I wasn’t here last week! So here are two weeks worth of links. Deep breath, we’re going in.
The outrageous hoax (well, it has to be) that 90 missing episodes of Doctor Who have been found safe and well somewhere in Africa continues to keep Doctor Who fans from clawing each other’s eyes out over who will succeed Matt Smith, which is… good, right? No link to this one, because I first heard it from a bloke in a bar (hi Mondy!) If it’s true obviously it would blow everyone’s minds, but the potential for heartbreak is too high to give it a moment’s attention. Moving on…
Kate Elliott did a series of tweets today on the subject of #SFcivility, working through some thoughts she has had in the wake of NK Jemisin’s groundbreaking GOH speech about a Reconciliation in the science fiction community, and particularly in response to the criticisms by some that Jemisin was not sufficiently polite. It’s nice to see that it is in fact possible to be articulate on Twitter when you put a bit of thought into it – Kate’s tweets have been Storified and are worth reading in full.
Justine Larbalestier, whose PhD makes her eminently qualified to make this statement, comes in with We Have Always Been Fighting This Fight, about the women who have been part of science fiction and fandom since the beginning, and yet have always been announced as if they are unusual, or the first to make themselves seen.
Speaking of Storified Tweets, I also really enjoyed @quarridors’ take on the lack of diversity in blockbuster movies. Good stuff, Nat!
Oh and for more NK Jemisin, check out the new pre-season episode of Galactic Chat, which has been revamped with a new team who are all keen as mustard to bring entertaining SFF book related interviews to you, the listener.
Geek Feminism compares Iron Man 3 with Star Trek: Into Darkness and can’t quite believe that Iron Man is the more feminist film. Seriously, who saw that coming?
Faith Mudge challenges the idea that modernised, revamped fairytales are the feminist versions of the stories and points out that the original stories are plenty feminist, thanks very much.
Bitch Magazine recommends some of the best comedy podcasts by women, and looked at the current hot topic of the lack of female lead characters in video games.
Speaking of which, Anita Sarkeesian got some charming responses when she tweeted a response to the fact that none of the games presented at Microsoft’s Xbox One E3 press conference featured female protagonists.
This is one of the best responses yet to the idea that the boom in YA books aimed at girls is leaving boys with nothing to read.
Locus spotlights Australia’s own Deborah Biancotti – a great interview! I’m excited to read Deb’s novel/s when they finally make their way out into the world.