James Tiptree, Jr. Award

The James Tiptree, Jr. Award is "an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that explores and expands the roles of women and men for work by both women and men. The name, 'Tiptree' was selected to illustrate the difficulty women have in gaining recognition and credibility for their art." (James Tiptree, Jr was the pen name of award-winning author Alice Sheldon, who used the masculine pseudonym to evade gender stereotypes in readers' minds.)

Or in the words of co-founder Karen Joy Fowler[?] in her essay "On James Tiptree, Alice Sheldon and bake sales": "to remind the field of its own importance in the continual struggle to re-imagine more liveable sexual roles for ourselves."

See also: gender role, Gender and sexuality studies

External links:

• Site of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award http://www.tiptree.org/
• "On James Tiptree, Alice Sheldon and bake sales", by Karen Joy Fowler http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue22/tiptree