Gay sci fi

Welcome! Out of the Past will be a regular column discussing the history of LGBTQ+ science fiction, fantasy and horror literature from the earliest years of the genre to the more recent present (many thanks to Gender non-conforming Sci-Fi for hosting me and to Scott for suggesting it).

While portrayals of lesbian, gay, pansexual or transgender (LGBT) characters didn’t change into relatively common in science fiction, fantasy or horror until after the preliminary successes of the Gay Liberation Movement in the 1970s, that didn’t denote that there was “no there there, ” to receive a phrase from Gertrude Stein. Of course, most of those early LGBT characters were depicted in coded terms, their identity only hinted at. Homosexuality was illegal nearly everywhere in the world and could carry severe legal and social consequences if it was discovered. Most gay authors flew under the radar or paid the consequences. On the page, queer characters portrayed their same sex interest with a significant glance, a passing comment or a bit too much interest in another character, an interest that often turned villainous or ended in tragedy.

Early science fiction and fantasy writers who openly expe