No more chain mail bikinis

There's been a massive row brewing among the ranks of the Science Fiction Writers of America recently.  It was triggered by the picture of a scantly-clad woman in a chain mail bikini on the cover of members' Bulletin issue 200.  Not surprisingly, the female members of the SFWA were mightily pissed off by this.  And when they complained they were met with the usual response not to make a fuss, dear.  Some female members even went as far as to leave the organisation. 

This is depressing and dispiriting for a genre that is supposed to see the future.  Speculative fiction is just that, it speculates on the way things will be different in the future.  But judging by that very offensive cover of Bulletin 200, the future will be just as sexist as today.

Maybe this gives me a clue as to why I can't sell any of my stories that challenge rape and sexism.  Maybe - shock horror - SF is just as rooted in today's discrimination as every other genre.

There's a reason why I chose to write SF.  It's because I want to explore notions of a better future, a future where women aren't exploited, where they're admired for their brains and professional accomplishments instead of their bodies.

It seems like we still have a long way to go towards that ideal.  But when the professional association that every SF writer aspires to join appears to be as prejudiced as the rest of the world, that's a cause for great concern.  If our professional associations don't support us, then who else will?

Note to whoever did the artwork for Bulletin 200 : women don't go around wearing chain mail bikinis in our society.  In fact, many of us have never worn a bikini.  And that includes me, even when I was a slender young woman.  Images of bikini clad amazons just don't belong in the SFWA in the 21st century.  That rubbish was for the so-called Golden Age.  Let's leave it there.