Takes you back, doesn’t it, if you’re female?
We girls were always willing to let the boys play our games, but the reciprocity just wasn’t there. The boys always made me feel like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when I wanted to join their little boy games.
I was small as a child, but it didn’t deter my tomboy tendencies. Playing with dolls was kind of a bore. When the boys played stickball out on the street, I begged to be included. The answer was always a resounding and extremely snotty “NO” shouted in unison. I think they rehearsed.
One day, the answer was yes. I was overjoyed. The snotty boy in charge pointed toward a pothole and said, “Second Base.” Wow! I had a position. Batter up! The first kid to bat hit a line drive straight to me and I caught it—without a glove, I might add. Snotty boy in charge pitched a fit and chewed me out for catching it. That confused the heck out of me. I responded by saying, “I’m supposed to catch it. I’m playing second base.” He set me straight in a snottier than snotty voice: “You’re not playing second bass, Dummy. You ARE second base.” I think I replied with a very unladylike “Drop dead!” and ran home. I never asked to play stickball with those cretins again.
That was my first taste of gender discrimination. It wasn’t my last.
The next involved reading material and came from two women—a teacher and a librarian. My teacher assigned a book report—a work of fiction, our own choice of title. I love to read, always have, so it didn’t seem like homework to me. I couldn’t wait to get myself to the local library. Unfortunately for me, the children’s librarian at the local branch was a study in conformity to gender stereotypes. She segregated the books she considered suitable for girls from those she considered suitable for boys. We got Little Women; they got Tom Sawyer. The afternoon I went to the library I accidentally on purpose wandered into the boys’ section while browsing. One look told me I’d been had, and it was only a matter of minutes before I discovered a book with a little rocket ship painted on its spine—Red Planet, one of Robert A. Heinlein’s SF juveniles. I opened it, began reading and was caught up in the sense of wonder. I had found the book for my report.
The librarian spotted me seated cross-legged on the floor, engrossed in its pages, and reminded me where the books for little girls were located, and that there were tables and chairs where a young lady might sit to read. I thanked her, grabbed a few more books with little rocket ships on their spines and checked them out along with Red Planet. I can still remember the librarian’s arched brow when I handed them to her. I’m sure she thought I would probably embark on a life of crime one day.
The day I gave my exuberant and glowing book report on Heinlein’s Red Planet, I thought for sure it would garner an A. The next school day, my teacher took me aside and informed me that Red Planet—and science fiction in general—was not appropriate reading material for a girl, and that I would have to read a more suitable book and write another report. She reached into her desk drawer and withdrew a list of titles she deemed appropriate. She had to be related to that sexist librarian. Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women was at the top of that list.
Flash forward to today, and here we go again, folks. Boys—some male science fiction writers in particular—are still marking what they believe is their territory and trying to keep girls out of the club.
While romance writers do not object when male science fiction writers include their perception of romance in their science fiction, there are male science fiction writers who have gone out of their way to belittle female romance writers who write in the sub-genre of science fiction romance. The implication in some criticism is that when it comes to the science in science fiction, romance writers (most of whom are female) are, well, not exactly the brightest stars in the night sky. Charming fellows. It’s safe to say I won’t be reading any of their books anytime soon.
The members of the science fiction old boys club obviously have never learned a very important lesson. You cannot build yourself up by tearing someone else down. It only makes you look petty and even smaller than you were to begin with.
And there is one more thing. Instead of trying to lock women out, the science fiction old boys crowd should consider themselves fortunate that we women were generous enough to allow men into a club created by one of our own. You see, the genre of science fiction did not have a father, as some incorrectly claim H.G. Wells to be. Science fiction had a mother. That’s right, a mother.
The widely acknowledged first work of science fiction is the novel Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, which was published in 1818, and was written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley—a woman. Imagine that. 🙂
7 Responses to “Boys Klub—Keep Owt! No Gurls Alowed!”
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I loved this post, Jolana! And yes, I do remember the days of “appropriate reading” for little girls.
Great post! I never ran into the gender bias when reading at the library, but that’s probably because my local librarian was amused at my attempt to read the entire fiction section from Z to A. I didn’t make it, but it’s still on the to-do list. Keep on keeping on, girlfriend, and don’t let the haters get you down. 🙂
I remember those days, too. Fortunately, my fifth grade teacher was somewhat of a feminist, and she kept copies of girl AND boy books in her classroom, and encouraged us to read ALL of them. And when I got to junior high, the librarians were to busy to worry about who was reading what. Guess I was lucky!
Great Blog Jolana, I too remember wanting to play with the boys when I was little. One time they did let me play baseball and I batted the ball clear out of the baseball field out past the road! I was considered ‘in’ from that time until the end of the school year.
Great post. Luckily for me, my father didn’t adhere to those stereotypes. He only had daughters so we were taught to shoot, fish and use the tractor. I loved the girl things too like Barbies, but my Barbies had adventures involving guns and bad guys.
I would think that guys can be a little more giving with regards to writing…after all we have male erotic romance authors and some of my favorite science fiction/fantasy authors are women.
Ah yes. Quite a few years ago, my cousin bought me a coffee cup I still have which reads: “Used to be it was a man’s world, and a woman’s place was in the home.” (picture him going out the door, smiling. She standing beside a pile of laundry holding wailing baby) Underneath is her now smiling with a terse “They can kiss that s&%t goodbye!”
When I was growing up, I also had those tomboy tastes. Thank goodness my teachers were amazingly open-minded, though. So, like you, I’m still dreaming in a science fiction universe and loving it. Keep on creating that fascinating universe. All the best, Annette