I’ve read my share of Sci-Fi short stories and novels. I often wonder why almost all of them have a white male lead. I rarely encounter alien leads, but even less have I seen female leads. On occasion, there has been stories with non-white leads, but there is usually a ‘yes, but’ factor.
In the typical Sci-Fi story, the females are always in love with the males they swoon when he walks in the room. In those stories where there is a strong female, she tends not to show good leadership skills.
There are some examples contrary to my hypothesis, but they are rare. Is this so because non-white-males don’t write Science Fiction. I wonder.
In my stories I avoid the typical SciFi leads. I try to share the leadership skills and I like anti-heroes. My leads may be reluctant, or flawed. Some are lucky and some evil. Some even speak with 1’s and o’s.
In my life’s experience, few leaders are good just by themselves. Almost without exception they have good people around them, but in most Sci-Fi the lead is amazing, he can fight armies and survive. He is brilliant and can always devise the bigger weapon or the amazing tactic to kill untold legions of aliens.
Maybe someone can answer this perplexing question?
Sure I can: That’s what the author chose, *or*, if they didn’t specify, that’s how the reader chose to imagine them. As for the swooning part: What kind of sci-fi are you reading?
Good point. Few novels specify the nature of the lead. The physical description is generally left up to the reader. Perhaps I’m just frustrated because being a leader is more complicated than being the first to charge in the attack. I want Sci-Fi to show the subtitler aspects of leadership, and that is where we get into the gender issue. Female leads are shown with one set of characteristics and males with others. Beyond that, the author avoids what actually makes a leader and thus they fall back onto stereotypical examples. I’ve tried to take my definition of leadership a little deeper in my stories and I hope that I’ve done it.
May I suggest the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold, the Ender Series by Orson Scott Card, or any of the Heinlein books? None of those have the type of leader you’re bothered by above. And, they have excellent female characters, too.