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Sex in science fiction

Modern science fiction frequently involves themes of sex, gender and sexuality. This was not always so. During the 1930s and 40s "golden age" of science fiction it was unusual to find males and females mentioned in the same paragraph, let alone having sex.

In spite of this, book covers for pulp science fiction often featured scantily clad women, often with guns or being menaced by aliens. In some ways, little has changed: many science fiction book covers still feature images of sexy women by artists such as Boris Vallejo[?] and Frank Frazetta[?], although the images are perhaps somewhat less exploitative than before.

The New Wave science fiction of the 1960s and 1970s reflected its times by attempting to break earlier taboos about what could and could not be the subject of science fiction. The men's magazine Playboy published regular serious science fiction stories throughout this period, by both male and female authors, offering them significantly more scope than some other publications.

Two different themes emerged: one trying to explore the boundaries of what "sex" could mean in a world of altered humanity and reality, and another of exploring the position of women in science fiction and feminist issues in what had been traditionally a form of fiction written primarily by and for men.

Significant uses of sexual themes in serious science fiction include:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Several stories in Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
A number of works by Philip Jose Farmer: The Lovers, Flesh, his collection of stories on this theme, Strange Relations, plus two science fiction pornographic novels, Image of the Beast and Blown.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Dhalgren and several other works by Samuel Delany
Tower of Glass by Robert Silverberg
Titan and other novels by John Varley, set in a future where sex changes and other body modifications are commonplace
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Female Man by Joanna Russ
The Culture novels of Iain M. Banks, where humans can change sex at will
The Jerry Cornelius stories of Michael Moorcock and others
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (various forms of group marriage, professional host-mothers)
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
Strangers by Gardner Dozois
The Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert
A number of works by Theodore Sturgeon, including The World Well Lost (alien homosexuality) and Godbody (religious sexuality).
The Primal Urge by Brian Aldiss
VESTA - Painworld by Jennifer Jane Pope[?]
The Tales of the Velvet Comet trilogy by Mike Resnick[?]
Several books by Spider Robinson, including Callahan's Lady
Jurgen by James Branch Cabell

Some of the themes explored include:

Sex with aliens, machines and robots
Reproductive technology including cloning, artificial wombs[?] and genetic engineering
Sexual equality of men and women
Male- and female-dominated societies, including single-sex societies
Polyamory
Changing sex roles
Homosexuality and lesbianism
Androgyny and sex changes
Sex in virtual reality
Asexuality
Sexual bonding and politics
Sex in zero gravity

A number of works of mainstream erotica, including the Gor novels by John Norman, have also used the science fiction format. There is now a separate sub-genre of science fiction erotica[?] that aims to integrate the two genres: writers in this genre include Cecilia Tan[?], whose small press Circlet Press[?] caters especially to adult science fiction fans.

In recent years there has been a growing BDSM awareness in the science fiction and fan community.

Numerous science fiction television series and science fiction films have used science fiction plots as an excuse to fit in gratuitous sexual or fetishistic content: one of the conventions of much filmed science fiction appears to be that the future will be peopled exclusively by attractive people wearing skin-tight clothing in shiny materials. Nevertheless, some science fiction-themed TV shows, such as Farscape, have been acclaimed for their handling of such themes. The series Lexx features sexual themes in almost every episode.