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Women in Space |
02 Jan 2006 |
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 In a special edition of Woman's Hour, Jenni looks at the role of women, both real and fictional, in space
The appeal of sci-fi for women
Jenni talks to sci-fi journalist and author Thomasina Gibson and Dr Esther MacCallum-Stewart, researcher in popular literature of the 20th century at the University of Sussex to find out what exactly is the definition of science fiction and why it is becoming increasing more appealing to women.
Women’s relationship with aliens
It was Orson Welles who pulled off the most famous sci-fi stunt of all when he broadcast War of the Worlds on radio and had his audience believe that the world really was taken over by aliens. But they aren't always scary. The science fiction film, ET drew huge family audiences into the cinema – and, of course, it was a woman who provided the voice of ET. Where alien invasion is concerned women are generally kidnap victims – it’s more rare for the aliens themselves to be female. Claudia Hammond went to find out more at the Science of Aliens Exhibition at the Science Museum in London (details below).
The representation of birth and reproduction in sci-fi
From Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to films like Alien: Resurrection, those working in science fiction have always grappled with the question of how to represent creation and birth. How is child-bearing and rearing represented in science fiction films and books? Is it all violent alien impregnation and monster progeny? And how does this reflect our own anxieties around fertility, babies, and the responsibility of being parents? Jenni is joined by research associate Dr Joan Haran from the University of Cardiff, Kate O’Riordan from the University of Lancaster and and the film critic and novelist Kim Newman.
Europe’s last women in space
Whilst a good number of women feature in the fiction of space – not too many have experienced the fact – of the over 400 astronauts and cosmonauts who’ve been up, only 43 are women and of those only 2 are European. Helen Sharman became the first Brit in space in 1991 and Claudie Haignere has represented France. Her last trip was to the International Space Station in 2001. She tells Jenni how she became interested in space, her experiences out of this world and how she would like to encourage more women to think of a career in space.
Women in the future
There is no lack of interest in the continuation of the sci-fi genre – whether it’s the remakes in the cinema – War of the Worlds and King Kong – or the novels by some of our greatest literary writers. In books like Doris Lessing’s The Story of General Dann and Mara’s Daughter or Margeret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, other worlds continue to provide the backdrop to some of the most pressing political and ethical questions of our time. Jenni asks where will it go from here?
Additional information...
The recommendations from the guests were:
Films: Teknolust (2002) and Barbarella
Books: His Dark Materials by Philip Pulman, Sabriel by Garth Nix, Life by Gwyneth Jones
The Science of Aliens exhibition is at the Science Museum, London until 26 Feb 2006
Science Museum - Aliens
European Space Agency
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