Reading women's science fiction today If the dystopia has become reality, what remains?
Abortion, in the United States and in Italy, in some regions and states, is becoming increasingly difficult. It is openly opposed by governments and politics, which push for conservatism and promote a return to the traditional family, a patriarchal and nuclear model in which the mother stays at home, solely and entirely responsible for childcare. On the other hand, women on red carpets and in cinema are getting thinner and thinner. Medications like Ozempic, properly used to treat obesity and diabetes, are being misused and promoted on social media as a magic solution for anyone wanting to get in shape, regardless of their starting point. Mature women undergo cosmetic procedures, and users comment, “she looks the same as 15 years ago!” Meanwhile, the manosphere, which treats “females” as objects for male impulses, continues to grow, and Gen Z men are far more conservative than their female peers.
The situation of women in 2026: between dystopia and science fiction
In short, some would say that women in 2026 are living in a dystopia. It’s hard to disagree. The Visionaries. Science Fiction, Fantasy and Feminism: An Anthology by Nero Edizioni brings together stories of women living in all-female communities, trying to remain unseen by men; of women who can freely choose their age yet always revert to 15 for the sake of their partners (who, of course, never change); of girls, escapes, dangers, and abuse. Ice, the 1967 novel by Anna Kavan, imagined a world consumed by ice, where a cruel man hunts down his prey after a cycle of violence. Still on the subject of ice, in The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin (1969) explored the concept of gender by placing her protagonist in an extremely cold world where there are no men or women, only genderless individuals who alternate between cycles of fertility and complete asexuality, reproducing with one another.
@sincerelyjennifergrace The Women’s Library: Every Tuesday I recommend a book written by a woman that you may not have read. Today is the 1969 The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, a classic of feminist science fiction. Have you read it? #booktok #thewomenslibrary #womenauthors #bookrecommendations #sciencefiction original sound - sincerelyjennifergrace
What does it mean to read female-driven sci-fi today?
If science fiction is a literature of speculation and anticipation - one that questions where we are going and who we will become if we continue down this path - then it has, in part, predicted the worst possible futures, as well as aspects of our present. So what does it mean to read female-driven sci-fi today, when it feels like we are already living it, and imagining something worse seems almost like an exercise in cruelty? In Among Others, Jo Walton’s novel published in Italy by Edizioni E/O, the protagonist has magical powers and speaks with fairies, but her true strength lies in reading every piece of science fiction she can get her hands on, without hesitation or elitism. Through books, she finds her community, her home, and even guidance for her first love. Similarly, in The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez, a formerly enslaved Black woman travels across two centuries after being freed and transformed into a kind of vampire. In every return, life, and incarnation (metaphorical, not parasitic), she confronts racial and gender discrimination embedded in her journey through history as a queer Black woman.
There are two key takeaways here. One encourages us to reflect on the value of community and reading, on the importance of finding our niche, not to limit ourselves, but to recognize one another and face the present and future together, perhaps even changing it. The other invites us to analyze reality through the lens of genre fiction. How have things changed? What can we learn from these attempts at deconstruction, from their fears and their hopes? Every insight matters, every happy ending is possible. One book at a time.
