Breaking The Glass Slipper: Women In Science Fiction, Fantasy, And Horror

Spirituality exists in every work of fiction in some form or other, but most often manifests as divinity. Gods and goddesses never seem to go out of fashion. Why do authors turn to a god or pantheon of gods to articulate this spiritual urge? And out of all the pantheons, the Norse gods in particular […] The post Exploring Ragnarok – with H.M. Long & Genevieve Gornichec first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Being a parent is not glamorous. It’s hard work and it often goes unappreciated – in life and in fiction.  When we do see parents represented in our fiction, we tend to see a very limited kind of representation. Rarely are parents the centre of the story – the prevailing social narrative is that parents […] The post Parenthood with Julia Fine first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

The world as we know it has historically been ruled by men. But when it comes to fiction, writers can choose what power structures they create and how they are depicted. Despite the free rein this allows authors, most simply replicate the patriarchy. When authors do step outside the familiar societal structures and present us with matriarchies, […] The post Matriarchies – with Aliette de Bodard first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Space. The final frontier. An empty, endless expanse of nothing? Or teeming with life?But do we really need to look beyond the confines of our world to find loneliness? We are currently fighting a pandemic, and in its wake, a loneliness epidemic. Despite our constant striving for companionship, it could be said that to be […] The post Loneliness in science fiction with Aliya Whiteley first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

History is written by the winners. By men. Early editors of science fiction anthologies chose to exclude works by women, and in doing so, made many believe that women did not write science fiction in the genre’s earliest years. This is just a single example and by no means exhaustive. Mallory O’Meara, self-confessed monster lover […] The post Hollywood Monsters – with Mallory O'Meara first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

In last year’s episode on magical realism, we talked about this genre’s ability to take a recognisable setting and tilt it a few degrees, creating something familiar and yet not quite what we’re used to. Alternate history can do this too – by revisiting a moment in time and fitting a different lens to the […] The post Magical inequality with Nicole Glover first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of the staples of Christmas. As well as the original book, it’s possible to watch adaptations involving among others Bill Murray, Jim Carey, Patrick Stewart, and (mine and Megan’s favourite) Michael Caine. It has even been used for specials like Doctor Who. This iconic story has been […] The post Scrooge reimagined first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

We constantly discuss themes, stereotypes and assumptions in popular culture, but we don’t often stop to look more closely at the way those issues are expressed. I’m talking about language, and its ability to explore ideas in a highly nuanced way. Phrases like “bad language”, “common parlance” – even “trigger warning” – all carry social […] The post Language & Power - with Genevieve Cogman first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Or ‘Extraneous Fangirling’ as I subtitled this episode while editing it. And in truth there is a fair bit of fangirling, but there’s also a lot of critical reflection to go with it. Because when we looked back at the books and shows we enjoyed as kids, we found some unsettling similarities. We remembered female […] The post Childhood Heroines first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Just in time for Halloween, we spoke to author Vivian Shaw about everyone’s favourite “monster” – the vampire! Immortal vampires have occupied the human imagination for centuries. Whether you prefer the Twilight, Buffy or Bram Stoker type, don’t expect them to turn to dust any time soon. We talked to Vivian about her Greta Helsing […]

Women have always played important roles throughout history, yet too often they are written out of official histories. We have touched on this before on our podcast, referencing essays like Kameron Hurley’s ‘We Have Always Fought’.  This cultural pattern has effectively made women invisible – we have been silenced and marginalised. V.E. Schwab’s new novel, The […]

There are some genre tropes that are ubiquitous in fantasy, from the ensemble quest to overthrowing a dark lord. Magical schools are yet another trope we have come to know and love. Whether you are a fan of early narratives like Le Guin’s Wizard of Earthsea or appreciate the darker elements of more contemporary entries […]

Humanity is intrinsically bound up with nature and the natural world. We are its creatures, we depend on it for survival, we fear it, love it, deify it…and we’ve become quite good at killing it. Ours is a complex relationship as old as the species. And people have been documenting this relationship – first in […]

Variously listed as a horror, comedy and fantasy film by different websites, one thing is certain: Cabin in the Woods, by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, defies easy labelling. Is this a send-up of the horror genre in the style of Scary Movie? Is it a rumination on choice and self determination? Or does it […]

Many of our favourite narratives feature outsiders. They might be alone by virtue of the burden of prophecy, come from the wrong side of the tracks, or simply don’t adhere to behaviour and interests their society expects of them, we see these tropes pop up all over the place. After all, following an outsider protagonist […]

The Story of Silence is based on a 13th century French chivalric romance, distinguished by its prominent discussion of gender. Reimagined by Alex Myers, we found it to be a compelling exploration of transgender identity in an oppressively binary medieval society – and we just had to talk to Alex about it! At its heart, […]

Traditional stories of mermaids describe the creatures as beautiful maidens who sing sweetly as they lounge on rocks and comb their long, flowing hair… but like sirens, mermaids lure sailors to their death with their beauty and song. The less popular of the merfolk, mermen, were not blessed with the beauty of their feminine counterparts, […]

We have long been obsessed with the chosen one. This ubiquitous archetype has spawned thousands of heroic narratives involving a prophecy and a great evil to be overcome. But in recent years, we’re seeing less and less of the standard trope, and more subversions, which have contributed to the rise of the antihero, and the […]

Entrenched racism is all around us. This is not a new phenomenon nor the first time racism has been headline news – and yet we have a seemingly incredible ability to forget the atrocities committed daily as long as they aren’t at the top of the news cycle. We can’t continue being intermittently outraged before […]

You know the drill, you are alone in the middle of a foggy field and there’s no one within miles… except the person following you. There’s no one coming to help you. Isolation is an ever-present theme in horror fiction, one that has become part of reality for many of us recently. But isolation doesn’t […]