Ungendered or ambiguously gendered characters: Difference between revisions

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*[[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
     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'']].
* [[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.
     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'']].
* [[Sarah Caudwell]]. ''[[Thus was Adonis Murdered]]'', ''[[The Shortest Way to Hades]]'', ''[[The Sirens Sang of Murder]]'' and ''[[The Sibyl in Her Grave]]''.


* [[Candas Dorsey]]. [[''Machine Sex and Other Stories'']]
* [[Candas Jane Dorsey]]. ''[[Machine Sex and Other Stories]]''
* [[Candas Dorsey]]. [[''Dark Earth Dreams'']] (discbook).
* [[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
* [[L. Timmel Duchamp]] . "[[Welcome, Kid, to the Real World]]" in ''[[Tales of the Unanticipated]]'', Spring / Summer / Fall 1996




* [[Greg Egan]]. [[''Distress'']]
* [[Greg Egan]]. ''[[Distress]]''
* [[Kelly Eskridge]]. "[[And Salome Danced]]." (''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|Secret Feminist Cabal, The]]
* [[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]]


* [[Mary Gentle]]. [[''Golden Witchbreed'']].
* [[Mary Gentle]]. ''[[Golden Witchbreed]]''.


* [[Phyllis Ann Karr]] [[''At Amberleaf Fair'']]
* [[Phyllis Ann Karr]] ''[[At Amberleaf Fair]]''


* [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]. [[''The Left Hand of Darkness'']]
* [[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]]. "[[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.
       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


* [[Laurie J. Marks]] . [[''Delan the Mislaid'']]
* [[Laurie J. Marks]]. ''[[Delan the Mislaid]]''.
* [[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.
     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 [[James Tiptree Award]]--winning novel.
     The protagonist switches gender early in this [[Tiptree Award]]-winning novel.
* [[Theodore Sturgeon]]. [[''Venus Plus X'']].
* [[Theodore Sturgeon]]. ''[[Venus Plus X]]''.
     A planet in which people have no gender.
     A planet in which people have no gender.
* [[Caitlin Sullivan]] and [[Kate Bornstein]]. [[''Nearly Roadkill'']]
* [[Caitlin Sullivan]] and [[Kate Bornstein]]. ''[[Nearly Roadkill]]''.


* [[Élisabeth Vonarburg]]. [[''Silent City'']].
* [[Élisabeth Vonarburg]]. ''S[[ilent 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


* [[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''  

Revision as of 20:16, 26 November 2007

NOTE: Some of the explanations below contain spoilers. 

    The young boy Tip is eventually revealed to be the Princess Ozma.

    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

    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.



     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.

    The character of Merideth is never given a gender identification.

    The protagonist switches gender early in this Tiptree Award-winning novel.

    A planet in which people have no gender.

    All characters have gender-ambiguous names (like "Chris" and "Sandy") and none has an identified gender.

Credits

List 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

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