Rescued my SFWA Bulletin from the mail today. And… sigh. We’re apparently celebrating the 200th issue with a muscular barbarian babe in a chainmail bikini with red poofy 80s hair.
I know we should celebrate our pulpy genre roots and take glee in them, and I try people, I really try. And the cover is always a fantasy/scifi thing, which I’ve always liked. But this? It doesn’t even bug me so much as… sigh. Yeah, that.
Can I not even escape getting punched in the face by the unattainable “idealized” female body in my nerdy writer space? It’s not like female writers are exotic specimens you only see on safaris or feminists (of any gender) in the organization have been shy about making their presence known. But it feels as if ‘Bonus: we remind you of the pervasiveness of the male gaze!’ should be in yellow under Bud Sparhawk’s name in the lineup.
Sigh.
Double bonus – the Resnick and Malzberg dialog at the back is to sing the praises of lady editors and publishers. With, “She was competent, unpretentious, and beauty pageant gorgeous… as photographs make quite clear. Tell succeeding generations all about her [Dorothy McIlwraith], please.” at the start.
Just… sigh.
6 replies on “Sigh.”
[…] For the record, my original, non-anonymous complaint about Bulletin 200. Jim Hines has an excellent list of likewise non-anonymous complaints. Ball is in your court, […]
It is a really sad cover picture. I won’t even go into what I thought of the parts of the bulletin I’ve been able to read as a non-member.
Yeah.The whole thing has been pretty upsetting. :/
As the cover for one of the “Chicks in Chainmail” satire series, it’s not bad.
As the cover for your professional bulletin, not so good.
Yeah. And I actually read the Chicks in Chainmail anthologies when they came out and loved then to bits. But man, not something in the slightest bit professional.
Well if they were celebrating their pulp roots — they should also have included the overmuscled barbarian in nothing but a fur loin-clot & boots. Which is about as protective as the chainmail bikini really.
As to the dialog on the back — yes — that is awful. They deserve praise for their ability — not their aesthetic appeal.