In sci-fi, “there’s no barrier as to what female characters can achieve,” says Marie Octobre, associate professor and librarian at the Gill Library in Brooklyn. “In reading these stories, the next generation will not limit themselves to what society says women should or should not do.”

https://self-e.libraryjournal.com/aliens-among-us-the-gender-gap-in-science-fiction/

In this post, SF author J.K. Ullrich chronicles the gender gap in SF. Much of the post is similar to other articles I have read (and posted on this website), but one thing that struck out to me was the quote above. I think it’s important to acknowledge how representation of female characters conquering galaxies and making scientific breakthroughs inspires female readers. All across this website I have been talking about how important representation is in this kind of large, ambiguous societal way, i.e. representation is important because people of all genders, sexualities, races deserve to be seen and to see themselves. This is all true, but there is also this added level of inspiration. We usually only think about that in real world examples (seeing a female Congressperson inspires a female president of the future), but this quote points out that it’s also true for fictional characters. For example, astronaut Mae Jemison was inspired by a female Star Trek character and I think that’s pretty important, too.