Where reflections of gender are as varied as fashion style
Introduction
My Swift Riffle posts are dedicated to exploring a singular theme or characteristic across the realms of speculative fiction I've read; and have previously covered both gay and lesbian representation.
Today I'd love to bring your attention to the idea of neopronouns and the fascinating ways they are used to represent non-binary characters in science fiction and fantasy novels – going back to at least 1920 in A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay where the 'phaen' species are referred to by the pronouns ae/aer/aers.
For those unfamiliar with neopronouns, I highly recommend RollingStone's great explainer article on the topic! Very briefly, neopronouns are simply sets of identifying personal pronouns that people use in place of he/him/his, she/her/hers or they/them/theirs. There are endless examples, but some of the most cited are xe/xyr/xem and ze/hir/hirs ('ze' having been used as early as 1864!). Just this week I learned about unique themed pronouns that people enjoy using for their online personas. Who knows what the future holds?
Quick notes:
Although non-binary characters will be a major focus today, I won't yet be covering characters who use they/them/theirs pronouns; stay tuned for that future post!
Representation of human non-binary characters vs. inhuman ones is an essential, current topic of discussion in that ever-growing space where speculative fiction and queer communities overlap. So often non-binary characters are alien, android or elsewise "the other" in a way that poorly reflects the experiences of real people. Christine Prevas has a great essay on the issue!
In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu
Drawing on a various aspects of Asian history and culture, this novella creates a fascinating cyberpunk realm watched over by powerful post-human beings like Anima (æ/ær/ærs) and Enigma (e/em/eirs). Evoking a combination of mythology and far-future technology, these characters' every moment is a delight to behold. The mysterious stranger Vessel (se/ser/sers) only makes things more interesting as se shares proverbial stories with Anima.
This tale depicts characters whose existences, abilities and gender identities are beyond our understanding, emphasized by the fact that every human character in the story is referred to by either he or she. It's absolutely worth a read, on its own merit or if only so you can get a feel for neopronouns in an actual book.
A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys
I have my misgivings with the overall structure and execution of this book about first contact, motherhood, ecological advocacy and so much more; but I can't deny the eerie and complex way it uses neopronouns.
The novel's initial protagonists (part of an ecologically-driven collective of watersheds, separate from governments and corporations) are already plenty queer; lesbian, trans and strongly bordering on if not fully polyamorous. So it's quite a surprise when the corporate characters are introduced in a page-long interlude where three sets of neopronouns (tha/thon/thos, sie/seir, hie/hes) are used to refer to just two people.
Essentially, the corporates adopt different social roles depending on their goals, status and disposition for any given moment, and each of these roles is its own gender; complete with pronouns and fashion style in addition to behavioural and hierarchical implications.
It's incredibly well done. It evokes the complex social mischief of Faerie and in some ways reflects neopronoun use online today, while also managing to show how corporate power struggles can potentially turn anything into an aspect of competition.
[I feel like there's another story I read that did something similar with gender as a pure social outfit – probably with Fae – but it's not coming to me right now. Let me know if you can think of any!]
Provenance and Translation State by Ann Leckie
I'm long overdue to write a blog post about gender in Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch universe, of which both these novels are a part. For now, suffice to say that Leckie has a lot more to say than just offering neopronouns (including sie/hir/hirs and e/em/eir) in place of they/them for non-binary characters in her novels.
It is interesting to note that this is a rare case where neopronouns are used by both fully human characters and those whose origins are a little more alien – even Emrys' aliens in A Half-Built Garden use a translated he and she, and are confused by the corporates' antics. This choice by Leckie makes clear to me that she has thought about the issue of dehumanization I mentioned in the introduction, and is reflecting on it in her novels.
Until I get around to a dedicated post, this review by David M. Higgins does a great job of looking at gender and pronouns in Leckie's work!
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse and The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
I'll mention both of these incredible novels together, only because of time and that they offer great but limited use of neopronouns. Black Sun has people of the bayeki gender, including the character Iktan (xe/xir); and Long Way has the Akarak and others who use xe/xyr.
There are (thankfully) a fair few speculative fiction novels that implement they/them for non-binary characters, so it's great to see authors trying neopronouns as well. I love both novels, and recommend them highly for far more than what they offer in terms of representation.
And more...
I'm excited to continue seeing authors use neopronouns in their stories as I continue reading! There are certainly some I missed today as well, so I expect I'll one day update this post.
Until then, check out some of those incredible pieces I linked today!
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