The Alphabet Mafia is taking over Sci-Fi!

by Katherine Weber | May 8, 2024 | Features

From aliens to battle spaceships and intergalactic wars, the world of sci-fi is bound only by the imagination of its creators. According to an article by Amanda Pagan on the New York Public Library’s website, science fiction uses scientific fact and theory for the basis of its speculative plots. While the genre hinges on the fantastical, it still loosely finds inspiration from real life, whether it be about other-worldly politics or romance. Naturally, the queer community would also want to be represented in the genre. In line with this edition’s theme, PDBY wanted to dive into the world of queer identity in the imaginative world of sci-fi.

Representation

While it is easy for most cishet people to dismiss the importance of representation, it plays a very important role in combating certain stereotypes surrounding the community. In an article titled “Queer representation in media: The good, the bad and the ugly”, Tessa Kaur details the various forms of negative representation: vilification of queer characters; token representation, where a queer character does not play a significant role in the plot but is just added for the sake of inclusivity; queerbaiting, which means including queer scenes between characters without providing any kind of evidence to confirm or deny it. Kaur also details the dangers of idealistic representation, which is set up in a made-up world where queer people experience little to no discrimination, and sob stories, which refers to realistic depictions of queer trauma.

But what she neglects to mention is how the queer community has grown rapidly tired of the “coming-out story”. While the coming-out story provides important insight into the queer experience and how scary it can be, after the 55th coming-out story, it becomes increasingly clear that the media only cares about this one aspect of queer identity. But queer people, and by extension queer characters, are not only their sexualities. So let’s dive into some characters!

Willow Rosenberg

Let’s start off with something tame: the cult classic, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The story follows Buffy Summers, a teenage vampire slayer who moves with her mother  to Sunnydale, a town infested with vampires. At Sunnydale High, Buffy meets best friends Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris, who join her on her messy journey of identity discovery, with a sprinkle of vampire slaying.

Buffy’s best friend Willow is a character beloved by the queer because of her own journey of sexual discovery. When the gang finally goes to college, Willow starts to take an interest in, you guessed it, witchcraft! Subtlety went a long way in the 90s. And innuendo was the foundation of any show that wanted to include Uber characters. Initially, Willow first comes off as being heterosexual but eventually comes out as a lesbian after she falls for quiet fellow witch Tara Maclay. Importantly, in one of the earlier seasons when the gang is still in high school, Willow comes face to face with a queer version of herself (talk about major foreshadowing!).

Willow’s story is significant because she only discovers her sexuality a bit later on in life. While Buffy does not hinge on Willow’s sexuality, the show still focuses on the complicated lives of queer people, including their love lives. Willow’s sexuality is important because it is not her main or most interesting characteristic, as she still experiences issues with addiction and grief.

Nomi Marks

Next up, something a bit more modern: the show Sense8. Sense8 follows the story of eight individuals, all in different parts of the modern world, who are psychically connected to one another. The eight individuals must band together to protect themselves from those who believe them to be a threat. Nomi Marks is one of the first realistic and normal portrayals of a transgender character. Normal in the sense that her identity has absolutely no effect on the story as a whole. In a world where queer stories mostly focus on the coming-out experience, it is refreshing to see the portrayal of the normal day-to-day experiences of queer characters.

Nomi’s representation is also very similar to Willow’s, just in a more modern context. One of the most important aspects of the show is that all these characters come from different walks of life and live in different countries, ranging from Nairobi to San Francisco and Mumbai. They are all regular people that have next to nothing in common. Nomi’s life not being central to the storyline solidifies the normalcy of her life. It is simple, ordinary representation that normalises the queer community and the lives they live.

The Moclans

The Orville is a comedy-drama about a space crew who are navigating the universe 400 years in the future. The Moclans are a race of aliens who only consist of one gender, male. Aboard the Orville, one Moclan couple is present, Klyden and Bortus. The culture of their mono-gender society is so strong that when Klyden and Bortus have a female child, which is unheard of in Moclan society, Bortus initially wants to change their child’s gender through surgery. But he is eventually swayed into allowing his child to grow as she is. This eventually becomes an issue for Klyden, and the two eventually end up having marital problems.

The Orville portrays a major issue surrounding transgender surgeries by turning it on its head and placing the same issue in an alternate scenario. Not only does it normalise same-sex relationships but also shows the intricacies of these issues that we are facing today.

Because sci-fi is built on exploration and imagination, it provides an ideal opportunity to explore the representation of queer characters in a positive and empowering way, beyond the coming-out story. Though queer representation in sci-fi and other genres still has a long road ahead, it is always evolving, with characters like Willow, Nomi and the Moclans serving as encouraging possibilities. So, may sci-fi live long and prosper as the genre continues its epic journey into the beyond.

News reporter at PDBY | katherine@pdby.co.za | view posts

My name is Katherine Weber and I am currently a 2nd year BA student majoring in English and History. I enjoy writing short stories and drawing. I want to work in publishing one day because I love reading all types of books.