Quote:
Originally Posted by jersysman
I just don't see where all the angst is coming from. If it is the column, then I can understand that, but as others have stated what is depicted on the cover has been the staple of that genre for a long time. Do a google search on female warriors and see what is found. I just don't get the furor over the cover.
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2 points:
1) Covers like that have been a source of frustration for a long time. Just because something has happened doesn't mean everyone was OK with it. It just means that the people who weren't OK with it got ignored, which is also part of what's feeding this discussion - speaking against sexism is OK now where it wasn't in the past. Yes, it's similar to covers in the past. The point is some significant fraction of sci fi authors / fans want a change.
2) Any one thing - cover, article, whiny blog post response - could have been dealt with more easily. The combination shows that concerns about equality and representation have been brushed aside and ignored, that the SFWA is continuing to isolate and ignore members and that some significant fraction, or at least a vocal minority, is OK with that. Well, the members who were ignored aren't OK with it and now they can start a dialogue (shouting match?) more easily than before so they're going to.
TL;DR This isn't the end of the world. It *is* a bad and stupid thing that shows the SFWA is not doing a good job of acting in its members' interests, and also that sci fi is still stuck with a lot of the embarrassing views from earlier decades.
The way the situation kept going, and no one at the Bulletin reined Resnick in for 3 issues, makes this more than one author or one cover. That shows this is a pervasive issue with SFWA and that needs to be fixed.