This is the last of the books and articles I read as background for the Actresses/Stage tropes podcasts. (I had a bunch of posts lined up -- finished doing the reading a couple weeks ago and recorded the first of the two podcasts last weekend.) Just in time, since I'm flying out tomorrow evening for my Worldcon-related travels.
And speaking of which, I'll be on a panel at Worldcon titled "Sword Lesbians: Discuss". My co-panelists are Christina Orlando (moderator), Ellen Kushner, Em X. Liu, and Samantha Shannon. Here's the panel description:
Sword lesbians are a recognised and popular trope in fantasy and science fiction. How do we think about heroic positions and expansive gender expression in sff? How do queer people position ourselves in relationship to traditional masculinity and its phallus/sword continuum? Do we reclaim roles like knight/cavalier/Jedi, or do we find different ways for women/femmes to fight? Are sword lesbians also an expression of athleticism, when athleticism is often coded as masculine despite not really being tied to the masc/femme axis at all?
As you might guess, my contributions will likely include the deep history of the instersections between masculine-coded activites/accessories and female homoeroticism. Plus, also, talking about Alpennia.
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