Le Guin has acknowledged that some of her own heterosexist bias crept in while imagining sexual preferences as well as ‘defaulting’ to an association between masculinity and authority/political power. It is also a story that is interesting to look at in context. The Left Hand of Darkness imagines an alien race that is neither male nor female, and undergoes a reproductive cycle (kemmer) during which they develop male/female genitalia temporarily and arbitrarily, resulting in many sexual combinations over the lifetime, including fairly universal pregnancy and ‘motherhood.’ That was a pretty wild and innovative concept for 1969, and though the story is seen through the eyes of a biologically male human Genly who is visiting this ‘ambisexual’ planet on a diplomatic mission (Genly also happens to be described as ‘dark-skinned’), the depth of development of the differently gendered world is extraordinary and engrossing. She was a prolific and critically-acclaimed author who brought feminist commentary on the construction of gender to the genre and opened doors for female authors. My quickie review: This won’t be the first or last rec list to begin with Ursula Le Guin. Rationale for inclusion: Multi-awards: Hugo, Nebula widely regarded as a groundbreaking and seminal work in SFF (see: reference) portrayal of bisexuality and reconstruction of gender Themes: Futuristic, science fiction, alien races, hermaphrodite/bisexuality, non-binary gender The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin I’ve written more about #OwnVoices previously if you care to learn more, and/or, check out this handy Q&A written by #OwnVoices creator Corinne Duyvis.
In a nutshell, #OwnVoices is a movement to uplift titles about marginalized groups, which are written by members of those marginalized groups, in order to combat historic and ongoing barriers for marginalized authors. I also should mention I was intentional in choosing a diverse range of titles in terms of when they were written, the types of characters, themes, as well as #OwnVoices. Last, I thought it was important to include why I thought each title was noteworthy, beyond my subjective appraisal since if I was in fact teaching a course on gay fantasy, that kind of thing would be important. I really have to be in the right mood to read dystopian and futuristic sci fi. Maybe I’ll work on updating the list for the future with more fantasy sub-genres. I called this “an intro to gay fantasy” because I don’t purport to have the literary cred to throw out recs across the queer spectrum, though I think there’s decent representation in terms of race/ethnicity. Some of the titles have lesbian, bi, and trans characters. Those also happen to be the only young adult titles, and I only have one sci fi and one fairytale short story collection. I included one urban fantasy/superhero title and one magical realism.
Feel free to let me know about those!ĭisclaimer #2: These books are heavily skewed toward my reading (and writing) preferences, which are fantasy of the epic, historical, and/or magical sort, and more G than LBTQAI.
I’m sure I missed some stellar books that aren’t on my radar. So, what should you take away from my little curated list? I guess just some ideas about what to check out if you’re new to gay fantasy, or even if you’re a huge fan and like comparing notes. They’re a bit disingenuous, so unnecessarily declarative, I think, and when I see them in magazines or blogs, I tend to be naturally cynical. I actually kind of hate “best of” and “top ten” lists. I could probably write an entire article on disclaimers about this list-the sea of titles to choose from, the subjective nature of singling out certain books, and the like. That, combined with my love of the genre inspired me to tackle the project of putting together a list of titles as a departure point for readers looking for good quality portrayals of gay characters. I’m often asked for fantasy recommendations, particularly on the gay fiction-side.