Gynotopian Links
Fiction Online
Delightful Science Fiction webcomic. Most human males have been killed by a plague, leaving women to fend for themselves
in starships, war, and love. The storylines are full of both humor and angst and deal with Lesbian romance and
soldierly camaraderie. I highly recommend it.
Herland
The classic of the gynotopian genre.
Sultana's Dream
An Indian fantasy about a world where men are secluded in a sort of reverse purdah.
"Men, who do or at least are capable of doing no end of mischief, are let loose and
the innocent women, shut up in the zenana! How can you trust those untrained men out
of doors?"
Angel Island
This novel does not really fit, but I have included it because it was on some of the lists
I used in my research. It is about a few young men who settle on a deserted island and
discover that lovely winged women visit it. The winged women apparently come from a mysterious
land where everyone is winged, but whether there are men there or not is never explained.
Certainly they don't seem to have any understanding of the male sex. The men capture the winged
women, cut off their wings, and marry them, and all sorts of feminist metaphors ensue.
Consider Her Ways
Famous science fiction story. Was made into a Night Gallery episode.
Breathmoss
Science Fiction story reviewed on my Feminists page.
Y: The Last Man On Earth
PDF file of the first issue.
Interview with the author.
This is a highly intelligent series about a plague that instantly kills all of the males on
earth except one. It does contain the anti-Republican potshots which are apparently required by law
and perpetuates the myth of Israeli female soldiers (in real life, a woman in the Israeli army is
called a "filing clerk"), but in most respects this is a convincing exploration of how women might
fare without men.
Reviews, Essays and Guides
Feminist Science Fiction, Fantasy & Utopia
This was an invaluable source for me to find gynotopias.
Women's Worlds: A Bundle of Feminist Utopias
Reviews of Herland, Mizora and Sultana's Dream.
Carrying Over: Analysing Female Utopias and Narratives of Female Education from17th century France to 18th Century Britain and 20th century India
PDF file
Focuses on feminist literature set in the real world, but includes a discussion of Sultana's Dream.
The Politics of Feminine Retreat in Margaret Cavendish's The Female Academy and The Convent of Pleasure
PDF file
These are not about all-female societies as such, but rather about all-female retreats
within the real world.
"Women's town" to put
men in their place
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese tourism authorities are seeking investment to build a novel concept attraction --
the world's first "women's town," where men get punished for disobedience, an official said Thursday.
The 2.3-square-km Longshuihu village in the Shuangqiao district of Chongqing municipality, also known as
"women's town," was based on the local traditional concept of "women rule and men obey," a tourism official told
Reuters.
"Traditional women dominate and men have to be obedient in the areas of Sichuan province and Chongqing, and
now we are using it as an idea to attract tourists and boost tourism," the official, surname Li, said by telephone.
Amazon Heroic Fantasy
A critical overview by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Femizons
A militaristic Amazon race in Marvel Comics.
Shojo Kageki
In the Orient, all-female opera or theatre troupes have been a custom for some time.
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