Robert A. Heinlein

Notable for writing female characters without sexual inhibitions.

Bibliography at Wikipeda

Sexism in Heinlein

People frequently cite Heinlein as a nonsexist or even feminist writer, and just as frequently cite him as sexist. The principle argument that he was nonsexist or feminist is that he often wrote about intelligent female characters, who were sexually liberated. In response, critics have pointed out:

In general "sexual liberated women" = "sexually available to everyone"

There is this scene in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress where the men are training with guns for the revolution, and then the narrator starts to talk about what the women are doing to help, and for just a moment there the reader gets excited about what the women are doing and them getting a meaningful part. Then he tells us that the women get to help "keep up the morale" by bouncing their breasts in low-g. So the only way women can help the revolution is by being sex objects.

The treatment of the older sister in The Rolling Stones: She's never as good as the boys at anything, and is a bit of background character. The family seems quite concerned with her being married off, with no corresponding concern for whether or not the boys will get married.

Podkayne in Podkayne of Mars is the prototypical spunky girl protagonist — who gives it all up in the end to be a wife.

Friday in Friday is an intelligent, beautiful, able young woman, who nevertheless appears governed in significant part by her biological capacity for childbearing.

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