The Female Man

Joanna Russ

GENRES:
Sci-Fi, Feminist

SUMMARY:
This novel revolves around four very different women from four very different worlds. Joanna is from a world very much like our own; she has her own career and legal equal rights, but she is still bound by the female stereotype that pervades her culture. Jeannine is from a world where the Depression never ended; she meekly follows the majority and is a complete flower of prissiness. Janet, perhaps one of the most interesting characters is a warrior from a planet where men simply do not exist. Finally, there's Jael, a mysterious and powerful woman whose origins and indeed name are a mystery until the end.

The fun begins when-- through the intervention of Jael and some time travelling tricks-- all four women begin to overlap worlds and mingle with each other. As they learn about themselves and their possible alternate selves, each woman grows and gradually understands what it means to be female-- and what it should be.

RESPONSE:
This book is a classic foundation of feminist science fiction and deservedly so. Yes, it was quite difficult to figure out what was going on, but I think that was Russ's intention. The time jumps and alternate viewpoints were quite confusing, but they also lent an air of anxiety and chaos to the entire book which added to the story. I don't think it's coincidence that at the end with the introduction of Jael, chaos seems to take a front seat when the world as all the characters knew it is turned completely upside down.

For being as small as it is, The Female Man sure manages to touch upon a helluva lot of issues. What if men didn't exist? What if women never got equal right? What if the genders went to war? Through alternate universes and characters, Russ gives an answer to all of these questions.

The thing I like most about the novel was that it didn't give black and white answers. What I hate most about a lot of feminist rhetoric is the concrete and zealous answers given as a solution to some complicated problem. Russ knows there is no simple solution, but she lets her readers explore some of the possibilities on their own terms through her story. For example, instead of laying the blame of female subjugation and meekness solely at men's feet, Russ points out that women themselves are just as responsible. This is evident through Jeannine's refusal to even develop an opinion, let alone express one.

Despite the heavy issues brought up in this novel, it's still quite funny and cynical in many parts. For example, when people from Joanna's world rhetorically ask Janet how they had sex with no men, Janet launches into a full description of exactly how they do it. Like her character, Janet, Russ is not skittish when it comes to describing her female characters' actions, whether it be lesbianism or cold-blooded murder. This is all the more impressive when you take into account the story was published in 1975.

With Jael's appearance at the end, the entire story begins to gel, and even more issues are raised as the reader is confronted with his or her own repulsion or attraction to Jael's unique brand of femininity.

POINT BLANK:
Unique, interesting, and important sci-fi.