty
of images of
women in science
fiction. There are
hardly any
women.”
—Joanna Russ, “The Image of Women in Science Fiction”
Photo: Hypérbole.

3. Ursula K.
Le Guin
1929-2018

4. “We need writers
who can
remember
freedom: realists of
a larger reality.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin. Speech at the National Book Awards:
“Books aren’t just commodities”, see:
https://vimeo.com/112654091
Photo: Hypérbole.

5. Photo: Hypérbole.
Source for the quote:
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/01/25/ursula-k-le-guin-the-rabble-rouser
-with-a-gentle-smile/

6. × Novelist, poet, essayist
× B. A. Renaissance French and Italian
literature (Radcliffe College, like
Atwood). M.A. French and Italian
Literature (Columbia University)
Photo: Hypérbole.

7. × Anarchist
× Taoist
× Environmentalist
× —> Feminist
Photo: Hypérbole.

8. × Dozens of prizes, including:
× Grandmaster of Science Fiction (like
Connie Willis)
× Several: Hugo, Nebula, Locus, World
Fantasy awards
Photo: Hypérbole.

9. × 1964 — First Earthsea series material
× “Hainish cycle” (*Ursula: “it’s not a cycle or a saga”):
× 1969 — The Left Hand of Darkness
× 1972 — The Word for World is Forest
× 1974 — The Dispossessed
× Full list of books and prizes
Photo: Hypérbole.

10. “I have decided that
the trouble with print is,
it never changes its
mind,”
—Ursula K. Le Guin, “Is Gender Necessary? (Redux)”

11. 1969 — Novel: The Left Hand of Darkness
1976 — Essay: “Is Gender Necessary?”
1987 — Essay: “Is Gender Necessary? (Redux)”
1995 — Story: “Coming of Age in Karhide”

12. “
12

13. “I eliminated gender
to find out what was left.
Whatever was left would be,
presumably, simply human”
—Ursula K. Le Guin, “Is Gender Necessary? (Redux)”

14. “Le Guin could have used the
correlating elements in these
narratives to mine the interweaving of
a heteronormative gender binary,
racism, and colonialism on Earth.”
Tuesday, Smillie (2017): “Radical Imagination And The Left Hand of Darkness.” Ada: A Journal of
Gender, New Media, and Technology, No. 12. Retrieved from:. https://doi.org/10.13016/M2W37KX2H
(https://doi.org/10.13016/M2W37KX2H) doi:10.13016/M2W37KX2H
14

15. Gender, yes, but also:
—sex
—race
(specifically: white people)
—colonialism?
(addressed?)

17. The Gobrin Ice
on planet
Winter
(Gethen)
Illustration: Jess Fink:
https://twitter.com/jessfink/status/956017370027438080

18. Estraven
and Ashe
Illustration: Jess Fink
https://twitter.com/JessFink/status/956
014712591994881

19. The Gobrin
Ice
Illustration: Jess Fink
https://twitter.com/jessfink/status/9559
43186479964160

20. https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/16/17857026/ursula-k-le-guin-left-h
and-of-darkness-folio-society-artwork-david-lupton-book
20

25. Gender
in
Ursula K.
Le Guin BIO:
Gethen
Kemmer /
somer
Pregnancy
Androgynous
Terrans
Gender binary
PSICO:
Gethen
Normal /
pervert
Terrans
Men / women
SOCIAL:
Mothers?
Fathers?
25

26. Gender
in
Ursula K.
Le Guin
1969
Male pronouns
+
“The king is
pregnant”
1970 / 1985
Redux
They / new
pronouns
1995
Essentialism?
Also, new
words:
mothersib
26

27. ANN
LECKIE

28. St Louis, Missouri, 1966
—1989 , Degree in Music
—Waitress, receptionist,
rodman on a land-surveying
crew, recording engineer,
stay-at-home mom of two
(1996, 2000)

29. St Louis, Missouri, 1966-… :-)
2002 - NaNoWriMo
2005 - Participates in the
Clarion West Writers
Workshop, under Octavia
Butler (author of the
Xenogenesis series)

30. Imperial Radch Series
Breq
2013 —Ancillary Justice
2014 — Ancillary Sword
2015 — Ancillary Mercy
Ingray Aughskold
2017 — Provenance

31. Ancillary Justice
By ANN LECKIE

32. 2013
—BSFA Award Winner
( British Science Fiction Association)
2014
—Hugo Award Winner
—Nebula Award Winner
—Arthur C. Clarke Award Winner

33. 2014
—BSFA Award Winner
—Nebula nomination
2015
—Locus Award Winner
—Hugo Award Finalist

34. 2015
—Nebula Award nomination
2016
—Locus Award Winner
—Hugo Award Finalist

35. War & Peace
35

36. Gender
in Ann Leckie
BIO:
One or several
Any
characteristics
PSICO:
Artificial
Intelligence
SOCIAL:
Depends on the
perceived body
36

37. Gender
in Ann Leckie
The Empire
Universal
female
misgendering
The colonies
Invisibilization
of gender
In Provenance:
new pronouns
and words
nuncle / er /eir
37

38. Gender
in Ann Leckie
The Empire
Universal
female
misgendering
The colonies
Invisibilization
of gender
In Provenance:
new pronouns
and words
nuncle / er /eir
38

39. Gender
in Ann Leckie
The Empire
Universal
female
misgendering
The colonies
Invisibilization
of gender
In Provenance:
new pronouns
and words
nuncle / er /eir
39

40. References
Fink, Jess. Twitter Thread. Retrieved from:
https://twitter.com/jessfink/status/956017370027438080
Le Guin, Ursula K. (1989) Dancing at the edge of the world: thoughts on words, women,
places. Originally published: London: Gollancz; New York: Grove, 1989. Retrieved from
http://bit.ly/2FwMobw
Leckie, Anne. AMA on Reddit. Retrieved from:
https://www.reddit.com/r/sciencefiction/comments/2ige0f/im_ann_leckie_the_author_of_an
cillary_justice_ama/?st=jhg51qez&sh=7cdd52ad
Palm, Kevin (2014). Androgyny and the Uncanny in Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of
Darkness and Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice. Lund: Lund University. Retrieved from
http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=4939947&fileOId=4939
972
Russ, Joanna (2007). “The Image of Women in Science Fiction”, The Country You Have
Never Seen: Essays And Reviews. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.
Smillie, Tuesday. (2017) “Radical Imagination And The Left Hand of Darkness”, Ada, A
Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology. No. 12. Retrieved from
https://adanewmedia.org/2017/10/issue12-smillie/.
(https://doi.org/10.13016/M2W37KX2H) doi:10.13016/M2W37KX2H
40

41. ¡Gracias!
¿Preguntas, comentarios, ofertas de financiación para mi tesis?
bmartinez@um.es
@minibego
41