A few weeks ago the feminist website, Autostraddle, announced that they were looking for trans women to write for them. I’m always happy to bring good science fiction to a new audience, so I pitched them an article about the future of gender, as seen by SF writers. I’m delighted to report that they liked the idea, and the article is now online.

If you are a regular reader, there’s probably not a lot new there, but the material is structured in a different way. From working with Jon Turney I’ve noticed that in the futurology business people do talk about the future of gender. Typically those people are cis males. This concerns me, and I’d like to offer a different viewpoint.

Plus, of course, it will hopefully encourage people to buy some good books.

What isn’t in the article, but I strongly recommend, is Pat Cadigan’s Hugo-nominated short story, “The Girl Thing Who Went Out For Sushi”. On the surface it is about people who get body modifications in order to live more easily on and around the outer planets, but it is clear from the language used that Pat is basing her ideas on genderqueer people. I understand she’s working on a novel based on the story. I’m really looking forward to that.

One of the most interesting aspects of Pat’s story is that humanity’s obsession with binaries is a result of our two-legged, two-armed, two-eyed nature. She suggests that adopting other body forms might lead to more flexible political attitudes. I seem to recall there being something similar going on with the Moties in Niven & Pournelle’s The Mote in God’s Eye. I have no idea whether that makes sense or not, but it is interesting speculation and that makes it good science fiction. Eight legs good, two legs bad, as they say on the moons of Jupiter.