As a result of their relationship with the future, science fiction works also often tend to feature more progressive and inclusive worlds because they represent time passing and, thus, change. More specifically, sci-fi tends to examine humanity’s relationship with time. They explore how it will impact the future of our species, how our settings will evolve with it, and how we will evolve throughout it — physically and mentally.
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Because of this emphasized focus on humanity’s future since the genre began, science fiction has continued to include more progressive and inclusive storylines and characters than other genres in the same time period. Particularly since science fiction has been popular on screen, the sci-fi genre has featured shows and movies that paved the way for the inclusion of empowering female roles, more diverse casts, and thematic messages focused on community and acceptance. Of course, just because the genre’s structure warranted more progressive thinking than other genres, doesn’t mean it didn’t also have improvements to make on this topic.
As a rule, science fiction had a better focus on inclusivity; however, the genre still had plenty of works that featured ignorant concepts, racism, and sexism. Some details in sci-fi works that were intended to be progressive even ended up doing the opposite of what they were intended to and created new problems. A great example of this is sci-fi shows or films that feature intelligent and powerful female characters, but dress them very provocatively — in a way that doesn’t contribute to their power. This technique, in fact, takes away from their power by reducing them to a visual accessory anytime they’re not in action. Of course, this representation of women lacks the female perspective, given that such works were usually created by men.
It makes sense that periods of time in which the film industry was predominantly made up of men, the industry lacked the ability to create content — even future-focused sci-fi content — that adequately portrayed the female perspective. As time went on and more women writers and filmmakers began stepping on the scene, the way that female characters were represented improved. Furthermore, as the female characters got better and began to feel more relatable, more female viewers started to tune in, and the demand for more empowering female characters grew. Science fiction just happened to be ahead of the game on this trend, compared to the other genres.
There are several recognizable science fiction titles t that reflect this trend toward inclusive content, some so impactful that even people that aren’t fans of the genre are familiar with them. Possibly the biggest example is the Star Trek franchise, which has always featured diverse casts and forward-thinking concepts, and has still managed to continually become more inclusive over time. The Star Wars franchise has also leaned toward empowering women more than other movies for decades now. The agency and credit that women have been given in the science fiction genre has visibly increased throughout its existence on screen, and as it grew in popularity, other genres began following its lead.
All of this said, the inevitable impact that the future-oriented structures of sci-fi have on the progressive worlds of the genre aren’t even the most significant reason for the genre to include women. Many believe Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein, was the first available piece of science fiction, which speaks to how capable women are of writing in the genre and certainly warrants women being respectfully portrayed in its stories. Beyond that, Lucille Ball was largely responsible for the creation and success of Star Trek — yet another example of how women’s contributions to the genre should be recognized and paid tribute to.
It’s clear that with time, the portrayal of women on screen has gotten better and better Sci-fi has undoubtedly always attempted to support and reflect that — again, often better than other genres of the times. Still, there is a lot of ground to be covered before the genre can be considered as displaying true gender equality. However, if the genre continues to progress at the rate that it has, it will achieve that level of inclusivity before other genres that are attempting to achieve the same thing. So, as far as the genre of science fiction is concerned, “the future is female” isn’t so much a political statement as it is a reality. And it’s a reality that should be captured to display humanity’s potential evolution, growth, and transition towards equality.
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