message 0051

• Gender roles in C.J. Cherryh's writing; incl. Azi and aliens (huge thread!)

>From: Jo Jaquinta <jaymin>
>Subject: CherryhList: gender and role
>Date: Mon, 7 Dec 92 8:17:35 GMT

> >From: Lesley Grant <lgrant>
> I think that in
> Cherryh's writing, 'gender' as a category has been radically reconstructed,
> or even done away with altogether. 'Femininity' and 'masculinity' may no
> longer be meaningful categories for large numbers of people (although
> Stationers are depicted as being more conservative than Merchanters or
> military).
	I agree wholeheartedly. But why then is there this dissatisfaction
amongst the feminist critical community with Cherryh? _In the Chinks of the
World Machine_ is exceptional in its criticisim of Cherryh in that it actually
*mentions* her. Most don't.
	One potential case for criticism is that her characters might be
seen as the quasi-feminist attitude that "Women are the same as men because
they can be just like men" (like violence, opression, ... macho women with
guns), i.e. promoting women who enact male roles rather than promoting women
in their own roles. Many of Cherryh's women exhibit male-positive roles
(leadership, initiative, ...) but not than many female-positive roles
(I can only think of one "mother" in her books).
	I think the sort of stories that critical feminists like to see
involve women struggling against opression and winning through based on
their own possitive attributes without succumbing to using male techniques.
Grand, this is fine where in a world like now where radical philosophy is 
a positive asset into making women aware they are not "the weker sex"
and that can gain credibility by exhibiting their own positive traits
than mimicing the male dominated world around them.
	However, as Science Fiction is supposed to do, Cherryh takes
her settings beyond the current. Her future does not fit in well with
various common elements of feminist ideals. There are still widespread
higherarchal, more or less male-prevelent power systems. (Which also
makes her works more accessible to the general public) What they either
fail or refuse to acknowledge is that, as Lesley says, "'gender' as a 
category has been radically reconstructed". They highlight the change
to the women but not the change to the men. If you look at it objectively
you might say there has been a coming together of paths. If you just
glance through it you only notice the variances (e.g. Emory's child
abuse) and gain a distorted view. I think this is very clever of
Cherryh in that the books can be viewed at several different levels.
Sadly the the critical feminists are already turned-off her books
and don't give them this depth of consideration. [Perhaps because of
her own reputed attitude toward them :-]

	On a tangent to this I remember being rather revolted by one
Cherryh Filk song ("Stationers and Merchenters" ?) about the merchant
woman who marries the stationer in Downbelow Station. It portrayed her
as the dutiful, love-struck wife following three paces behind her
husband. Talk about being at odds with reality! I'll type in the lyrics
if people want...

> She made the Chanur series sound as woeful and stupid as one of the books
> she raved about actually is (_Star Riders_ *Never* read this book!).
	Well, if you like eternal 14 year olds with an attitude leaping
from star to star on the backs of doggies I don't think you'll have any
problem with it :-).

				Jo