Panel Notes: Psychology
Contents:
Mental Aspects of Living on a Space Station
But It Doesn’t Work That Way!: Gender Differences, Equality, and Fiction
Constructing a Fictional Religion
Biological Analogies for Cultural Differences
What’s this Sex Scene Doing in My Fantasy?
Mental Aspects of Living on a Space Station (WindyCon 2003)
Skills matter more than rank
Must cooperate to survive
Rigid but egalitarian society
Need “wiggle room” for hobbies, religion, personal quirks, to keep mental health
Need to set boundaries, can’t just go along
Need to avoid stupid things that interfere with people not being able to do their work, or else they’ll get mad
Have very driven people who will need to do their own work and take on others’ work—have to order rest breaks
Want to be productive and busy
People compete to make interesting meals from the canned and dry food available
Need to get over petty things, like lack of flush toilets
People get reduced to basic things, like food and using the bathroom
Avoided politics, religion, and sex
Presence of women can provide social lubrication (men would talk with women when they argued with other men)
Married couples can do well, depending on the marriage; some make it, some break up
Someone should keep a good journal on mission
All-women crews can run into problems, since much of the work is physical and requires physical strength (what about in space stations with free fall?)
About two-thirds of qualified applicants are men
Like having spectrum of ages in crew
Young crew members tend to be upbeat but competitive
How does space station evolve with younger generations?
Zero-gravity space stations are a bad idea; space exploration should be done with artificial gravity
Need to be in good physical condition to explore planets
Zero-g gets old after a while
People can put with more than you might expect
Space station is an artificial environment—would there be sensory deprivation?
Space stations would be noisy—tradeoff between soundproofing vs. heat
Machines are always on, constant ventilation
People like spicy food
Music very popular—cuts out white noise, headphones provide privacy
Most people are gregarious—want to listen to music together
Most people preferred to be in social area, even if reading a book, but need to have some privacy too (or knowledge that they can get privacy at any time)
Need sense of humor, ability to laugh at yourself
Interaction of crew with mission control—crew can get irritated with MC very easily
Time lag demands that mission be led from front
Crew can be brought together against mission control/support
If crew morale holds, they can face all sorts of problems; if morale fails, the least problem will screw them up
Before sending a mission to Mars, test them as a team in the Artic or Antarctic first for a year
Mission control can’t overmother the crew; let the crew make their own decisions
But It Doesn’t Work That Way!: Gender Differences, Equality, and Fiction (WisCon 27—2003)
Are women taught to be weak? Physical strength is individual, not gendered.
Women’s strength is equal to men when different center of gravity taken into account
Different age groups have different conceptions of gender and strength
(Books have larger impact on kids than adults)
YA books aren’t as sanitized as they used to be
Can you really pretend that girls and boys are the same in a pre-industrial society?
(Wish-fulfillment)
Gender differences do exist
Some women are stronger than men; some aren’t
Women face difference tasks in life, especially in pre-industrial times
Pregnancy affects everything women do when they don’t have birth control; unrealistic to assume it doesn’t
In some societies, women bring babies into the field, men and women split chores, and women even dance with children on their backs, also men help raise toddlers
More variety in human cultures than SF writers can imagine – READ NON-FICTION!
Be selective in non-fiction that you read
Egalitarian cultures are myths
Western society is highly gendered
Hard to write gender-neutral society
Feminist work can teach children to take responsibility for their own happiness
REAL HUMANS SUCK; THEY WILL ALWAYS BE UGLY TO EACH OTHER!
In some non-Western cultures, women chose when they would become pregnant; in Western cultures, men chose when women became pregnant
(Other cultures had their problems too)
There are rape-free societies and rape-prone societies (guess which one we belong to?)
The average woman is weaker than the average man
Need to avoid stereotypes – men and women share attitudes
Strong women may seem like “funny-looking men” in fiction
The sexes are not ranked!
Men are assumed to be the norm
Too many books with ideal worlds may convince kids that that is real
Readers want books with both strong men and strong women
In Harry Potter, the kids are equal because they each have a gift
In SF, can set up a society where men are responsible for child-rearing
Pre-industrial societies had some types of birth control (herbs, abortions, breast-feeding)
Men tend to have aggressive mind-set; women tend to have defensive mind-set
Differences between women greater than differences between women and men
Characters have to be credible people who go against type
Women have other strengths besides that of “warrior women”
Michelle West – Sun Sword books
Women change once they give birth and breastfeed
As men and women approach menopause, they tend to acquire traits of other gender
Western culture rough on the intersexed
Men may be better trained how to apply their strength
Look at characters’ individual talents
Human men may be designed for short-term bursts of works; women may be more designed for long-term work (based on average people)
Women may have menopause so they don’t die from childbirth before they finish raising all their children
Herd animals led by barren females
Hand-to-hand combat much different from modern combat
PMS affects women’s personalities
Societies need complementary skills from all their members
Stories have agendas
Writers should break out of traditional Western culture
Hormones influence brain development
Gender differences affect inheritance (Genetic imprinting)
Characters (and real people) need to consider whose approval are they searching for?
Sexual dimorphism more prevalent in our culture than in others (eg, height—what if women mated with short men?)
Constructing a Fictional Religion (WisCon 27—2003)
Five points of religion (tends to describe most religions, also includes magic, atheism, and science):
1. Belief in a deity with power beyond individual.
2. Body of doctrine or teaching.
3. Code of conduct.
4. Sacred stories
5. Religious rituals, both individual and group
Do fictional religions have to be based on what we know, or can be created out of whole cloth?
“Nothing new under the sun,” all types of religions existed in one form or another
people find metaphors for deities
aliens might have something novel, but the author is still human
If you invent something completely new, will it work as a human religion?
Religion centered on most important aspects of existence (would need to look at context)
Mature religions can self-revise themselves to keep surviving
Humans may be restrained by their humanness
Examples in SF/Fantasy
Bujold—The Curse of Challion – constructed well, but not enough backstory (could be due to POV)
Herbert-- Dune – emerging religion
Susan Harris – Women on Fire – Goddess develops throughout stories (online)
Ursula le Guin – The Left Hand of Darkness – two religions, one emerging from other, integrated into world
De Camp -- The Compleat Enchanter – have to figure out how other universe works, religion of magic helps hero evolve
Is Creating a Religion like World-Building, or is it different?
Is it wallpaper (background), or does it play larger role?
Religion can act as protagonist (Card – Lost Boys)
Some authors set up “straw religion” (many authors have been anti-religion in their work)
In SF, religion may seem absent; religion more visible and greater effect in fantasy, has a larger role in daily life
Science or history may play role of religion
Have to start with human condition when creating religion
Religion gives order to chaos of universe
What would aliens be worried about and what would their gods do for them?
Mature religions have to deal with the mystic and unknown
Religion assumes natural world (or part of world) has intention or motive, which you don’t see in science (not sure I agree with this)
Does author have to assume that the religion in the novel is true?
Religions have people with different spiritual maturities
People may regress to lower level when stressed
Even if religion is proved false, it still has effect on individual level
Religions may have chemical use (which provides the religious effects)
Do “rational explanations” have to do away with the spiritual effects?
Science addresses different questions than religion does
Makes observations, measurements, etc.
Science can be practiced as religion, and that leads to bad science.
Humans live in world of symbols provided by language
Religion may be part of symbol-making
Religions may be high- or low-consequence
Low consequence – Prachett’s Discworld – gods exist, but they don’t matter
High consequence – Clarke’s aliens prove religions don’t exist
Molly Gloss – The Dazzle of Day
Religion seems more common in recent SF books
Structured and Unstructured Religions
Religion can be “hidden” or built into society
In hetergenous societies, easier to see religions
Biological Analogies for Cultural Differences (WisCon 27—2003)
On Star Trek, aliens are metaphors for nations
“race” used in different ways in fantasy and rest of world
Slan – gifted people have tentacles
Aliens don’t have to stand for a human race (Door Into Ocean)
Ethnic groups aren’t aliens
Aliens can be just like us, may need our help, may be a threat, or be like gods to us
By using aliens as metaphors, we can look at our problems objectively
Some topics can’t be explored very well with this metaphor
Star Trek allowed impossible interbreeding so they could tell stories about mixed children
Human races are socially constructed
Are “race” and “species” the same?
If we’re so heterogeneous, can aliens all be treated as same? (no)
Alien outside our morality, can be something we direct our vile onto
Human colonies can become biologically different (gives rise to different species)
Can aliens become metaphors for gender differences?
Halfway Human
The Mount – metaphor for oppression, but doesn’t provide a real world solution
(might be working toward a solution)
most artistic metaphors are unconscious
in Star Trek, aliens are heroes when they act like humans
races may hate each other when they’re too much alike
The Ship’s Shrink (WisCon 27—2003)
Psychologist can communicate with aliens
May need two to support each other
Psychologist may need to act as “developmental expert” to help crew adjust to new conditions (or long-term living in spaceships)
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Troi seems remote from crew; Guinan interacts with crew more due to her role as bartender
Part of medical team
Involved in debriefings
Work with chaplains
Prepare crew for capture/interrogation
Help crew deal with uncertainty/novelty
Would need staff
Don’t want “mental health moles”
Psychologists will interact with clients/people associated with clients; need confidentiality
Submarine missions: 3-6 months under extreme conditions and extreme conditions
30- 40 year duration for starship missions
Psychologists would need to pre-screen people before mission starts
Boot camp is brain-washing
99% of men have to be “recycled” through boot camp with their group after two weeks of combat because situation is so unnatural
Part of problem with Viet Nam was that troops didn’t get rotated out with their troops
Can people be genetically modified to make them more suitable for space travel?
May be better on some missions to let commander consult with psychologists on Earth via radio than to send a psychologist on the mission (but the psychologist won’t be able to work directly with client)
Psychologists need to be competent
Psychologists’ work can be subtle, hidden, and take a long time
Crew needs to have private space
First space psychologists may tend to be women (women may be more likely to make it through the screening)
Why Men Hate Sex (WisCon 29—2005)
Women analyze sex more than men do
Parents worry more about their daughters than they do their sons
Boys organize themselves around displaying their strength (so they’re not fags)
Women think they should be much thinner than men really want them to me
Girls get power among themselves by being pretty and girly
Parents think girls are meaner to each other than they think boys are
Boys go to great pains to avoid vulnerability
Things don’t fall into neat categories
Men are trained to approach sex in a conquering way
If you want to deal with rape (or stop it), start with men and boys
Feminism has appropriated many male virtues, like strength and independence
Women have big influence on men and can show them what works and how to be a full human being
Gallantry is another type of power men have over women
More men need to be part of teaching other men
Men need to organize as men
Both men and women need “rites of passage”
Male rites of passage to adulthood often involve physical effort
Both genders need to be empowered for feminism to work
Need more discussion about boundaries
People need to be able to say, “yes,” “no,” or “not right now, maybe later”
Nice guys don’t reproduce
Men are expected to make the first move (risk rejection)
Need outlets for anger and violence (such as sports)
Sensitive men may fear their own anger or violence
Need to have diversity of male models
Women can admit that they don’t like sex under some circumstances; men can’t
If you can’t say “no,” you’re not able to really say “yes”
Men under pressure to perform
Men earn points by “doing” women
Religion and SF (WisCon 29—2005)
Religion has a core of beliefs and uses a hierarchy
SF and religion are often at odds
Many religious people may feel SF distracts readers from God’s will
SF settings may have aliens—people who believe in literal interpretation of Genesis find this heretical
Willing suspicion of disbelief allows you to read without believing
Religion is conservative; SF, speculative (dangerous to religion)
SF encourages tolerance of difference and questioning
Many people believe extranatural powers come from either God or the Devil
(and they consider magic to be from the Devil—a.k.a Harry Potter)
Harry Potter represents magic as a tool to be used for either good or evil
Conflict between SF and religion both solvable and insolvable
SF can show religion and religious beliefs in positive light
People on both sides are free and should be free to portray the other in a negative light
Both sides are full of fear and pride (part of seven deadly sins?)
Not all Christians believe the extreme views
Not all types of Christianity insist on literal interpretation of Bible
Dogmatism leads to lack of questioning
Need to be aware of what’s possible in our world before you’re able to be aware of what’s possible in a fictional world
Monotheistic religion is often used as a villain in SF
Christians aren’t just the Religious Right
Harry Potter magic is based on medieval/Renaissance magic (frex, with Latin)
Magic can be treated like a technology (works the same for everyone) or as something inexplicable (prayer’s result may vary depending on faith of the person praying)
Religious right is also hostile towards technology
People can put themselves through logical convolutions to justify beliefs
People can be black-and-white about almost everything
SF is about questions; faith, accepting the questions
All Christians shouldn’t be made out to be bad people
Is Christianity’s hatred of SF also linked to rise of feminism?
Women’s Magic and Men’s Magic (WisCon 30—2006)
Most magic isn’t gendered; the authors just leave women out
Terry Prachett: male magic is academic and messy, women’s magic is not doing stuff and common sense (headology); these are really different ways of approaching the world
MZB: women’s magic is vulnerable (can lose it if they engage in sex, frex), while men’s isn’t
Peter Pan—Wendy stuck with cleaning house, Tinkerbell is more of a handmaiden to Peter Pan (all-powerful wizard)
Magic has to be used in a positive way; don’t let it take you over
Male may have magic and the woman helps him come into his own.
Formula magic links back to alchemy (male study)
Depends on magical tradition you’re talking about
Spells can be viewed as recipes
Folk magic relates to women’s issues, like fertility
In books, we can have any gender doing anything we want them to; this has become more common recently (but must distinguish between tradition and recent magics)
Scientific view of magic considers conservation of mass, etc.
Some types of magic require a male and female working together
In Icelandic tradition, females practice magic, and men that copy them are considered effeminate and evil
In Algouquin tribes, magic is always practiced by male shamans
Some systems of magic are used to protect children
Some magic is personal and comes out of the strength of the characters
Is magic linked to biological body? What happens to transgender or hermaphrodites?
Some men had to adopt two genders to practice magic (shamans)
Inuit—old women have enough power to do anything
Childrearing and SF (WisCon 30—2006)
Childrearing no longer shared by neighbors, extended family, and community
Children can be used as part of the plot (may solve problems)
In some books, gender roles of childrearing may be blurred (men may breastfeed)
In some societies, government regulates number of children and how many you can have
Women may choose to be careerline or motherline
May lose “coolness points” when children limit what you can do
Need a positive approach to the importance of pregnancy and the value of creating life
Caretakers don’t get paid what they’re worth
Men who choose to stay home with children are at a disadvantage the same way as women are
Several solutions have been tried and don’t work
Artificial reproduction would lead to problems with attachment, “finishing” immune system, etc.,
Someone has to take care of the children (robot nanny?)
The Diamond Age—features a book that parents and teaches
Earlier feminist movements disembodied women from their bodies and experiences; now the trend is to embrace your body
The Breeders vs. the Broads (WisCon 30—2006)
It’s OK to not have kids; you can still make a contribution
Women are valued as long as they act like men, but once they start acting like women (e.g., becoming a mother), they become second-rate
Jane Yolen—just went ahead and kept her name and just went ahead and wrote
Women’s movement was supposed to let us make our own choices, not force us into a traditional or non-traditional role (choose the pattern of your own life)
Models of “can-do” women are positive role models
Women in the past had trouble leaving their husbands (community forced them to go back to abusive husbands, shamed them for leaving, etc)
If you don’t want them, don’t have them
Women have had to make rough choices with their children
Women may not be comfortable choosing not to have children
Women’s right are directly linked to control of their fertility (low fertility = higher rights, high fertility = low rights)
Information given to women about menstruation didn’t explain sex to them
Roe v. Wade is correlated with a reduced crime rate
30% of college-educated women don’t have children (may allow for return of patrichary?)
Having children makes you realize that you can’t have it all or do it all
Having children makes it very hard to write
Women writers have to make time to write; male writers depend on their wives
You write if you really want to; otherwise you make excuses (your job, your family, etc.)
It’s harder for women who write/publish after starting a family; they feel as if they’re taking time away from their family
Women who write before starting a family “train” their families to expect them to write
No matter what choice you make, someone will think you did the wrong thing
Working mothers don’t get doted on (they’re almost never home)
Some women have to raise children with special needs
Men wish to have more time with their children too
Minimum wages need to be a livable wage for a family
System sets up conflict between those you have children and those who don’t (e.g., who gets first choice of vacation time)
Double standard –pressure to breed, but no support for the children afterwards
Need to look after older women who have no family to take care of them
Women today have more choices and opportunities than they used to
Reading vs. Sex (WisCon 30—2006)
Experiences both very hard to describe
Readers withdrawn from the world and not interacting with anyone else
“you” disappear during both activities
Reduced time for reading
Need intellectual engagement and physical contact with other people
Touching can be a strong need and can substitute for sex
Books act as a shield against the world
Sex doesn’t show up as a need until puberty, but the body isn’t hardwired to require reading
(can fulfill all of your Maslow hierarchical needs without reading)
Sex and spirituality are intertwined
What’s this Sex Scene Doing in My Fantasy? (World Fantasy 2005)
Fictional sex different from real-life sex
Women and men fantastize about different things
Fantasy is about letting go of responsibility (other person does all the work, you get all the fun)
Need to link sex scene to the characters (should be part of the character arc)
(or does it always need to be relevant?)
Men think about sex every nine minutes
Little difference between porn and erotica
Women’s sex fantasies take longer; men have shorter sex fantasies that take longer and involve independent body parts
Sex in fiction isn’t intrinsic; in real life, sex is always there
Most sex scenes should be skipped, since most sex scenes aren’t written well
Most sex scenes are written in the wrong frame of mind and people don’t pay attention to what’s on the page
Need to work out a sex scene as though it’s an action scene
Focus on what the sex feels like, not what’s happening (but strike a balance)
Romance sex scenes are very long, involve senses and sensation, invoke backstory
Final sex scene in romance shows how the couple has changed, focuses on foreplay (for woman), man must please woman, woman comes first, then man, then both come together
Humor blows off tension
In older stories, sex was underground
Sex scenes can be boring (use same language over and over), need to work to make them interesting
Most people only have one or two scenes of erotica in them before they start repeating themselves
Writers used to make ends meet by writing sex books (very bad, written very quickly), so once they were able to include sex in normal fiction, they fell back on old tropes
Romance writers keep sex fresh by involving the emotions
Must a sex scene be hot? It depends on its purpose
A sex scene should do more than just make you hot; it should forward the plot
Sex scenes can be “lousy” sex to create conflict
Have a formula to break your formulas
Romance has nothing but characters
Small press has more of gay/lesbian erotica than mainstream press
www.Ellorascave.com
audience has evolved to being more comfortable with alien sex and gay sex
mainstream YA has more sex, including gay sex
many SF books have gay content that’s not mentioned on the cover
SF books sell in gay bookstores too
Copyright 2003-2006 Sandra M. Ulbrich