In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Party Like It’s 1992

Jill

Feminists

New goal in life: Be described as “a boot-wearing resistance fighter hottie.” Also, take us to 1992:

He must escape or die.
. . . Almost instantly the shrill sound of a whistle broke to his right and a street guard stepped from a doorway, struggling to free her rifle from her garments.
“Male Pig!” she screamed. “Halt!”

Welcome to the world of The Feminists, a pulp novel published in 1971. It’s the story of cubicle drone Keith Montalvo, who has been caught consensually slipping the pink torpedo to a female co-worker. Unfortunately, it’s 1992 and the Big-Sisterish “Committee” has outlawed all unauthorized heterosex, and his crime is punishable by death.

Ok, who’s the rat? How did Parley J. Cooper catch on to our plans of world domination, anti-heterosex and compulsory cat ownership?

Thanks to M. for the link.

35 thoughts on Party Like It’s 1992

  1. Oh crap; I got married in 1992, to a MAN no less, and had tons of great hetero sex and have ever since- are they gonna take my boots away now?

  3. Philip K Dick wrote a science fiction/alternate universe novel or novelette sometime in the 60s or 70s in which the lead character’s wife tells him that she wants to “have an abortion” together, like it’s the typical thing couples do together in this world.

  8. “struggling to free her rifle from her garments” –Uh, how does one carry a rifle inside one’s clothes?

  9. To “take” a woman is a crime? At least they got that right. To TAKE someone is a crime, as opposed to, I don’t know, having sex with them?

    I also love the part of the fantasy where the underground women secretly long for men that they can cling to. So predictable.

    Although I do also have to agree that institutionally unauthorized sex is kind of hot.

  11. WOAH!

    For a different take on feminism and sci-fi, check out the amazing movie Born in Flames (1983), written and directed by director Lizzie Borden, who also did Working Girls. Here’s one review.

    It opens with this f’ing AWESOME scene where a women is being harassed/assaulted by men on a street in NYC, and a team of FEMINISTS ON BICYCLES WITH WHISTLES ride in to scare the men off! Yeah! Plus hot 80’s music.

  12. Wait….wasn’t taking a woman already a crime? Or is that some new “future” 1992 foolishness?

  13. I googled the author’s name, and the first result is a review of The Feminists: “Clearly what sf publishers are constantly telling us is ‘a forgotten classic’ — a cutting-edge dystopian work to rank alongside Nineteen Eighty-four . ”

    Maybe there was a reason it was “forgotten” and Nineteen Eighty-four wasn’t.

  14. “Uh, how does one carry a rifle inside one’s clothes?”

    I gotta a big strap-on, but I wouldn’t call it THAT big! 😉

  18. Tell me more about how one goes about getting “authorized” heterosex. I mean, do you have to fill out a form or something? Is there a test? I can just imagine lines at the “Sex DMV”…

  19. “Tell me more about how one goes about getting “authorized” heterosex. I mean, do you have to fill out a form or something? Is there a test? I can just imagine lines at the “Sex DMV”…”

    Maybe it’s a hybrid dystopia where not only do you need authorization to have heterosex, but you have to win it on a brutal pay-per-view gameshow involving Alex Trebek, hungry Nile monitors, and a no-pants ninja-challenge during the final round.

  20. Obviously the Sister in question got her rifle tangled up in her 70’s empire waist prairie mini dress.

  23. Oh, this takes me back. Right around that time my girlfriend (who worked in a bookstore) got me a copy as a gag gift. And Donna, don’t forget the parts where Our Hero talks about being “man and wife” with the heroine! It’s like Gor without the BDSM.

  24. This seems like a reverse-negative version of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Although something tells me this guy probably can’t write like Margaret Atwood.

  25. They really just need to make a film adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan’s Y the Last Man. That would be something interesting. Guaranteed by the very premise to have a mostly female cast of characters.

  26. “Uh, how does one carry a rifle inside one’s clothes?”

    Obviously, she hadn’t seen ‘Sexy Girls with Sexy Guns II’, or else she’d know that the proper attire for handling a rifle is swimwear. And slow-motion. Seriously, I hope it skips SNL and goes straight to beta-max.

    Ew. This book is second hand. Consider the audience.
    I’d give it 15 seconds on HIGH or use gloves.

  27. Shelve next to On the Necessity of Bestialising the Human Female (Margot Sims) — another forgotten classic — and stand back!

    As to the rash of backlash SF in the late 70s, yes… there was a strong reaction to the cutting-edge feminist-inspired sci fi of Russ, Delaney, Tiptree (Sheldon) et al. Even Vonnegut had to jump on the bandwagon with his rather nasty “Welcome to the Monkey House” in which a rapist is the anti-establishment hero.

    OTOH there were some forgotten pulp classics with a strong anti-patriarchal message, like Dear John, a pretty powerful anti-rape thriller.

    online review of Born in Flames…

  28. Even Vonnegut had to jump on the bandwagon with his rather nasty “Welcome to the Monkey House” in which a rapist is the anti-establishment hero.

    DeAnder: You’ve just trashed a hero of mine! And what really hurts is you’re right.

  30. @BitterScribe

    yeah, I love Vonnegut for the most part — a fine fellow, pbuh — and have to consider this a momentary lapse of decency.

    btw, Delaney who wrote very challenging gender-confounding and proto-feminist scifi in his golden period, later descended to writing sadistic porno masquerading as scifi — a depressing surprise. I was a huge fan of his early work, but the most recent stuff is unreadable imho.

    I suppose a hat tip is due here to S Tepper who wrote substantial novel after substantial novel tackling the vexing problem of patriarchy, working it out in various creative sci-fi ways…

  31. *whistles innocently with secret plans stuffed in back pocket before being carried away*

    Vive le resistance! Vive le resistance!!! ;_;

    But seriously, WOW… that book cover looks like the typical Feminazi I’ve heard so much about, as well as looking like something out of a Mack Bolan novel.

    So… this is what passes for Sf literature? In 1992? Man, that’s bad… funny bad, but bad nonetheless.

  32. nah, written in 1971, -about- the dystopian 1992, or so i gather.

    yeah, Joanna Russ has some pretty hilarious things to say about the heavy-breathing Male Fear SF of the era.

    ooh, he has other book with titles like “My Shuddering Fair One.” awesome.

  33. Obviously, she hadn’t seen ‘Sexy Girls with Sexy Guns II

    There was a SEQUEL?!

    Jamie – the book itself was written in the ’70s, when 1992 was TEH FUTURZ.

  34. There was a SEQUEL?!

    Yeah, but if you haven’t seen the original “Sexy Girls With Sexy Guns,” you probably wouldn’t be able to follow it.

Comments are currently closed.