Ok, I had more to say than yay...

This is a great topic, Irulan. Even though I don't particularly agree with the blog post that kicked it off, the portrayal of women in SF and fantasy books (and movies and tv) is near and dear to my heart.

This is especially true of science fiction. I would like to think that women have it better in the future, and that human beings - or at least human society - will continue to evolve past the ol' rape'n'pillage mentality. When I read sci-fi, I get much more offended when the women are objectified, than when I read something that's set in the past or in a past-like world. It's a little strange, since I gravitate towards the dystopian, which shouldn't be ideal, but whatever.

Take Robert Heinlein. Great writer, but, dangit, sometimes I'd like to resurrect him from the grave just to kick him in the nards. He's got all this stuff where he's living out his old man playboy fantasies in his books, and it gets pretty transparent. I can't help but like his books, but I do tend to read them saying, "Really, Robert? Really?"

And I recently read the first book of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. On the flip side, that made me sad because there were basically no women in it at all. All these super smart people, and the women are invisible.