8.2 /10 1 Votes8.2
Language English Publication date 1995 ISBN 0-253-20983-8 | 4.1/5 Goodreads Genre Non-fiction essays Media type Print Originally published 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nominations Hugo Award for Best Related Work, Locus Award for Best Non-Fiction Similar The Two of Them, The Hidden Side of th, Extra(ordinary) People, And Chaos Died, The Adventures of Alyx | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To Write Like a Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction is a collection of essays by Joanna Russ, published in 1995. Many of the essays previously appeared as letters, in anthologies, or in journals like Science Fiction Studies, Extrapolation, and Chrysalis. Topics range from the work of specific authors to major trends in feminism and science fiction. Through all of these different topics, Russ underlines the importance of celebrating the work of female authors and turning a critical eye on the commentaries and work produced by men.
Contents
The collection is split up into two sections. Part One focuses on the critique of masculinist writing and male authorship, while Part Two focuses on the work of female authors and their relationship to writing.
Part One
Originally published in "Science Fiction Studies, July 1975
Originally published in Extrapolation, Vol. 15. (1973)
Originally published in Science Fiction Studies, November 1978
Originally published in Science Fiction Studies, March 1980
Originally published in Science Fiction Studies, March 1980
Originally published in Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies, Fall 1975
Part Two
Originally published as part of Susan Koppelman's Images of Women in Fiction: Feminist Perspectives
Originally published in The Journal of Popular Culture, 1973.
Originally published as the introduction to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's posthumous collection, Tales and Stories, 1975.
Originally published in Marleen S. Barr's Future Females: A Critical Anthology.
Originally published in The Journal of Homosexuality, 1986.
Originally written as a letter to the editors of the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) Journal but published for the first time here in To Write Like a Woman.
Originally published as a letter to the editors of Chrysalis in 1979.
Reception
This collection of essays has been praised for its accessibility, even to readers unfamiliar with complex feminist or science fiction critique theory. Criticism has mostly been centered on the contradictions in subject matter for the essays, since the source material ranges from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley to Star Trek. In addition, critics have claimed that Russ' cautions against psychoanalytic readings of an author's work are naïve and overly simplistic.