Sexist general
I have been extremely busy in a good way and will be able to talk about my new project soon! In my down time I have been tearing through the Sector General books, which are just amazing!
The growing Galactic Federation realized that a huge space hospital would be a great way to prevent wars and promote inter-species relations. The space station hospital and its associated ambulance have wards and corridors for water, methane, and chlorine breathers, special food, artificial gravity, etc. This diversity means just a huge amount of accommodations necessary to support not just patients but all species to work together at the hospital, and they are dealt with matter of fact way that I appreciate (as a wheelchair user).
When they meet a new species, they ask permission to take a “tape” of one of their eminent physicians. Other species can absorb the tape, so a human can have all the knowledge (and personality) of an armored 6 legged chlorine breather who grew up on a planet with 6 times Earth gravity. It can be difficult to integrate the tape personalities, so usually everyone except Diagnosticians get the tapes erased. There are Psychologists around to help with the problems that come with Doctors who are tape sick, and convinced that they need to be rotating constantly or that they want to eat food fit only for giant caterpillars.
It is very “slice of life” feeling, with infodumps about alien physiology that I find enjoyable!
The whole point of this diverse federation is that bigotry, xenophobia, is unthinkable — a huge taboo.
But here is the kicker. Earth human women, while they work in Sector General and are smart, professional, and respected experts, cannot be Doctors or Diagnosticians. City sized cooperative flatworms, parasitic telepathic embryos, beings made of pure light, all fine to be Doctors. But women females of any species at all? Their brains just cannot handle being integrated with any other consciousness that doesn’t find them sexy. There was only a brief allusion in book 2 or 3 and it didn’t explain much, but now in book 6, Star Healer, we see Murchinson talking about how she tried to persuade the staff Psychologist to let her do Tapes. From Conway’s reply, it turns out it’s ALL females sapients:
“But you and the other female equivalents on the staff will have to continue using your brains, such as they are, unaided. It is regrettable, but you females have a deep, ineradicable and sex-based aversion, a form of hyperfastidiousness, which will not allow you to share your minds with an alien personality which is unaffected by your sexual . . . ”
(the Dot dot dot is in the original text)
What the hell! There are even genderless sapients like Dr. Prilcla, referred to as “it”! What the fuck!
There might be a level where it’s supposed to be sort of cute and sly and flirty (in a way you may be familiar with from dealing with gross old sexist men) But to me it reads as SO DESPERATE. It is prescriptive, it is trying so hard to train everyone that women just cannot handle certain things and it builds in some sort of biological NEED for the male gaze, to be objectified!
It is so sad and weird that James White who had such a gorgeous, expansive imagination, could not imagine just a little bit harder.