Ungendered or ambiguously gendered characters: Difference between revisions
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* [[June Arnold]] . [[The Cook and the Carpenter]] | * [[June Arnold]] . [[The Cook and the Carpenter]] | ||
* [[L. Frank Baum]].* [[Oz|''The Land of Oz'']] | * [[L. Frank Baum]].* [[Oz|''The Land of Oz'']] The young boy Tip is eventually revealed to be the Princess Ozma. | ||
* [[L. Frank Baum]]. ''The Enchanted Island of Yew'' | * [[L. Frank Baum]]. ''The Enchanted Island of Yew'' | ||
*[[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]. [[Darkover]] | *[[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]. [[Darkover]] Despite its inclusion in this list, Darkover is not generally known for its ungendered characters; it does feature homosexual characters, and also celibacy as a path to magical power | ||
* [[Emma Bull]]. ''[[Bone Dance]]''. Sparrow, the protagonist of ''Bone Dance'' appears to be a character whose gender the author is deliberately not revealing, but in fact Sparrow is something very different. | |||
* [[Emma Bull]]. ''[[Bone Dance]]''. | |||
* [[Sarah Caudwell]]. ''[[Thus was Adonis Murdered]]'', ''[[The Shortest Way to Hades]]'', ''[[The Sirens Sang of Murder]]'' and ''[[The Sibyl in Her Grave]]''. | * [[Sarah Caudwell]]. ''[[Thus was Adonis Murdered]]'', ''[[The Shortest Way to Hades]]'', ''[[The Sirens Sang of Murder]]'' and ''[[The Sibyl in Her Grave]]''. | ||
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* [[Greg Egan]]. ''[[Distress]]'' | * [[Greg Egan]]. ''[[Distress]]'' | ||
* [[Kelley Eskridge]]. "[[And Salome Danced]]," in ''Little Deaths,'' edited by [[Ellen Datlow]]; ''Best Lesbian Erotica,'' edited by Tristan Taormino; ''[[Flying Cups and Saucers]]'', edited by [[Debbie Notkin]] and [[Secret Feminist Cabal, The|The Secret Feminist Cabal]] | * [[Kelley Eskridge]]. "[[And Salome Danced]]," in ''Little Deaths,'' edited by [[Ellen Datlow]]; ''Best Lesbian Erotica,'' edited by Tristan Taormino; ''[[Flying Cups and Saucers]]'', edited by [[Debbie Notkin]] and [[Secret Feminist Cabal, The|The Secret Feminist Cabal]] The viewpoint character in this short story is a theatrical director, fascinated and confused by an actor who can audition for and play parts across the gender spectrum, inhabiting whichever gender seems appropriate at the time. | ||
* [[Mary Gentle]]. ''[[Golden Witchbreed]]''. | * [[Mary Gentle]]. ''[[Golden Witchbreed]]''. | ||
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* [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]. "[[Coming of Age in Karhide]]," in ''New Legends'' edited by Greg Bear | * [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]. "[[Coming of Age in Karhide]]," in ''New Legends'' edited by Greg Bear | ||
* [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]. "[[Winter's King]]," in ''[[The Wind's Twelve Quarters]]'' and elsewhere. | * [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]. "[[Winter's King]]," in ''[[The Wind's Twelve Quarters]]'' and elsewhere. | ||
On Karhide, all inhabitants are ungendered, except when in [[''kemmer'']], a pre-reproductive state which occurs in adults approximately one week every month. Adults may become male or female in any particular kemmer. If an adult in kemmer as a female becomes pregnant, she remains female long enough to bear and nurse the baby, and then returns to the natural ungendered state. | |||
* [[Walt Leibscher]]. "[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Love?]]" in ''Strange Bedfellows,'' edited by Thomas N. Scortia | * [[Walt Leibscher]]. "[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Love?]]" in ''Strange Bedfellows,'' edited by Thomas N. Scortia | ||
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* [[Laurie Marks]]. ''[[The Moonbane Mage]]''. | * [[Laurie Marks]]. ''[[The Moonbane Mage]]''. | ||
* [[Laurie Marks]]. ''[[Ara's Field]]''. | * [[Laurie Marks]]. ''[[Ara's Field]]''. | ||
* [[Vonda N. McIntyre]]. ''[[Dreamsnake]]''. | * [[Vonda N. McIntyre]]. ''[[Dreamsnake]]''. The character of Merideth is never given a gender identification. | ||
* [[Judith Moffet]] . ''[[Time Like an Ever-Rolling Stream]]'' | * [[Judith Moffet]] . ''[[Time Like an Ever-Rolling Stream]]'' | ||
* [[Melissa Scott]]. ''[[The Kindly Ones]]''. | * [[Melissa Scott]]. ''[[The Kindly Ones]]''. | ||
* [[Nancy Springer]]. ''[[Larque on the Wing]]''. | * [[Nancy Springer]]. ''[[Larque on the Wing]]''. The protagonist switches gender early in this [[Tiptree Award]]-winning novel. | ||
* [[Theodore Sturgeon]]. ''[[Venus Plus X]]''. A planet in which people appear to have no gender. | |||
* [[Theodore Sturgeon]]. ''[[Venus Plus X]]''. | |||
* [[Caitlin Sullivan]] and [[Kate Bornstein]]. ''[[Nearly Roadkill]]''. | * [[Caitlin Sullivan]] and [[Kate Bornstein]]. ''[[Nearly Roadkill]]''. | ||
* [[Élisabeth Vonarburg]]. '' | * [[Élisabeth Vonarburg]]. ''[[Silent City]]''. | ||
* [[Élisabeth Vonarburg]]. "[[In the Pit]]," in ''Tesseracts 2,'' edited by [[Phylis M. Gotlieb]] and Douglas Barbour | * [[Élisabeth Vonarburg]]. "[[In the Pit]]," in ''Tesseracts 2,'' edited by [[Phylis M. Gotlieb]] and Douglas Barbour | ||
* [[Élisabeth Vonarburg]]. "[[Bande Ohne Ende]]," in ''Tomorrow,'' 1/94, #3 | * [[Élisabeth Vonarburg]]. "[[Bande Ohne Ende]]," in ''Tomorrow,'' 1/94, #3 | ||
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* [[Jeanette Winterson]]. ''[[Written on the Body]]'' | * [[Jeanette Winterson]]. ''[[Written on the Body]]'' | ||
* [[Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]]. "[[Allies]]," in ''Cautionary Tales'' | * [[Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]]. "[[Allies]]," in ''Cautionary Tales'' All characters have gender-ambiguous names (like "Chris" and "Sandy") and none has an identified gender throughout the story. | ||
==Credits== | ==Credits== | ||
A portion of this list was originally compiled by [[Laurie J. Marks]] as "Gender Ambiguity: A Seriously Incomplete Bibliography of Fiction in Which Gender Is Eliminated or Ambiguous" (1997 May 22) available at the feministsf.org website at http://feministsf.org/bibs/ambiggen.html | |||
[[Category:Gender and sex themes]] | [[Category:Gender and sex themes]] | ||
[[Category:Lists of works by theme]] | [[Category:Lists of works by theme]] | ||
[[category:Themes and tropes by name]] | |||
Latest revision as of 09:36, 20 December 2010
NOTE: Some of the explanations below contain spoilers.
- L. Frank Baum.* The Land of Oz The young boy Tip is eventually revealed to be the Princess Ozma.
- L. Frank Baum. The Enchanted Island of Yew
- Marion Zimmer Bradley. Darkover Despite its inclusion in this list, Darkover is not generally known for its ungendered characters; it does feature homosexual characters, and also celibacy as a path to magical power
- Emma Bull. Bone Dance. Sparrow, the protagonist of Bone Dance appears to be a character whose gender the author is deliberately not revealing, but in fact Sparrow is something very different.
- Sarah Caudwell. Thus was Adonis Murdered, The Shortest Way to Hades, The Sirens Sang of Murder and The Sibyl in Her Grave.
- Candas Jane Dorsey. Machine Sex and Other Stories
- Candas Jane Dorsey. Dark Earth Dreams (discbook).
- L. Timmel Duchamp . "Welcome, Kid, to the Real World" in Tales of the Unanticipated, Spring / Summer / Fall 1996
- Greg Egan. Distress
- Kelley Eskridge. "And Salome Danced," in Little Deaths, edited by Ellen Datlow; Best Lesbian Erotica, edited by Tristan Taormino; Flying Cups and Saucers, edited by Debbie Notkin and The Secret Feminist Cabal The viewpoint character in this short story is a theatrical director, fascinated and confused by an actor who can audition for and play parts across the gender spectrum, inhabiting whichever gender seems appropriate at the time.
- Ursula K. Le Guin. The Left Hand of Darkness
- Ursula K. Le Guin. "Coming of Age in Karhide," in New Legends edited by Greg Bear
- Ursula K. Le Guin. "Winter's King," in The Wind's Twelve Quarters and elsewhere.
On Karhide, all inhabitants are ungendered, except when in ''kemmer'', a pre-reproductive state which occurs in adults approximately one week every month. Adults may become male or female in any particular kemmer. If an adult in kemmer as a female becomes pregnant, she remains female long enough to bear and nurse the baby, and then returns to the natural ungendered state.
- Walt Leibscher. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Love?" in Strange Bedfellows, edited by Thomas N. Scortia
- Laurie J. Marks. Delan the Mislaid.
- Laurie Marks. The Moonbane Mage.
- Laurie Marks. Ara's Field.
- Vonda N. McIntyre. Dreamsnake. The character of Merideth is never given a gender identification.
- Judith Moffet . Time Like an Ever-Rolling Stream
- Melissa Scott. The Kindly Ones.
- Nancy Springer. Larque on the Wing. The protagonist switches gender early in this Tiptree Award-winning novel.
- Theodore Sturgeon. Venus Plus X. A planet in which people appear to have no gender.
- Caitlin Sullivan and Kate Bornstein. Nearly Roadkill.
- Élisabeth Vonarburg. Silent City.
- Élisabeth Vonarburg. "In the Pit," in Tesseracts 2, edited by Phylis M. Gotlieb and Douglas Barbour
- Élisabeth Vonarburg. "Bande Ohne Ende," in Tomorrow, 1/94, #3
- Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. "Allies," in Cautionary Tales All characters have gender-ambiguous names (like "Chris" and "Sandy") and none has an identified gender throughout the story.
Credits
A portion of this list was originally compiled by Laurie J. Marks as "Gender Ambiguity: A Seriously Incomplete Bibliography of Fiction in Which Gender Is Eliminated or Ambiguous" (1997 May 22) available at the feministsf.org website at http://feministsf.org/bibs/ambiggen.html