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Sex and sexuality in speculative fiction |
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Many science fiction and fantasy stories involve LGBT characters, or otherwise represent themes that are relevant to LGBT issues and the LGBT community. This is a list of notable stories, and/or stories from notable series or anthologies, and/or by notable authors; it is not intended to be all-inclusive.
Title | Author | Year | LGBT content [1] [2] [3] |
---|---|---|---|
Empire of the Senseless | Kathy Acker | 1988 | Bisexual main character [4] |
The Dark Light Years | Brian Aldiss | 1964 | Gender-shifting aliens, gay male characters [4] |
All the Birds in the Sky | Charlie Jane Anders | 2016 | Non-binary and asexual characters |
Virgin Planet | Poul Anderson | 1959 | All-female world, lesbian characters |
The Gods Themselves | Isaac Asimov | 1972 | Alien species with three sexes [4] |
The Skolian Saga/Major Bhaajan Mysteries | Catherine Asaro | 1995–2020 | Lesbian, gay, bisexual primary or secondary characters, positive portrayals |
The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood | 1985 | Lesbian character |
Shadowdance | Robin Wayne Bailey | 1991 | Gay protagonist |
Queer Free | Alabama Birdstone (pseudonym) | 1981 | Homophobic dystopia |
Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale | Holly Black | 2002 | Gay major characters |
Darkover Series | Marion Zimmer Bradley | 1962–1988 | Gay and lesbian protagonists |
The Heritage of Hastur | Marion Zimmer Bradley | 1975 | Gay male protagonist and antagonist [4] |
The Shattered Chain | Marion Zimmer Bradley | 1976 | All-female society, lesbian themes [4] |
Warrior Woman | Marion Zimmer Bradley | 1985 | Lesbian main characters, positive portrayal of lesbian relationships [4] |
Beauty Queens | Libba Bray | 2011 | Transgender and lesbian major characters |
A Civil Campaign | Lois McMaster Bujold | 1999 | Transgender character |
Ethan of Athos | Lois McMaster Bujold | 1986 | Gay male protagonist |
The Wanting Seed | Anthony Burgess | 1962 | Homophobic dystopia |
Dawn | Octavia Butler | 1987 | Alien race that has three sexes, polyamorous marriages [4] |
Fledgling | Octavia Butler | 2005 | Bisexual characters |
Patternmaster | Octavia Butler | 1976 | Bisexual female protagonist |
An Anglo-American Alliance | Gregory Casparian | 1906 | A trans man marries his early love, and they live happily ever after. |
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay | Michael Chabon | 2000 | Gay protagonist |
Spartan Planet | Bertram Chandler | 1969 | All-male world, gay characters |
The Conqueror's Child | Suzy McKee Charnas | 1999 | All-female world |
The Furies | Suzy McKee Charnas | 1994 | All-female world |
Motherlines | Suzy McKee Charnas | 1978 | All-female world |
Walk to the End of the World | Suzy McKee Charnas | 1974 | All-female world |
The Mortal Instruments series | Cassandra Clare | 2007–2014 | One of the protagonist's best friends is gay, and has a relationship with a bisexual warlock. |
Imperial Earth | Arthur C. Clarke | 1976 | Bisexual/gay male protagonist |
Sardia: A Story of Love | Cora Linn Morrison Daniels | 1891 | Bisexual female vampire is the protagonist. [4] |
Babel-17 | Samuel R. Delany | 1966 | Bisexual major characters, poly relationships |
Dhalgren | Samuel R. Delany | 1975 | Bisexual major character and other LGBT characters |
The Einstein Intersection | Samuel R. Delany | 1967 | Gay major character |
Equinox | Samuel R. Delany | 1973 | Gay major character |
Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand | Samuel R. Delany | 1984 | Gay major character |
Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders | Samuel R. Delany | 2012 | Gay major characters |
Triton | Samuel R. Delany | 1976 | |
The Door Into Fire | Diane Duane | 1979 | Major bisexual characters |
Solitaire | Kelley Eskridge | 2002 | Lesbian protagonist |
Infinity's Web | Sheila Finch | 1985 | Lesbian protagonist [4] |
Casket of Souls | Lynn Flewelling | 2012 | Gay main characters |
Luck in the Shadows | Lynn Flewelling | 1996 | Gay main characters |
Shadows Return | Lynn Flewelling | 2008 | Gay main characters |
Shards of Time | Lynn Flewelling | 2014 | Gay main characters |
Stalking Darkness | Lynn Flewelling | 1997 | Gay main characters |
Traitor's Moon | Lynn Flewelling | 1999 | Gay main characters |
The White Road | Lynn Flewelling | 2010 | Gay main characters |
Daughters of a Coral Dawn | Katherine V. Forrest | 1984 | All-female world, lesbian protagonists |
Bouncing Off the Moon | David Gerrold | 2001 | |
The Man Who Folded Himself | David Gerrold | 1973 | |
Halfway Human | Carolyn Ives Gilman | 1998 | |
Herland | Charlotte Perkins Gilman | 1915 | All-female utopic world |
The Gilda Stories | Jewelle Gomez | 1991 | Lesbian main character |
The Kappa Child | Hiromi Goto | 2001 | |
Ammonite | Nicola Griffith | 1992 | All-female world with mainly lesbian characters |
Slow River | Nicola Griffith | 1995 | Lesbian main character |
Nontraditional Love | Rafael Grugman | 2008 | Alternative future where heterosexuality is outlawed |
The Forever War | Joe Haldeman | 1974 | Future society where homosexuality is the norm |
Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, Book One and Book Two (Cadeleonian Series 3, 4) | Ginn Hale | 2014 | Gay protagonists |
Lord of the White Hell, Book One and Book Two (Cadeleonian Series 1, 2) | Ginn Hale | 2010 | Gay protagonists |
The Rifter 1: The Shattered Gates | Ginn Hale | 2012 | Gay protagonists |
The Rifter 2: The Holy Road | Ginn Hale | 2012 | Gay protagonists |
The Rifter 3: His Sacred Bones | Ginn Hale | 2013 | Gay protagonists |
Wicked Gentlemen | Ginn Hale | 2007 | Gay protagonists |
The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse | Keith Hartman | 1999 | |
The Salt Roads | Nalo Hopkinson | 2003 | Lesbian major characters |
The Wild Swans | Peg Kerr | 1999 | |
Murder of Angels | Caitlin R. Kiernan | 2004 | |
Turnskin | Nicole Kimberling [5] | 2008 | Gay protagonists |
Maximum Light | Nancy Kress | 1997 | |
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner | 1987 | Gay protagonists, bisexual characters |
Magic's Pawn | Mercedes Lackey | 1989 | Gay main characters |
Magic's Price | Mercedes Lackey | 1990 | Gay main characters |
Magic's Promise | Mercedes Lackey | 1990 | Gay main characters |
Salt Fish Girl | Larissa Lai | 2002 | Lesbian protagonists |
Pantomime (Micah Grey Trilogy) | Laura Lam | 2013 | intersex protagonist |
Carmilla | Sheridan Le Fanu | 1872 | Lesbian vampire story |
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ursula K. Le Guin | 1969 | Genderqueer main and major characters |
The Telling | Ursula K. Le Guin | 2000 | Lesbian protagonist |
Dark Water's Embrace | Stephen Leigh | 1998 | |
Ash | Malinda Lo | 2009 | |
Ἀληθῆ διηγήματα | Lucian | 125–180 CE (c) | All-male world, male hero is given the king's son in marriage |
Itineraria | Jean de Mandeville (pseudonym) | 1357–1371 | An Amazon island and an island of the "third sex" [1] |
China Mountain Zhang | Maureen F. McHugh | 1992 | Gay major character |
Starfarers | Vonda N. McIntyre | 1989 | Bisexual main characters, poly relationship [4] |
Gideon the Ninth | Tamsyn Muir | 2019 | Lesbian main characters |
The Painter Knight | Fiona Patton | 1998 | |
Witchmark | C. L. Polk | 2018 | Gay main characters |
2312 | Kim Stanley Robinson | 2012 | Genderqueer major characters, society in which nonbinary and fluid gender and sexuality is embraced |
And Chaos Died | Joanna Russ | 1970 | Gay protagonist |
The Female Man | Joanna Russ | 1975 | Lesbian major characters, partially about an all-female world |
Was | Geoff Ryman | 1992 | Gay main characters |
Burning Bright | Melissa Scott | 1993 | Bisexual major characters, lesbian protagonist |
A Choice of Destinies | Melissa Scott | 1986 | Gay male protagonists |
Dreamships | Melissa Scott | 1993 | Many gay characters |
The Jazz | Melissa Scott | 2000 | Bisexual protagonist |
Mighty Good Road | Melissa Scott | 1990 | Lesbian protagonist |
Night Sky Mine | Melissa Scott | 1996 | Lesbian and gay main characters |
Shadow Man | Melissa Scott | 1995 | |
Trouble and Her Friends | Melissa Scott | 1994 | Lesbian protagonists |
Sword of the Guardian | Merry Shannon | 2006 | Lesbian fantasy romance with crossdressing protagonist |
The Porcelain Dove | Delia Sherman | 1993 | Lesbian fairy tale |
Grasshopper Jungle | Andrew A. Smith | 2015 | Gay and questioning main characters |
Glasshouse | Charles Stross | 2006 | Posthuman world in which consciousness can be put into other bodies |
Venus Plus X | Theodore Sturgeon | 1960 | Set in a future utopia where everyone is one neuter gender [4] |
Hollow World | Michael J. Sullivan | 2014 | Homogenous world lacking genders where a man from the ancient past has to come to grips with the difference between love and sexual attraction [6] |
Queen of the Amazons | Judith Tarr | 2004 | Bisexual protagonist |
Houston, Houston, Do You Read? | James Tiptree Jr. | 1976 | Set in a future where all men have died off |
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente | 2009 | |
The House at Pelham Falls | Brenda Weathers | 1986 | Lesbian protagonists and main characters [4] |
All the White Spaces | Ally Wilkes | 2022 | A trans man protagonist [7] |
Where the Dead Wait | Ally Wilkes | 2023 | A closet gay man protagonist [8] |
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf | 1928 | Genderqueer themes, gender-switching |
Briar Rose | Jane Yolen | 1992 | Gay major character |
Title | Author | Year | First published in | LGBT content [1] [2] [3] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Desire" | Kim Antieau | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"The Stars Are Tears" | Robin Wayne Bailey | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Love's Last Farewell" | Richard A. Bamberg | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"In Memory Of" | Don Bassingthwaite | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Who Plays With Sin" | Don Bassingthwaite | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Sun-Drenched" | Stephen Baxter | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Tangents" | Greg Bear | 1986 | Omni | Gay male protagonist, positive uplifting story about a nonsexual relationship [4] | |
"Magicked Tricks" | K. L. Berac | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"In the House of the Man in the Moon" | Richard Bowes | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Anthem" | Lela E. Buis | 1997 2014 | Sex Crime Competitive Fauna | Lesbian protagonist | |
"Ascension" | Lela E. Buis | 1997 2013 | Icarus & Angels Storm and Shadow | Gay protagonist | |
"The Dress" | Lela E. Buis | 2016 | Canines | Lesbian protagonist | |
"Enigma Variations" | Lela E. Buis | 1996 2014 | Cyber-magick: Lesbian SF Competitive Fauna | Lesbian protagonist | |
"My Little Town" | Lela E. Buis | 2014 | Competitive Fauna | Lesbian protagonist | |
"That December" | Lela E. Buis | 2015 | Young Love, Old Hearts | Lesbian protagonist | |
"A Study of Competitive Fauna" | Lela E. Buis | 2014 | Competitive Fauna | Lesbian protagonist | |
"Expression of Desire" | Dominick Cancilla | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
The Bane Chronicles | Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan | 2013–2014 | Short e-books | Main character is bisexual | |
"Aye, and Gomorrah" | Samuel R. Delany | 1967 | Dangerous Visions | Genderqueer characters | |
"The Cage" [9] | A. M. Dellamonica | 2010 | Tor.com | Lesbian protagonists | |
"A Plant (Whose Name is Destroyed)" [10] | Seth Dickinson | 2013 | Strange Horizons | Gay protagonists | |
"Dance at the Edge" | L. Timmel Duchamp | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"A Hollow Play" | Amal El-Mohtar | 2013 | Glitter & Mayhem Anthology | Lesbian protagonist, transgender and genderqueer characters | |
"Catman" | Harlan Ellison | 1974 | Final Stage: The Ultimate Science Fiction Anthology | Society where bisexuality is the norm; most characters are gay or bisexual [4] | |
"Eye of the Storm" | Kelley Eskridge | 1998 | Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers | ||
"Frost Painting" | Carolyn Ives Gilman | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"It Takes Two" | Nicola Griffith | 2010 | Eclipse Three | Lesbian protagonist | |
"Free in Asveroth" | Jim Grimsley | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself" | Radclyffe Hall | 1934 | Lesbian protagonist, gender-switching themes | ||
"Sex, Guns, and Baptists" | Keith Hartman | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Lonely Land" | Denise Lopes Heald | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"-All You Zombies-" | Robert A. Heinlein | 1959 | Fantasy and Science Fiction | Intersex protagonist | |
"Fisherman" | Nalo Hopkinson | 2001 | Skin Folk | ||
"In Mysterious Ways" | Tanya Huff | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Cloudmaker" | Charlee Jacob | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"The Rendez-Vous" | Nancy Johnston | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Sex with Ghosts" [11] | Sarah Kanning | 2008 | Strange Horizons | ||
"Full Moon and Empty Arms" | M. W. Keiper | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Galapagos" | Caitlin R. Kiernan | 2009 | Eclipse Three | Lesbian main characters | |
"Time Gypsy" | Ellen Klages | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | Lesbian protagonist | |
"State of Nature" | Nancy Kress | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"A Wild and Wicked Youth" | Ellen Kushner | 2009 | Fantasy and Science Fiction | ||
"The Fall of the Kings" | Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Nine Lives" | Ursula K. Le Guin | 1969 | Playboy | Bisexual protagonists [4] | |
"A Real Girl" | Shariann Lewitt | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Water Snakes" | Holly Wade Matter | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Sea of Cortez" | Sandra McDonald | 2011 | Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica | ||
"Useless Things" | Maureen F. McHugh | 2009 | Eclipse Three | ||
"Bridesicle" | Will McIntosh | 2010 | Asimov's Science Fiction | Lesbian protagonist | |
"Looking for Satan" | Vonda N. McIntyre | 1981 | Thieves' World III | Lesbian/bisexual love story [4] | |
"Powertool" | Mark McLaughlin | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Prince of the Dark Green Sea" | Mark McLaughlin | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland" | Sarah Monette | 2002 | Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet | ||
"The King's Folly" | James A. Moore | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Silent Passion" | Kathleen O'Malley | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Half in Love with Easeful Rock and Roll" | Rebecca Ore | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"The Beautiful People" | Wendy Rathbone | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"The City in Morning" | Carrie Richerson | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Proserpine When It Sizzles" | Tansy Rayner Roberts | 2009 | New Ceres Nights | ||
"Existence" | Joanna Russ | 1975 | Epoch | ||
"Nobody's Home" | Joanna Russ | 1972 | Women of Wonder | ||
"The Second Inquisition" | Joanna Russ | 1970 | More Women of Wonder | ||
"When It Changed" | Joanna Russ | 1972 | Again, Dangerous Visions | Lesbian protagonist | |
"Young Lady Who Loved Caterpillars" | Jessica Amanda Salmonson | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer" | Kenneth Schneyer | 2013 | Clockwork Phoenix 4 | Lesbian protagonist | |
"Brooks Too Broad for Leaping" | Charles Sheffield | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Gary, in the Shadows" | Mark Shepherd | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"There Are Things Which Are Hidden from the Eyes of the Everyday" | Simon Sheppard | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"The Faerie Cony-Catcher" | Delia Sherman | 1998 | Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers | ||
"The Sound of Angels" | Lisa S. Silverthorne | 1997 | Bending the Landscape : Fantasy | ||
"On Vacation" | Ralph A. Sperry | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"The Flying Triangle" | Allen Steele | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"The World Well Lost" | Theodore Sturgeon | 1953 | Universe | ||
"Another Coming" | Sonya Taaffe | 2004 | Not One of Us | ||
"The Home Town Boy" | B. J. Thrower | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"The Night Train" [12] | Lavie Tidhar | 2010 | Strange Horizons | Trans protagonist | |
"Gestures Too Late on a Gravel Road" | Mark W. Tiedemann | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"Surfaces" | Mark W. Tiedemann | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Your Faces, O My Sisters! Your Faces Filled with Light" | James Tiptree Jr. | 1976 | Aurora: Beyond Equality | Woman from an all-female society is the protagonist. [4] | |
"Mahu" | Jeff Verona | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"… Suspends ton vol" | Élisabeth Vonarburg | 1992 | Translated as "Stay Thy Flight" in Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | ||
"Beside the Well" | Leslie What | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | ||
"The Metamorphosis Bud" | Liu Wen Zhuang (pen name of Cynthea Liu) | 1996 | Genderflex | ||
"Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time" | K. M. Szpara | 2017 | Uncanny Magazine | trans protagonist |
Title | Editors | Year | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|
Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel | 1997 | White Wolf Publishing |
Bending the Landscape: Horror | Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel | 2001 | White Wolf Publishing |
Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel | 1998 | White Wolf Publishing |
Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction | Lee Mandelo | 2013 | Lethe Press |
Brothers of the Night: Gay Vampire Stories | Michael Rowe and Thomas S. Roche | 1997 | Cleis Press |
Cyber-magick: Lesbian SF | Gary Bowen | 1996 | Obeliesk Books |
Flying Cups & Saucers: Gender Explorations in Science Fiction & Fantasy | Debbie Notkin and the Secret Feminist Cabal | 1998 | Edgewood Press |
Gay City 5: Ghosts in Gaslight, Monsters in Steam [13] | Vincent Kovar and Evan J. Peterson | 2013 | Minor Arcana Press and Gay City Health Project |
Grave Passions: Tales of the Gay Supernatural | William J. Mann | 1997 | Badboy |
Icarus & Angels, Flights of Fantasy: Gay SF | Gary Bowen | 1996 | Obeliesk Books |
Irregulars: A Shared-World Anthology – Stories by Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Astrid Amara and Ginn Hale. LGBT Fantasy | Nicole Kimberling and J.D. Hope | 2012 | Blind Eye Books |
Kindred Spirits: An Anthology of Gay and Lesbian Science Fiction Stories | Jeffrey M. Elliot | 1984 | Alyson |
Queer Dimensions | James EM Rasmussen | 2009 | Queered Fiction |
Suffered from the Night: Queering Stoker's Dracula | Steve Berman | 2013 | Lethe Press |
Swords of the Rainbow: Science Fiction and Fantasy | Eric Garber and Jewelle Gomez | 1996 | Alyson |
Tangle Anthology, XY Edition. Fiction with a Twist. | Nicole Kimberling | 2008 | Blind Eye Books |
Tangle Girls Anthology. Fiction with a Twist. | Nicole Kimberling | 2009 | Blind Eye Books |
Things Invisible to See: Gay and Lesbian Tales of Magic Realism | Lawrence Schimel | 1998 | Circlet Press |
Time Well Bent: Queer Alternative Histories [14] | Connie Wilkins | 2009 | Lethe Press |
Touch of the Sea | Steve Berman | 2012 | Lethe Press |
Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Lesbian and Gay Science Fiction and Fantasy | Camilla Decarnin, Eric Garber, and Lyn Paleo | 1986 | Alyson |
Sexual themes are frequently used in science fiction or related genres. Such elements may include depictions of realistic sexual interactions in a science fictional setting, a protagonist with an alternative sexuality, a sexual encounter between a human and a fictional extraterrestrial, or exploration of the varieties of sexual experience that deviate from the conventional.
LGBT themes in speculative fiction include lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBTQ) themes in science fiction, fantasy, horror fiction and related genres.[a] Such elements may include an LGBT character as the protagonist or a major character, or explorations of sexuality or gender that deviate from the heteronormative.
Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literature. The awards were instituted in 1989.
Nicola Griffith is a British American novelist, essayist, and teacher. She has won the Washington State Book Award (twice), Nebula Award, James Tiptree, Jr. Award, World Fantasy Award, Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and six Lambda Literary Awards. In 2024 she was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
Gay literature is a collective term for literature produced by or for the gay community which involves characters, plot lines, and/or themes portraying male homosexual behavior.
Gaylaxicon is a recurring science fiction, fantasy and horror convention that focused on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender topics. It has taken in various locations in the United States and occasionally Canada, often on the East Coast.
Steve Berman is an American editor, novelist and short story writer. He writes in the field of queer speculative fiction.
LGBTQ themes in horror fiction refers to sexuality in horror fiction that can often focus on LGBTQ+ characters and themes within various forms of media. It may deal with characters who are coded as or who are openly LGBTQ+, or it may deal with themes or plots that are specific to gender and sexual minorities.
Bisexual erasure, also called bisexual invisibility, is the tendency to ignore, remove, falsify, or re-explain evidence of bisexuality in history, academia, the news media, and other primary sources.
The Gaylactic Network is a North American LGBT science fiction fandom organization. It has several affiliate chapters across the United States and Canada, with a membership of LGBT people and friends, sharing an interest in science fiction, fantasy, horror, comics and role-playing games.
Diversicon is an annual speculative fiction convention held in July or August in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota area. Diversicon provides programming and social opportunities to encourage the multicultural, multimedia exploration and celebration of SF by those within and outside of the traditional SF community. Diversicon includes both live and posthumous guests. It is sponsored by SF Minnesota.
Bending the Landscape is the title of an award-winning series of LGBT-themed anthologies of short speculative fiction edited by Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel. Three books were produced between 1997 and 2002, subtitled Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Each volume won LGBT or genre awards.
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the United States-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works that celebrate or explore LGBTQ themes. The awards are presented annually for books published in the previous year. The Lambda Literary Foundation states that its mission is "to celebrate LGBT literature and provide resources for writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians—the whole literary community."
Samuel R. "Chip" Delany is an American writer and literary critic. His work includes fiction, memoir, criticism, and essays on science fiction, literature, sexuality, and society. His fiction includes Babel-17, The Einstein Intersection ; Hogg, Nova, Dhalgren, the Return to Nevèrÿon series, and Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders. His nonfiction includes Times Square Red, Times Square Blue, About Writing, and eight books of essays. He has won four Nebula awards and two Hugo Awards, and he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2002.
The role of women in speculative fiction has changed a great deal since the early to mid-20th century. There are several aspects to women's roles, including their participation as authors of speculative fiction and their role in science fiction fandom. Regarding authorship, in 1948, 10–15% of science fiction writers were female. Women's role in speculative fiction has grown since then, and in 1999, women comprised 36% of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's professional members. Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley has been called the first science fiction novel, although women wrote utopian novels even before that, with Margaret Cavendish publishing the first in the seventeenth century. Early published fantasy was written by and for any gender. However, speculative fiction, with science fiction in particular, has traditionally been viewed as a male-oriented genre.
Amber Dawn is a Canadian writer, who won the 2012 Dayne Ogilvie Prize, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to an emerging lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender writer.
The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBTQ topics:
Bisexual literature is a subgenre of LGBTQ literature that includes literary works and authors that address the topic of bisexuality or biromanticism. This includes characters, plot lines, and/or themes portraying bisexual behavior in both men and women.
Black lesbian literature is a subgenre of lesbian literature and African American literature that focuses on the experiences of black women who identify as lesbians. The genre features poetry and fiction about black lesbian characters as well as non-fiction essays which address issues faced by black lesbians. Prominent figures within the genre include Ann Allen Shockley, Audre Lorde, Cheryl Clarke, and Barbara Smith.