“Is there a Woman in this Space Opera?”A Gender Analysis of the Aliens of Orion

Delighted to share another scholarly article from Dr Thea Boschoff and Dr Deidre C Byrne that explores the Sentients of Orion world. Below is the publications details and a description from the citation:

“Is there a woman in this space opera?” a gender analysis of the aliens of Orion.

Authors – Dorothea Boshoff, Deirdre C Byrne

Publication date – 2021

Journal – Fafnir–Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research

Publisher – The Finnish Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy Research

This article provides a textual analysis of The Sentients of Orion, a space-opera series by Australian feminist SF author Marianne de Pierres, with a view to investigating the series’s depiction of aliens as a reflection of contemporary views of human gender. This highlights the question of whether aliens are still used to reflect on the state of human gender roles now that society is moving past the simple black and white of the male/female binary. We undertake a qualitative exploration of selected aliens through the theoretical lenses of Judith Butler’s theory of gender as performative and queer theory. By drawing on these interpretive paradigms, we suggest that de Pierres’s aliens both register and reflect a significant broadening of the gender spectrum.

Scholarly Analysis of the Sentients of Orion

The Sentients of Orion series has been the subject of scholarly interrogation on several occasions. Click the images to link to the essays and books.

Aliaga-Lavrijsen, J. Pregnancy, Childbirth and Nursing in Feminist Dystopia: Marianne de Pierres’s Transformation Space (2010). Humanities 20209, 58.

Boshoff, Dorothea, ‘Becoming Alien(ated): A case study examining intimacy and loneliness in selected works by Marianne de Pierres.’ (upcoming 2020)

Boshoff, Dorothea and Deidre Byrne. ‘He Said, She Said:
#Fake News and #MeToo in Marianne de Pierres’ Sentients of Orion.’ Messenger from the Stars Journal: On Science Fiction and Fantasy. No. 4 (2019): 88- 102. Guest Eds.: Danièle André & Cristophe Becker.

Boshoff, Dorothea. ‘Crafting Positions: Representations of Intimacy and Gender in The Sentients of Orion.’ PhD. University of South Africa, 2017