The Female Man (1975)

I’m not sure what to think of this Joanna Russ novel, billed as science fiction, nominated for a Nebula, and now widely considered a classic of so-called New Wave science fiction, though not without controversy and detractors. It bears a lot of the hallmarks of New Wave SF, but to me it seemed about two parts science fiction to seven or eight parts righteous feminist critique. What I liked best is that Russ is a witty and genuinely funny writer, skewering herself as well as men at large. What I liked least was feeling lost most of the time. Wikipedia helped with some of it. Reading it with others would probably be good too. That’s a feature I associate with New Wave SF—it’s often confusing. The Female Man is freewheeling and reads like someone’s head has just exploded, presumably Russ’s. There are multiple characters from multiple settings, a time travel theory, alternative histories, and more by way of high concept. The novel feels like it’s chasing its own tail for the first two-thirds, however entertaining. Then, with Part Seven, it focuses and bears down harder on its characters and even more on its complaints about men, which comes down to the famous quote from Sarah Moore Grimke, “All I ask of our brethren is that they will take their feet from off our necks.” There’s a lot to complain about men, of course, and even more she may not have known yet in 1975. The endless sexualizing, the never taking women seriously, the use of women as slave labor, etc., etc. One thing she may not have known (or maybe did) is how much work women have done for science without credit. There’s also the whole baby-making expectation—men claiming motherhood as sacrosanct yet not offering much of anything tangible to help with it, as a matter of political policy, and even indignant about requests for life-saving healthcare. There’s not much new here for anyone who lived through the ‘70s and beyond. But Russ is way more fun than it might sound from the summaries. She’s playful, weird, and sardonic, all with a light touch. She’s angry too, with a good outlet for it here. The science fiction aspects feel more like a costume she has donned for the occasion. The ideas are intriguing but need more development and/or clarity. The main point here is—I don’t want to say the “war,” so let’s say the human condition between the sexes.

In case the library is closed due to pandemic, which is over.