A series of essays examining how the SFF community is doing in terms of representation of gender identity and sexuality – are works by women, queer and non-binary people finding an audience, and what about representation within current SFF books, television/film and video games.
There are some general surveys of the state of the industry followed by articles examining specific works (specifically Cuckoo Song and Coraline, A Song of Ice & Fire, Magic: the Gathering, the film versions of JRR Tolkien’s works and Star Wars.
I have to admit to skimming the piece on Magic: the Gathering as it meant nothing to me. Otherwise, it is in part quite depressing and partly shows progress is (slowly) being made.
The main takeaway for me is that I will not be starting to read the works of Laurell K Hamilton any time soon, as all her bisexual characters are just awful, but that I should definitely be checking out Lost Girl.
An interesting read. Be warned: This is a proper academic book with footnotes and everything.
