This is a collection of scifi/fantasy stories and essays with a focus on gender. Although the quality of the stories varies a bit, on the whole this was a great read. ( )

A mixed bag of goods in terms of quality of stories (or maybe it's just that each new story trumps the previous one and sticks in your mind), but overall does exactly what the Tiptree Award aims to do: provokes thought an discussion.

The non-fiction is without exception of a very high standard: Tiptree's own "Everything but the signature is me", a wonderfully opinionated essay on genre by Ursula K. LeGuin, Suzy McKee Charnas's insights into judging the Tiptree, and Joanna Russ's brief take on Alice Sheldon's life.

Of the fiction, the highlights for me are the excerpt from Matt Ruff's "Set This House in Order" (which I'm going to have to get a copy of) and Ruth Nestvold's "Looking Through Lace". That latter one kind of sneaks up on you. It reads a little like something from the 1960s or 1970s throughout - all-male first contact team, entirely predictable that they've found a female-dominated society - and yet the ending threw me. I'm still struggling to put into words why: the closest I can get to is that I think of being able to read and read as part of my identity - and not being allowed to do it because of my gender would be absolutely devastating for me. And yet, the story drives home in no uncertain terms that that is what has happened in our culture for centuries, and still happens in other cultures around the world today. And the next step of thought for me is how much of women's history and identity through the ages has been absolutely obliterated by this brutal censorship.

Yes, in some ways I'm a late comer to feminism. In others, I was there, and further, long before anyone else. In some ways being a communist was much easier - and much nicer - than being a feminist. As a communist, my basic assumption was that everyone was equal and that I could do whatever I wanted, had every choice and ever option available to me. And, armed with that assumption, I spent a good 25 years of my life bulldozing over everyone who would have it otherwise, without even noticing them. Ever since I've become interested in feminism, I have started actually noticing all the crap and prejudice and inequality around me, and it's almost left me in a state of shock. I'm sure I'll recover eventually, but until then I may be a bit fragile.

One more story from this anthology deserves a mention, and that is Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen". This was one of my favourite fairy tales as a child, and I greatly enjoyed re-reading it. What struck me about the English translation, though, are the constant references to god, prayer, hymns, etc. So I dug up my Bulgarian (communist!) collection of Hans Christian Andersen fairly tales and checked a nagging suspicion I had - and yes, the Bulgarian version has been systematically purged of god. It made me incredibly happy and I've decided that my children shall have the Bulgarian version read to them. ;-) Also, in my head Gerda still lives happily ever after with the robber girl. ( )

Great essays, great stories. More thought provoking than a dozen other anthologies. ( )