Sexuality and Reproduction in Dystopian Fiction

Abstract

<p>This thesis explores the relationship between women and fictional dystopian societies. I study the effects of technology upon individual women who are forced to participate in the eugenic practices of repressive states by becoming "breeders." I also trace the role of lesbians, and how their presence is pathologized and "ghosted." My primary texts are Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time, Kate Wilhelm's Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, and Sheri S. Tepper's The Gate to Women's Country.</p>