Sex! - Part 2
Well, the comments in part one went in a bit of a different direction than I'd intended, so let me flesh out what I wanted to get into with this post. Basically, the whole explicit vs. implied argument doesn't mean much to me - I'm not offended by sex scenes in books, nor do they do much to turn me on, so I can take it or leave it. What I'm interested in is the role that sex plays in science fiction, not whether or not it's "right" to have an explicit sex scene for no apparent reason. Anyway...onto the post.
Oh, and I apologize in advance to the hard SF crowd as most of my opinions are based on sociological SF - it's what I read and I find that sex in hard SF tends to be of the throwaway type (ie. hero sleeps with double agent femme fatale and/or finally enters into relationship with long-term romantic interest - or "hero gets the girl" syndrome).
Anyhow, here's what I'd like to suggest: In science fiction, most particularly in SF that depicts a future Earth or human perspectives in an alien world, depictions of sex are absolutely vital. To my mind, any science fiction that wants to deal with a radically different society has to, at some point, deal with sex. Case in point: the institutionalized orgies of Brave New World. BNW is an overwhelmingly sexual novel, and it has to be because it's primarily about a world that reduces human nature to a mechanized assembly line - hence the rigid structure and scheduling of the orgies. The book is forced to give an account of sexuality because, as a look at humans in a radically different setting, it's forced to examine human nature. This, I argue, is what makes a great science fiction book - the unflinching examination of the human condition - and, sex being a rather important part of being human, great sociological SF necessarily has to look at sex in some form. Does that logic work for everyone?
There are a number of other books that would fit well into this argument (namely Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, Butler's Lilith's Brood trilogy and Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale - all women, by the way, which I don't think is a coincidence) but BNW is the most obvious example.
I'd also like to assert that SF not so concerned with a radically different society also has to look at sexuality. Just as futuristic SF looks at possible trends in the basic day-to-day lives of people ahead of our time (ie. owning electric animals in Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and jacking into a three dimensional net in Gibson's Neuromancer or Stephenson's Snow Crash) one has to acknowledge that society's view of sex will most certainly change in the future. Think back one hundred years and try to imagine society's views on pre-marital sex as compared with today's. Obviously a difference, right? Well, I think SF, insofar as it looks into other cultural changes, has a responsibility to look at changes in the perception of sex. These aren't things that have to overwhelm a story, but can add depth if used correctly.
To use myself as an example, there's quite a lot of homosexuality in Glistening Edges and Right Angles. That's not in there just for the hell of it. Instead, it's a manifestation of my belief that the world, right now, is on something of sexual precipice (regarding a lot of things, actually, but homosexuality is the biggest) and that within two or three generations, people who think homosexuals are immoral sinners will be thought of the same way we today think of people who disapproved of civil rights for minorities (or women, for that matter). The sexuality of my characters doesn't have an effect on the plot of the story, it's just there, as an element of everyday life in my futuristic society.
So, now that I've clarified myself, any opinions?
Oh, and I apologize in advance to the hard SF crowd as most of my opinions are based on sociological SF - it's what I read and I find that sex in hard SF tends to be of the throwaway type (ie. hero sleeps with double agent femme fatale and/or finally enters into relationship with long-term romantic interest - or "hero gets the girl" syndrome).
Anyhow, here's what I'd like to suggest: In science fiction, most particularly in SF that depicts a future Earth or human perspectives in an alien world, depictions of sex are absolutely vital. To my mind, any science fiction that wants to deal with a radically different society has to, at some point, deal with sex. Case in point: the institutionalized orgies of Brave New World. BNW is an overwhelmingly sexual novel, and it has to be because it's primarily about a world that reduces human nature to a mechanized assembly line - hence the rigid structure and scheduling of the orgies. The book is forced to give an account of sexuality because, as a look at humans in a radically different setting, it's forced to examine human nature. This, I argue, is what makes a great science fiction book - the unflinching examination of the human condition - and, sex being a rather important part of being human, great sociological SF necessarily has to look at sex in some form. Does that logic work for everyone?
There are a number of other books that would fit well into this argument (namely Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, Butler's Lilith's Brood trilogy and Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale - all women, by the way, which I don't think is a coincidence) but BNW is the most obvious example.
I'd also like to assert that SF not so concerned with a radically different society also has to look at sexuality. Just as futuristic SF looks at possible trends in the basic day-to-day lives of people ahead of our time (ie. owning electric animals in Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and jacking into a three dimensional net in Gibson's Neuromancer or Stephenson's Snow Crash) one has to acknowledge that society's view of sex will most certainly change in the future. Think back one hundred years and try to imagine society's views on pre-marital sex as compared with today's. Obviously a difference, right? Well, I think SF, insofar as it looks into other cultural changes, has a responsibility to look at changes in the perception of sex. These aren't things that have to overwhelm a story, but can add depth if used correctly.
To use myself as an example, there's quite a lot of homosexuality in Glistening Edges and Right Angles. That's not in there just for the hell of it. Instead, it's a manifestation of my belief that the world, right now, is on something of sexual precipice (regarding a lot of things, actually, but homosexuality is the biggest) and that within two or three generations, people who think homosexuals are immoral sinners will be thought of the same way we today think of people who disapproved of civil rights for minorities (or women, for that matter). The sexuality of my characters doesn't have an effect on the plot of the story, it's just there, as an element of everyday life in my futuristic society.
So, now that I've clarified myself, any opinions?
11 Comments:
As a literary device, sex is a method to explore a new aspect of intimacy between characters - or, as in Brave New World, show up their imperfections by demonstrating a new aspect of alienation. In BNW, everyone has sex and no one gets intimate. My making the act trivial, it serves to further isolate each individual.
In SF, any exploration of new sex is an exploration of new forms of intimacy. Telepathic, cyber-inhanced, or alien on top, it all falls under "Here's what's different. Now, what's the same?"
I read SciFi as much for the explorations of alternate relationships as anything else. Patricia Kennealy, Ursula Le Guin, and Anne McCaffrey (in her science fiction, not fantasy) are some of the writers I have enjoyed because of their intelligent treatment of marriage and interpersonal relationships. Nice posts - it was interesting to come across the discussion.
Now that you've explained further, I do think that current SF (atleast the stuff I've encountered) doesn't do enough to address issues of intimacy and relationships between characters (human or otherwise).
Part of it is largely based on the status quo for what SF should be. You mostly have, machines-taking-over, or fight-the-aliens, or plug-into-computer type scenarios that are very impersonal and so intimacy finds itself taking the back bench.
Though I do think that careful use of intimacy goes a long way to add depth to the characters. For example, in the Alien movies, Sigourney Weaver had some connection with that beast which made you almost feel sorry for it as it was being killed. Also, in the The Matrix, the intimacy between Neo and Trinity, I felt, added a lot of depth to the later scenes where the two are seperated by death.
I agree that the issue of sex is fair game when you are trying to play future anthropologist as a SF writer... but let me say this also. Being a life long SF fan, I know what the target demographic is for SF... you know what I mean. Sex is used mostly for the titilation and exploitative reasons... just like nudity in horror movies. They know who is watching, and they know how to keep interest. For further examples of this, look into Japanese manga and anime, and how "fan service" works.
Your assertion is a total no-brainer.
Social sci-fi is usually a glimpse of a better future, and in most cases that means resolving the sex and sexuality issues that have cursed us little earthers for all of history.
this is really weird, i just wanna ask how u have the left side filled with whetever u want, ~i'm new~sorry~if u are kind enough please help me by commenting me~
thanks a lot~
Excellent post, Cavan, if you don't mind me saying.
Of course sex needs to be explored in order to understand a culture. We sure explore it a lot when we look at the animal kingdom ;)
Yes, so many books and authors have explored it and yet not enough. (And it does seem like women take it to the extremem, no?) But even hard SF touches on the matter occasionally when it is hard SF combined with some social issues, although you're right, it's more a sociological SF thing.
Great post. Although I'm not sure I liked your treatment of hard SF there - "hero sleeps with double agent femme fatale" ;)
Thanks for the comments everyone.
Spot on, I think.
Melly - you're right, I shouldn't generalize about hard SF. In fact, I can even think of a hard SF novel (Sawyer's Flashforward) where, even if a "new" sort of sexuality isn't explored, intimacy is treated in a mature way and really drives the story.
Still, I think some SF leans towards sex in the manner that Carl points out - for the purposes of titillation - and that mostly happens to be "adventure" SF. You know the kind I mean - with an attractive hero on the cover with a raygun in one hand and a hot green-skinned girl in the other.
But not all "sociological" SF does or has to address issues of sex. For example, Ender's Game does not touch sexual issues, and is widely considered very good SF. Saying that it "has to" address sex places an arbitrary limitation on SF which is, IMHO, antithetical to the nature of the literature.
I thought the very generic feelings about "taboo" sex - orgies, multiple casual partners, forced sex play for children, etc. wasn't so much about sex as it was about the lack of intimacy and the lack of connection to others in Brave New World. Huxley's dystopia where responsibility and family and selflessness, etc. are frowned upon -frees the reader from the confines of his/her life and at the same time gives them pause to consider and appreciate all that is good about humanity.
In The Handmaiden our treatment of the environment came back and bit us in the ass. Only people in positions of power could afford all it would take to have children. Of course, not only did it show a total debasement of women as human beings, but it made sex a nightmare for all but the man. You have a handmaiden who is an interloper in a household and reviled by most of its inhabitants. She is an outcast in society because she is sheltered from all interaction. She is resented by the barren woman for whom she must conceive and carry a child. Or, that could just be what I got out of it.
Zach, I don't think all sociological SF has to take a look at sex, just all sociological SF that's taking a look at a new and different society. The society of Ender's Game is roughly the same as ours today.
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