Lgbt sci fi
Welcome! Out of the Past will be a regular column discussing the history of LGBTQ+ science fiction, fantasy and horror literature from the earliest years of the genre to the more recent display (many thanks to Queer Sci-Fi for hosting me and to Scott for suggesting it).
While portrayals of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) characters didnt become relatively common in science fiction, fantasy or horror until after the early successes of the Gay Liberation Movement in the s, that didnt mean that there was no there there, to borrow a phrase from Gertrude Stein. Of course, most of those early LGBT characters were depicted in coded terms, their identity only hinted at. Homosexuality was illegal nearly everywhere in the world and could tote severe legal and social consequences if it was discovered. Most queer authors flew under the radar or paid the consequences. On the page, queer characters portrayed their identical sex interest with a significant glance, a passing comment or a bit too much interest in another character, an interest that often turned villainous
By Taj M. Smith
I first saw The Matrix in the seventh grade at my friend Rich’s birthday party. He had just finished opening his presents and there, amid the piles of wrapping noun, lay a thin plastic box with “D-V-D” emblazoned on its side. Four figures clad in all-black and sunglasses graced the cover, with white streaks of letters and numbers cascading down against a grey backdrop. I cradled the box like it was a precious photograph. The rigid plastic warmed in my hands, becoming pliable while we watched Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss) singlehandedly take down what seemed like eight cops in the opening scene. The film moved on different but simultaneous temporal planes, and, as the plot unfurled, I felt as if my reality was slowly being explained to me. I suddenly had language for the things I had been feeling—that nothing is as it seems.
The Matrix was more complicated than any other science fiction movie I had seen before. In the film, the reality we know is actually a computer simulation. Known as the Matrix, this simulation serves as a power source for the intelligent mach
My Lesbian Novel by Renee Gladman (Lesbian Fiction)
The Beads by David McConnell (Queer Guy Fiction)
The Wildes by Louis Bayard (Gay Historical Fiction)
Sweet Like Honey by Aricka Alexander (F/F Romance)
Tempting Olivia by Clare Ashton (F/F Romance)
I’ll Get Back To You by Becca Grischow (F/F Romance)
Karaoke Queen by Dominic Lim (M/M Drag Romance)
The Intimate Beginnings of Taylor by Lavender Quinn (F/F Romance)
The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean by Ann Rose (Bisexual Woman Romance)
Yield Under Great Persuasion by Alexandra Rowland (M/M Romantasy)
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft (Sapphic Fantasy Romance)
Sunsets & Other Dangerous Things by Dani Frank (F/F Vampire Romance)
What Is This Feeling? by Robby Weber (M/M YA Contemporary)
Spells to Forget Us by Aislinn Brophy (Bisexual/Lesbian F/F YA Fantasy)
Night Owls by A. R. Vishny (F/F YA Paranormal Romance)
Wishbone by Justine Pucella Winans (Queer Middle Grade Horror)
Real Siblings by Seamus Kirst and Karen Bunting (Two Dads Picture Book)
A Cup of Water Under My Bed: A Memoir (
Lindsay
View Linked BooksDo you enjoy your space adventures with a healthy dose of queerness? We’ve got you covered!
One of my favourites from this list is The Stars Are Legion - a biopunk space opera set on a bizarre system of biomechanical worldships with a lesbian love triangle at the centre.
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- The Stars Are Legion
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- Hurley, Kameron
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- Ancillary Justice
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- Leckie, Ann
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- Alien: The Cold Forge
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- White, Alex
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- Blackfish City
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- Miller, Sam J.
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- Autonomous
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- Newitz, Annalee
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- The Future of Another Timeline
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- Newitz, Annalee
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- The Light Brigade
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- Hurley, Kameron
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- The Left Hand of Darkness
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- Le Guin, Ursula K.
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- A Memory Called Empire : Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel
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- Martine, Arkady
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- This is How You Lose the Time War : An epic time-travelling love story, winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella
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- El-Mohtar, Amal, Gladstone, Max
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- An Unkindness Of Ghosts
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- Solomon, Rivers
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