Queer Frontiers: GLTB Speculative Fiction

Back in late 80s as I was coming out of the closet I remembered finding book by the author Tanith Lee called Delirium’s Mistress. It featured a striking cover, with ruins and a woman riding a blue-maned, winged lion. I started reading the book on the 96 bus, to my summer job. I was immediately transported to an Arabian Knights-styled landscape, told in lovely, if slightly purple prose, that described some homoerotic activity. The 96 bus has a crosstown route that takes forever, but the gay sex in a fantasy setting enthralled me to the point that I didn’t even notice the time it took. While I had read Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, as well other fantasy and SF classics (Watership Down, Dune etc.,) it was book that introduced me to sex-positive, non-judgmental, gender-bending genre fiction that sparked my lifelong obsession. Discovering GLBT SF and Fantasy was a bit of a lifesaver for me, and the works gave me courage. At last weekend's Gaylaxicon, I discovered that I was not the only one who feels that way.

From slash fiction—fan fiction that recasts popular characters as gay lovers (think Mulder/Skinner or Spock/Kirk) to serious explorations of gender (Ursula LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness) and feminism (Joanna Russ’ The Female Man), SF and Fantasy has a vibrant history celebrating alternate sexuality and gender expression. You just have to know where to look. For Gay and Lesbian speculative fiction, check out Lambda SF, which has an extensive list of glbt positive books. They range from the light-hearted to serious (Samuel Delany’s work on these themes have been discussed here). For works that explore gender, there is the James Tiptree Jr. Award list of winners and honorees. James Tiptree Jr. was the pseudonym of local author Alice Sheldon, who shook up the SF world in the 1960s by writing fiction that blisteringly skewered gender roles. Finally, the Spectrum Awards were recently announced at Gaylaxicon 2008—and I am proud to announce that my own fiction was honored on the shortlist.