1956 F&SF (Aus. edition)
| Cover Story: |
1956 F&SF (Aus. edition) |
A review of almost any history – whether that of any particular race, nation, group or culture – usually shows the distortions of a predominantly male tradition. Females were often largely ignored or written out by subsequent historians. The history of science fiction has an added difficulty: the genre is dominated by a male tradition in terms of both authors/creators and readers/consumers. Females continue to feature in a disproportionately small way – but the signs indicate that things are getting better.
In the Beginning was Man
Science fiction dates back to literally pre-historic times. Its origins have been lost in the mists of antiquity, pre-dating accurate and extant records. The earliest known forms of SF could arguably be blended with other forms of early literature, particularly mythology and religion.
Scholars should consider whether ancient stories of creation, divine interaction with mortals, and the travails of angels, might be early forms of SF or fantasy. One might specifically speculate whether the stories of Zeus and the Olympians, Enkidu and Gilgamesh, or Ezekiel and the angels, would qualify in this category. Indeed, more than one author in the 1960s and 1970s (the height of the modern Space Race) popularised the theory that our ancient gods were actual astronauts from other worlds. In any case, it is probably fair to suggest that SF and religion/mythology share the same origins and arise out of the same quest for knowledge, in much the same way that astronomy and astrology share the same roots.
One scholarly examination of ancient and continuing gods indicates that females make up approximately 26% of deities. In those early mythologies and creation theologies which survive, most are patriarchal or male dominated. Female characters included various goddesses who served as wives or concubines to male gods; or the Medusa, Harpies, the Gorgon and Adam's partner, "the snake made me do it" Eve – generally evil people or simple, naïve temptresses.
One female goddess of note is Kali, Hindu mother goddess, who served as both the giver and destroyer of life. More benevolent ancient mythologies spoke of "Mother Earth" and her symbolic links with females as people with the power to birth and nurture life, and such ideas have possibly been most closely revisited in recent times through the "Gaia" hypothesis and the upsurge in the popularity of Wicca.
There are many myths of male bonding: Gilgamesh and Enkidu; David and Jonathan; Robin Hood and his Merry Men; Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (all male dominated and homo-suggestive). These possibly remain the ancestral forebears or template of modern "slash" literature (see below for further details on slash). The partnering of Ruth and Naomi from the Old Testament often tends to be overlooked (or were they a template for modern-day "Xena"?)
Examples of early SF include "The Epic of Gilgamesh" (written c.2100 BC after centuries of oral tradition) and Homer's "Odyssey" (c.750BC). Other ancient Greek/Roman authors wrote early SF. All of these authors were male and wrote stories which reflected their societies: males were the protagonists, and women (if they featured at all) tended to stay on the sidelines as wives and servants (with an occasional foray into being a villain or evil temptation for the virtuous men).
One ancient story, the ironically-titled, "True Story" by Lucian (c.170AD) included a society of men who reproduced without women. It is one of the earliest surviving gay SF stories.
Most stories of antiquity were lost when the Great Library of Alexandria was burned down. One can only mourn at the loss of so much ancient knowledge, and at the brutal murder of Hypatia, Chief Librarian and Scientist. The stories she could have told!
 cover of December 1957 New Worlds SF |
The decline and fall of Rome defined much of the last two millennia and the context of much of the modern world. The Dark Ages and Crusades were followed by Inquisitions and witch burnings. It is now acknowledged that the "burning times" across Europe killed in many tens of thousands of women (and a quarter as many men), many of whom possessed knowledge and learning. Such women might have been midwives or village wise women – or lesbians living without menfolk. Others would have known the oral traditions, folklore and histories of their families, villages and communities. Their loss is inestimable. Furthermore, it is an obvious understatement to say that displaying a good imagination and flair for SF was not a good career move in that era: anyone telling "fantastical tayles" – about journeys to other worlds, visitations by alien beings, or their acquisition of "magickal" abilities such as invisibility or flight – risked a one-way visit to the next bonfire or hanging.
Similarly, medieval times marked the repression and elimination of same-sex traditions from society and history. The oppression of women echoed that of gays and lesbians – according to popular anecdote, "faggots" were thrown onto the flames to heat them before the female witches were sacrificed. These were the times when European male patriarchies were believed to be establishing their dominant heterosexist power structures over the known world.
One might wonder whether an ancestral echo of these times remains. Does society trust and revere wise women, whether scientists or storytellers? Does SF regard women in the same light as its male participants?
Against such social upheaval over the last two millennia, SF stories have survived from other corners of the planet: ancient China, Japan, and Arabia. While predicting future concepts such as alien visitation, technological developments and space travel, these medieval stories failed to explore such possibilities as equality of the sexes or sexualities.
Many of these medieval SF stories also contained more mystical or magical material than scientific. Journeys into space were set aboard flying carpets, robots gained life after being sprinkled with magic potions, and so on. The men adventured while the women cooked.
Mother of the Modern Era
What we would recognise as modern SF appears to have become increasingly popular after the 17th century, in response to the increasing importance of modern science in society and daily life. Early authors include males such as Cyrano de Bergerac and Jonathan Swift.
Paradoxically, the person who is sometimes credited as spearheading the modern SF trend is a woman – Mary Shelley, the author of "Frankenstein" and other stories which were based upon contemporary science and which extrapolated upon possible future developments. In her stories, males remained the protagonists.
Following in her footsteps, Jules Verne and HG Wells are remembered as the "fathers" of modern SF. Both wrote many stories which featured men as heroes and villains, and women as accessories. These authors rode a wave of popular 19th century interest in SF, also including Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson.
It was probably around this time that SF and fantasy began to clearly diverge – as science began to replace religion as a dominant force in society, SF began to delve into more scientific discourse, whereas fantasy retained its mystical elements. Women remained largely excluded from scientific endeavours (except as assistants), and their portrayal within SF paralleled this social phenomenon.
It is to be conjectured that religious elements (which remain predominantly attractive to women) continue to provide the basis for women's interest in fantasy while men remain the main consumers of science-based SF.
 cover of 1957 F&SF (Australian edition) |
The Word Became "Flash"
Science fiction and fantasy provided material for some of the first movies ever made, including a host of experimental films. The most famous early SF film is George Mélièl's, "A Trip to the Moon" (1902) which featured a gaggle of scantily clad women adding decoration to the serious male science of space travel.
This media SF borrowed heavily from earlier literary SF and fantasy elements: Edgar Rice Burrough's novel, "John Carter of Mars", included damsels in distress. In turn, Dale Arden was the damsel in distress in the early "Flash Gordon" film serials (1936-1940). She set the template for many female characters in media SF, including "War of the Worlds" (1953), "This Island Earth" (1955), "Forbidden Planet" (1956), "Earth vs the Flying Saucers" (1956) and "The Day of the Triffids" (1962). Dale Arden's modern counterparts are the princesses in the "Star Wars" movies (1977 to present).
Such films reflected the "boys only" nature of traditional SF. Some of these films, including "Destination Moon" (1950) and "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) barely included women among the set decorations. Alternately, Zsa Zsa Gabor led the way as Queen of the dumb Space Amazons in the classic Z-Grade movie, "Queen of Outer Space" (1958); and Jane Fonda titillated lesbians and heterosexual men alike with her portrayal of a bisexual innocent in "Barbarella" (1968).
Golden Age of SF – Pulp Fiction?
Literary SF entered what is commonly called its Golden Age when John W Campbell became editor of "Astounding Science Fiction" in 1937 and gave opportunities to many new writers. His firm editorship set a new standard for what had previously been called the "pulp" magazines, and he guided them towards a more scientifically respectable form of literature.
A glimpse of many of the magazines from the Golden Age, in retrospect, shows a continuation of the gender stereotypes aimed at women. As late as the 1970s, women were still treated as secondary characters in many SF short stories.
 cover of 1961 Fantastic SF |
One notable exception was the character Dr. Susan Calvin. In the famous series of "Robot" short stories by Isaac Asimov (1940s), Calvin was the world's foremost expert on robots – the fictional mother of robotics. As an independent and determined personality, she was a mixture of scientist and woman – ruthless and investigative when needed, but hinting at a sensitive, maternal nature. A generation before Women's Lib, she was possibly SF's first liberated woman.
Fans of Robert Heinlein have also recently presented some Internet discussion papers on the role of non-stereotypical, strong women in many of his novels dating from 1940 onwards.
Other women in literary SF were often like those portrayed in media SF – mere additions to men, not serious scientists or characters in their own right.
Where No Woman Has Gone Before?
Western society began to change following WW2, granting new roles for women. The civil rights movement of the 1960s supplemented these changes. Women began to claim a place as authors within SF.
Leigh Brackett was first published in 1940 in Campbell's "Astounding SF" magazine, and this began her long career as author of short stories, novels and screenplays. Her most notable novels are generally accepted as, "The Long Tomorrow" (1955) in which she depicts a frightening future for the USA and the world; and "All The Colours of the Rainbow" (1957)which is seen as a strong anti-racist story published even before Harper Lee's definitive "To Kill A Mockingbird" (1960). Considering its implicit message, the title of this latter Brackett story may have additional (if totally unintended) significance for gay/lesbian readers today. Later analysts of Leigh Brackett's work took particular note of her female characters, who were strong and independent personalities. Leigh Brackett died in 1978 after completing her draft screenplay of "The Empire Strikes Back".
Dorothy Fontana began a career as a TV writer in the 1950s, using the pen name "D C Fontana" to avoid recognition as a woman within the industry. She is now acknowledged as a pioneering writer of many episodes of TV SF and an influential contributor to many of these same programs. She wrote definitive episodes for "Star Trek" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and helped to guide the development of these series. She also contributed to "Logan's Run", "Land of the Lost", "The Fantastic Journey" and "Six Million Dollar Man" (among many others). She was involved in the 1974 telemovie, "The Questor Tapes" and novelised its script – the story which laid down the skeleton for the "Data" character in "Star Trek: The Next Generation". She also wrote early episodes of "Babylon 5".
Marion Zimmer Bradley's first SF published story, "For Women Only" (1953) focussed on an android female who gave birth to a child – certainly "alternative" SF for its era. But perhaps her story was a response to the debate which (she later recalled) had dominated the SF community at that time: "Is sex valid in SF?" In retrospect, perhaps the content of such debate was more to do with sexuality and gender roles than any specific sexual act – a discourse about the sharing of power dynamics within stories and society. Her later "Darkover" novels are acknowledged as a classic series of stories with gay and lesbian characters. She died in 1999.
James Tiptree Jnr. began publishing stories in the 1950s under the editorship of John W Campbell. In his later introduction to Tiptree's collection of short stories, "10,000 Light-Years From Home" (1973), Harry Harrison referred to a Tiptree story from that era: "Here was a story by a professional, a man who knew how to interest me, entertain me, and tell me something about the world and mankind's affairs all at the same time". It was later revealed that Tiptree was actually the pen name for Alice Sheldon. Her stories included, "Houston Do You Read?" (1976) which presented a humanity composed of females only, which was visited by three male astronauts from a past era. The story examined the sexual politics of religion, rape and male aggression. Sheldon died in 1987, and in recognition of her work to break down gender barriers, the "James Tiptree Jr. Award" is a literary prize which is now awarded annually to authors of science fiction or fantasy who explore issues of gender.
Ursula Le Guin's first published novel was "Rocannon's World" (1966) and her subsequent novels have forged her a place in SF history. In particular, "The Left Hand of Darkness" (1969) and "The Dispossessed" (1974) have guaranteed her a place in any "Top 10" list of SF authors. "The Left Hand of Darkness" explored the fluid nature of gender and sexuality, and is regarded as a SF classic. Her "Earthsea" series could perhaps be compared in scope to that of Tolkein's "Rings" mythology. Ursula Le Guin was Guest of Honour at Aussiecon 1, Australia's first World SF Convention in 1975.
Joanna Russ was author of such stories as, "When It Changed" (1972) and the novel, "The Female Man" (1975) which commentators described as a significant "manifesto" of feminism. Her non-fiction books include "How to Suppress Women’s Writing" (1983) and, "To Write Like A Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction" (1986).
Other notable female authors who have contributed to this rich legacy include C J Cherryh, Mercedes Lackey, Julian May, Anne McCaffrey, Vonda McIntyre, Andre Norton and Joan Vinge. Of particular interest to readers of this newsletter are stories by Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Elizabeth A Lynn, Suzy McKee Charnas and Sally Gearhart.
-SFGreats-Spring.jpg) cover of Spring 1969 SF Greats |
A Glimpse of the Future
The 1960s began with the promise of great things: President Kennedy's promise to land men on the Moon. The Space Race had begun, and science was promising great times ahead.
In media SF, women were becoming more visible, but still served largely as "Mom" in space or assisted the men.
Two exceptions would point the way: "The Twilight Zone" and "Star Trek".
In "The Invaders", a "Twilight Zone" episode written by Richard Matheson and aired on 1961, Agnes Moorehead played a woman who was stalked by tiny alien invaders. In a turnaround from the helpless female stereotype, the downtrodden woman turned the tables and fought back with determination and courage, eventually winning the battle.
"Star Trek" is more commonly known. The series ran from 1966 to 1969, and included Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura, a woman from the "United States of Africa" who was accepted as an equal and an officer by her counterparts – even though her character got to do very little other than exclaim how frightened she was. The inclusion of both a woman and an African-American was apparently shocking to some of the US audience in the days before civil rights and full desegregation.
Nichelle Nichols would later use her fame from "Star Trek" to act as a NASA Ambassador in the early 1970s, encouraging women, people of colour and other "minority groups" to consider astronaut training. Many of her recruits later became astronauts. Strangely though, to this day, NASA still does not include "out" gays, lesbians or other "queer" people in its astronaut intake despite its self-promotion as an equal opportunity employer.
 cover of January 1970 IF |
Overall, female characters in media SF remained subservient to men through the 1960s and 1970s, including Jaime Somers ("The Bionic Woman" who existed primarily as a love interest for "The Six Million Dollar Man"), Zira (zoologist and everybody's mum in "Planet of the Apes"), Cassiopea (a prostitute or "socialator" in "Battlestar Galactica"), Dr. Anne Mulhall (a clipboard carrier in "Time Tunnel") and every woman in "Lost In Space" and "Dr.Who".
Arguably, women received marginally better treatment in some British media SF at this time. Lady Penelope in "Thunderbirds", Mrs. Peel in "The Avengers", Colonel Virginia Lake in "UFO" and Servalan in "Blake's Seven" demonstrated that women could be depicted as determined, strong-willed individuals.
Perhaps Women's Lib arrived in Hollywood SF during the 1977 "Logan's Run" TV series. Jessica spent most of the short-lived series playing helpless sidekick to Logan, but in one otherwise ordinary episode, she evolved. While Logan and Francis fought a battle of fisticuffs, she stood by helplessly while the men determined her apparent fate. Then, suddenly recalling Agnes Moorehead in "Twilight Zone" one and a half decades earlier, she grabbed a dropped gun and halted the fighting, taking control of the situation and saving the lives of herself, Rem and Logan. This episode reversed the traditional gender and sexuality stereotypes, implying that Jessica as a woman was capable of being master/mistress of her own destiny (and that of others).
Slash – Resistance Is Futile
The biggest contribution of "Star Trek" to SF was its unofficial, "underground" contribution, starting in the late 1960s, even before the original series had finished. Massive numbers of heterosexual women were attracted to the character interplay between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. They began to write and publish their own fan fiction, taking this sub-genre to a height never before known and actually redefining the concept of fanzines in mainstream society.
At its peak, "Star Trek" fandom was producing probably thousands of fanzines each year. "Star Trek" conventions in the early 1970s were among the largest SF conventions ever staged. "Star Trek" fan clubs spread around the planet, creating a massive consumer demand for spin-off series and movies. Women comprised a disproportionately large number of activists within the committees of these clubs and conventions; and they worked tirelessly as artists, authors and editors of Trek zines.
Never before or since has SF seen such an influx of dedicated, enthusiastic female fans. It was this fan base which ultimately transformed "Star Trek" from a short-lived, defunct TV series into a western icon and definitive SF form during the late 20th century.
Among the multitudes of Trek fanzines arose one specific form: the "slash" fanzine, initially defined by the slash (or "/") between the names of Kirk and Spock in "Kirk/Spock" (or "K/S") stories. These slash stories took the "Star Trek" characters and placed them in varying degrees of homo-suggestive (or outright sexually explicit) situations. The relationship between Kirk and Spock spawned a whole cottage industry in its own right. Mainly heterosexual women wrote, illustrated and published massive volumes of these stories, beginning a new fan genre – the slash subculture.
"Star Trek" slash stories are now effectively banned by copyright laws, but the authors and readers of these stories have moved either further "underground" or on to other TV shows. There is possibly no SF television series (and very few police, detective, fantasy or action-adventure series) of the last thirty years that has not had its main (heterosexual) same-sex characters "slashed" and redefined as gay or gay-friendly in this form of fan literature. (Interestingly, two of the most lesbi-friendly female characters in recent TV fantasy, Xena and Gabrielle from the "Xena" TV series, are not considered legitimate subjects of slash fiction by slash purists, because their relationship was already considered to be close to lesbian already and only heterosexual same-sex pairings can be "slashed").
The women who produce and consume this "slash" fiction remain members of a subculture of SF (they can be found on the Internet) but often tend to keep to themselves on the margins of the wider SF community. Many slash participants might be considered to be SF fans (or consider themselves as such) only because their interests happen to overlap into some specific areas of SF (specific TV shows, etc.)
 cover of November 1972 F&SF |
This whole area of female fan involvement defies the traditional stereotypes of women's involvement in SF and highlights the attraction of emotional/physical relationships versus the more traditional action-adventure of "boys only" SF. Viva la difference?
The Book-Worm Turns
Since the women's movement of the 1960s, many females have entered literary SF as independent and complex characters in their own right.
"Chocky" (by John Wyndham, 1968) features a female alien character of the same name who enters the mind/thoughts of a twelve year-old human boy as part of her scouting/colonisation mission. Her existence and ideas challenge the lives and perceptions of the boy's family.
"The Handmaid's Tale" (by Margaret Atwood, 1986) tells a morality tale of young "Offred" (literally: she is effectively owned by Fred, so is "of Fred") who lives in a futuristic dystopia where women are oppressed and treated as slaves. The story examines the modern and metaphorical treatment of women by society and religion, and of the control women might seek to have over their own lives and reproductive abilities.
"Ethan of Athos" (by Lois McMaster Bujold, 1986) reverses the traditional power-play of a "damsel in distress" by depicting a (gay) man in dire trouble, helped out of his predicament by a ruthless female mercenary, Elli Quinn.
"Contact" (by Carl Sagan, 1997) tells the story of SETI astronomer, Dr. Ellen (Ellie) Arroway,who battles religious fundamentalists and alien hieroglyphics to search for life (both physical and mystical) in the heavens.
The books of Melissa Scott are full of women who have strong, independent personalities. (Pick a book!)
William Gibson's stories include many strong female characters, such as Molly in "Neuromancer"(1984); and Chia and the idoru in "Idoru"(1996).
These are mere samples of the rich tapestry of writings over the last generation. Media SF has also begun to catch up in the gender gap.
cover of June 1972 IF |
The "Alien" movies (1979-1997) showed a strong female character, Ellen Ripley, who was the sole human capable of fighting the bloodthirsty aliens. Her ongoing and escalating battle of wills against the alien queen mother in this series of movies brought female testosterone to a new height (along with her butch haircut and pet cat, drawing curious questions from her lesbian fans about her possible sexuality).
Director James Cameron (director of the 2nd "Aliens" movie) also went on to create another strong female character in "The Terminator" movies (1984 to 2003) which introduced Sarah Connor as a soft, helpless woman but showed her transformation into a hardened warrior. She gave birth to a boy who would grow into a saviour for humanity, but her own personal path as a modern-day "Mother Mary" figure, (ie. Mother of a Saviour) seemed to symbolise her own descent into a personal hell.
"The X-Files" TV series (1993 – 2002) showed two FBI agents investigate the paranormal from within and without human society. In a twist of the traditional gender roles, Fox Mulder (the male) was shown as a "believer" who was eager to accept the unbelievable with a passionate, religious zeal; while Dana Scully (the female) was a somewhat cold and dispassionate sceptic who was only willing to believe if provided with undeniable, tangible evidence.
It is interesting to contrast this pair of investigators with that of "Sapphire and Steel" (1979-1982), just over a decade earlier. In this other series, gender roles were much more traditional. Sapphire was an alien who had taken the form of a female human, and used her inner sensitivity (female intuition?) to sense and alter time. Steel was an alien who had taken the form of a male human, and was described by one recent reviewer as "the logical cool thinker of the pair (who was) physically hardened to his environment".
Sapphire & Steel and their alter-egos, Mulder & Scully, traversed more than merely a decade of time – the gap between them was a generational one. Male and female roles were reversed, showing that media SF was slowly coming to terms with exploration of gender and identity.
"Star Trek Voyager" (1995-2001) perpetuated many of the conservative elements from the "Star Trek" universe, with one exception – it included a number of females as leading characters, including Janeway, Kes, Belanna Torres, Seska, Seven of Nine and the Borg Queen. Many of these characters still played traditional roles (particularly Janeway as the Captain "Mom", following on from "the Dancing Doctor" and the "I Sense Pain!" Telepath in "Star Trek Next Generation") but at least women were finally acknowledged in "Star Trek" as major characters.
"Babylon Five" (1994-1998) took liberated women a step further with the inclusion of complex, multi-layered females as major characters. Delenn began as an ambiguous, androgynous alien but mutated into a humanoid female who was "Guinevere" to Sheridan's role in the series as "King Arthur". Carolyn Sykes (Jeffrey Sinclair's betrothed) was a woman battling for her independent life and livelihood. Na'Toth was a competent warrior and trusted diplomatic attaché. Captain Elizabeth Lochley was a second-in-command with a steely determination to outgrow her past and prove her worth as an individual. Lyta Alexander was a telepath battling enemies and conspiracies from all sides. But the female character highlights of the series were undoubtedly Captain Susan Ivanova, second in command of Babylon 5 and war hero; and her nemesis/bondmate Talia Winters, commercial telepath and Susan's lover. The series showed the reluctant love-hate relationship develop between these two women in subtle and complex ways, only to show them tragically torn apart at the height of their commitment. As in real life, characters in "Babylon 5" did not live happily ever after...(or was it the Hollywood cop-out rearing its ugly head again, preaching that if you are "queer" you must die or have your relationship torn apart?)
Recent fantasy series continue the treatment of women as complex, powerful individuals. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997-2003) includes many such women, including Buffy herself, Tara, bisexual Willow, and Cordelia. In "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995-2001), a loving same-sex relationship between Xena and Gabrielle appeared to be too much for at least one Australian free-to-air network. Perhaps expecting complex adult relationships on television is itself a form of science fiction.
cover of March 1977 Galaxy SF |
Author! Author!
Modern female authors form an exciting and dynamic part of the modern SF community.
It is now impossible to list all the women who currently contribute to the modern SF genre, and to attempt such a list is to risk accidentally omitting some very valuable individuals.
Nevertheless, it is worth noting that Australia has its own female SF authors, including (but not limited to): Sue Batho, Sue Bursztynski, Alison Goodman, Kerry Greenwood, Sue Isle, Rosaleen Love, Maxine McArthur, Claire McKenna, Michelle Marquardt, Alice Nunn, Helen Patrice, Jenny Pausacker, Lucy Sussex, Nikki White and Tess William. Also, Justine Larbalestier is a Hugo-nominated Australian writer/researcher who has written the book, "The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction" published by Wesleyan University Press (2002).
Editors/publishers in Australia have included Sue Batho, Edwina Harvey, Cat Sparks and Nikki White.
Australian female SF artists include Miriam English, Marilyn Pride and Cat Sparks.
At last, 50.5% of the world's population is claiming its valid place within SF. The fact that it has taken generations for their "assimilation" gives a strong indication as to why it is taking so long for the inclusion, within popular SF and general literature, of other "minorities".
Still, the recognition of women in SF speaks volumes of hope for women themselves, for other groups awaiting recognition, and for the possible future of an inclusive humanity. Together, we can all have a future in the "future business".
Postscript: After this article had been written, and during the compilation of this special issue of "Diverse Universe", the author purchased Issue #5 (February 2003) of the Australian "Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine" at Continuum convention in Melbourne (July 2003). That particular magazine also contained a special women’s theme. Interested readers might consider purchasing it at www.andromedaspaceways.com.
cover of August 1978 Amazing SF |
http://www.andre-norton.org/ is a great website to start learning about Andre Norton.
Ashley, Mike, "The Illustrated Book of Science Fiction Lists", Virgin Books, 1982, particularly section A21, "10 Works That Could Each Be The First Works of SF".
Aul, Billie and Frank, Brian, “Prisoners of Dogma and Prejudice: Why There Are no G/L/B/T Characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”, in “Foundation #86”, SF Foundation, Autumn 2002, pp. 51-64, examines Star Trek’s homophobia and its avoidance of “slash” fiction.
Bowler, Peter, "The True Believers: Oddities & Curiosities of Religious Faith", Methuen, 1986, includes statistical numbers and sexes of deities, and reference to the ancient goddess Kali.
Cicioni, Mirna, “Perverse Universes: Slash Fan Fiction”, in “Diverse Universe #1”, September 1999, pp. 5-6.
http://www.cog.org/witch_hunt.html and http://www.twpt.com/burning.htm give balanced estimates of the number of people killed during the medieval European witchcraft trials.
Dent, Nick, “Dirty Harry”, in “Black + White” Magazine, Issue #67, July 2003, gives a concise, up-to-date history of “slash” fiction, and examines its most recent (and possibly most bizarre?) form: Harry Potter slash!
Donkin, Andrew, "Alien Encyclopedia", Element Children's Books, 1999, particularly his reference to "Sapphire and Steel".
http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/atwood157-des-.html gives a good introduction to "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood.
Garber, E & Paleo, L, "Uranian Worlds" (1983), as quoted in Rocelle, Warren, "(Almost) Ordinary: Transitional Gay Imagery in Julian May's Milieu Universe," in Foundation #86, Science Fiction Foundation, 2002. (Quote regarding the works of Joanna Russ).
http://www.illusions.com/burning gives an authoritative and moving tribute to those killed in "The Burning Times" – and a list of their names.
Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com
Pausacker, J., “Lesbianism in Women’s Science Fiction”, in “Gay Community News”, June 1982.
Read. Donna (director), "The Burning Times", National Film Board of Canada, 1990, gives a fascinating and memorable account of the treatment of women during the medieval era – although its historical estimates of numbers killed are now somewhat disputed.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/goddess.htm has useful information and links regarding goddess worship.
Richardson, Matthew (ed.), "The Halstead Treasury of Ancient Science Fiction", Halstead Press, 2001.
http://www.robertaheinlein.com/articles/grandmaster.htm is a good website for information on Robert Heinlein.
http://www.somge.com/english/novelguides/chocky/chocky.htm has good information on "Chocky".
Staicar, Tom (ed.), "The Feminine Eye: Science Fiction and the Women Who Write It",Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1982; in particular, "Leigh Brackett: No "Long Goodbye" Is Good Enough" by Rosemary Arbur.
Tiptree Jr., James, "10,000 Light-Years From Home," Pan Books, 1973, refer to Introduction by Harry Harrison.
http://www.tiptree.org/ gives the background to the James Tiptree Jr. Award.
WisCon home page at http://www.sf3.org/wiscon/ gives a good introduction to the annual Feminist SF Convention.
Zimmer Bradley, Marion, "Experiments Perilous", in "Three Essays on Science Fiction",ALGOL Press, 1976. See also http://www.sbu.ac.uk/stafflag/marionbradley.html for a
background to her life, and gay/lesbian characters in her "Darkover" series.
A good introduction to John W Campbell can be found at
http://members.tripod.com/~gwillick/camp_jw.html
A good general resource for SF authors is at http://www.magicdragon.com/UltimateSF/SF-Index.html