(Artist: Miriam English)

Contents Convener's Report Book Review:        Journals of the Plague Years Books for the 'XX'-Philes:        A sample of female sf/fantasy authors to look out for Fanzine Submissions Gay and Lesbian SF Fandom:        FIAWOL or FIJAGH? Movie Review:       Jeffrey Original Fiction:       Tortured Thoughts of a Boy in Love Diverse Universe #5.                 ISSN: 1445 - 0011 Release date: 26 October 2000.  This issue compiled by:  Geoff and Miriam  Spaced Out Inc.is the gay/lesbian SF Club of Victoria  Incorporated Association number A0039311B ABN 36007859611  P.O. Box 363, Preston 3072, Victoria, AUSTRALIA. html://www.vicnet.net.au/~spaceout/  email us at spacedoutinc@hotmail.com  NOTE that this address is new Diverse Universe ©2000 by Spaced Out. Paper reprints are authorised provided our material remains intact and acknowledgement is given to "Spaced Out" and its individual contributors.  Please do not repost this newsletter on any part of the Internet without permission from Spaced Out. The rights for all original contributions are hereby returned to the contributors.

Book Review: Journals of the Plague Years by Norman Spinrad Published by Bantam Spectra Books, 1995 Reviewed by KR What a difference five years makes. Until the development of multi-drug therapies in the mid-1990s, and the widespread availability of these medicines in western nations such as Australia, the AIDS scene was quite different from what is is today. Back in those earlier days, AIDS was a hysterically feared, invariably fatal condition with an attached homophobic stigma.  How quickly we seem to forget... Spinrad's novel was originally written in the mid-to-late 1980s and was finally published in its current form in 1995.  The fact that the book took some years to see publication (and that the name "AIDS" was avoided throughout) remains as testimony to those early days of AIDS hysteria. A reading of this short novel gives us glimpses and reminders of those early plague days - and of a horrifying and all-too-possible future. The story is told through the eyes of four main characters, who inevitably become intimately (so to speak) connected through the tragedy of a futuristic world plague. We learn the individual stories of a religious fundamentalist, a medical scientist, a disillusioned marine, and a young woman in search of meaning in a world where "sex and death (are) inextricably entwined". Spinrad presents a gritty adults-only novel containing a future where safe sex and "meat sex" compete for social dominance, just as religion and politics battle to control the world's ideologies and power structures (is this science fiction or contemporary social commentary?) The real-life possible future for AIDS remains uncertain and terrifying. The plague continues unchecked across Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.  In the West, the virus may ultimately develop an immunity to drugs and we may end up with a future that is similar in spirit - if not in actual mechanics - to the future as proposed by Spinrad. The novel's convoluted twists finally reveal that the lives and fate of these characters are entwined and inter-dependent.  Despite their opposing world views, life experiences and value systems, they are ultimately reliant upon each other for their own survival and for that of their world. That is a lesson we could all learn. Highly recommended though gritty adult reading *****

Electronic publishing can be a shocking business!

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Some SF fans believe that Fandom Is A Way Of Life (FIAWOL), arguing that being an SF fan is indicative of how we view ourselves and our Universe; where SF fans do not quite fit in to the "mundane" world around them (see "Galaxy Quest").  These fans label non-SF fans as "mundanes" (a term coined in apparent tribute by the creator of "Babylon 5" to refer to non-telepaths).

Other SF fans believe that Fandom Is Just A Goddamn' Hobby (FIJAGH) and they enjoy SF in a more casual, light hearted way.  They watch the spaceships and exotic aliens for fun and relaxation and probably view the more "serious" fans with some dubious disdain.  It's all in fun, folks!

The arguments between FIAWOL and FIJAGH have arguable parallels in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) communities.  Are we a product of nature or nurture?  Are we born queer or do we somehow become this way? Is our alternate sexuality a learned behaviour or somehow simply a "part of who we are"?

Similarly, do people become SF fans because of their individual personalities and world views (nature), or do they become involved because they are attracted to the whizz-bang of space battles and flashy costumes (nurture)?

Of course, a comparison of the nature/nurture possibilities of being an SF fan with being queer has its obvious limitations: SF fans are unlikely to attract the same bigotry, hatred and discrimination in many aspects of life as do the GLBT community.

One is unlikely to be potentially refused employment, housing, education, superannuation, marriage, children, equal rights or protection under the law simply because one enjoys a television SF program or series of SF novels.

SF fans do not get "trekkie bashed" in the streets like gays do. One would not be refused communion in church for wearing a "FIAWOL" badge as one does for wearing a Rainbow Sash.  Science fiction fans are not denied access to IVF or adoption rights. Their parents do not encourage them to seek a psychiatric "cure" for cyberpunk.

And yet, on another level, a parallel remains for GLBT SF fans.  However you structure your self-identity, you are either seen as a "queer" person within the SF community; or you are a "sci-fi freak" within the GLBT community.  Either way, you are part of a minority within a minority.

Science fiction is surely a genre which promotes speculation and alternate world views.  It is presumably a form of literature that encourages its practitioners to broaden their horizons on a personal, planetary or galactic level.  It is about building bridges, suggesting possible alternatives and creating a better future world.  It does more than promote tolerance: it celebrates difference.

Many Melbourne SF fans have been respectful and welcoming to members of our club and they have openly supported our club activities.  They demonstrate, perhaps, in their own small way, that in a sense the future is already here.

SF fans from the wider gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities also have their part to play in this ongoing mission.

One can only hope that their reality matches their dreams.

Why? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself a million times over. Why is the world the way it is? Why did I have to fall for the person I fell for? Why did I have to fall in love at all? Why should I, as a 24-year-old guy, in the so-called prime of my life even have to be asking myself these questions? Love should be a wonderful experience, so they say. The first time should be a joyous time of self-discovery, exploration and fun. Why not for me?

Deep down I know why. I’m different. I don’t conform. I’m not normal; at least that’s what my parents said. Just for giving my love to a wonderful person. That beautiful face, like a radiant sun…smiling. Those silky blond locks of hair, draping the shoulders, only just, such gentle hands, caressing my fears and anxieties away, me hoping I’m able to do the same in return. I feel safe when we’re together, alone, away from the rest of the world, away from reality. Reality is not a kind place. Reality was the place where I had to confront my parents, when I could contain the secret of our relationship no longer. Once some of my mates had found us together, and as expected, mentally tortured us over our relationship, the terror of being found out was too great. Our bond must be strong to have survived the ensuing months.

The night I told my parents will be etched on my memory forever, despite my best efforts to repress the nightmarish confrontation. They had a few whys of their own that night. "Why us? Why this shame on our family? What did we do wrong? We can’t think of leaving you anything in our will now, the house will go to a charity. We can’t think of leaving anything to a son of ours who could be so abnormal. A son of ours who could fall in love with or be aroused by…A WOMAN!!!! It's just NOT RIGHT!!!"

Since it all came out and I got kicked out of home it’s just been her and me against the world. Correction, a couple of my mates have stuck with me, despite the reaction of their parents, which was much the same as from both my fathers. Most of my old footy mates and their boyfriends have either shunned me or threatened me. Even my sister and her wife, who I thought would be OK has been frosty. I know that male-female sexual acts have only been legalised 10 years in our country, and the politicians pay lip service to fairness and equality for all, but that doesn’t help our everyday lives now that my school is making life almost unbearable for me, and my beautiful girl can’t get work because of the "rumours".

I look out into the stars on a clear, cloudless night and I just hope with all my heart that there’s a world out there somewhere where men and women can just love each other and share their lives with the same dignity and respect as the majority can. Meanwhile, for us, the battle goes on.