Gender Representation in 1970s Science Fiction: Joanna Russ and Ursula Le Guin

Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation

Science fiction has long been a medium through which harmful gender stereotypes have thrived. Despite being forward-thinking in terms of science and technology, sci-fi novels and short stories often portray societies that are patriarchal and male-centric. Enter Ursula K. Le Guin and Joanna Russ, two women whose writing became highly popular and influential in the science fiction scene of the 1970s. Despite the societal norms of the time, Le Guin and Russ were able to use their science fiction to explore then-unconventional ideas of gender. Yet, despite taking revolutionary steps that transformed the world of science fiction, both Le Guin and Russ struggled to fight the sexist culture they were immersed in and find an understanding of gender within it.