Politics in Space
Yesterday, on i09, Annalee Newitz posted a response to a Slate.com article which stated that Battlestar Galactica was a failed feminist venture. Full disclosure: I love this show and I love it precisely because of what Newitz summarizes in one clear paragraph: "The project of feminism isn't just about changing women's roles in society, but to change male roles too. You cannot have one without the other. That's why feminism, to my mind, shouldn't preach for a gender-blind society, but rather one where men and women share the burdens of life equally. As long as we are reproducing the old-fashioned biological way, it will be impossible for us to be gender-blind. But at least, in BSG, we get glimpses of what it might look like to live in a world both women and men can be commanders, fighter pilots, presidents - and both men and women can be sex objects, suffer from emotional overload, fear the physical wrath of the opposite sex, and gain power via subterfuge and manipulation." Well said, well frakking said. P.S. Props to Juliet Lapidos at Slate.com for The Muppet Show headline reference.