Oh, I agree. I merely dislike the automatic accusation of sexism or racism because a particular list not including members of said gender or race. In a field dominated by one class of person, I am loath to SEEK members outside of the majority just to include members outside the majority. In the case of Shelley's tale, it stands strong regardless of the writer's gender and stands a good chance of making the list.
And to be fair, the definition of genre is just as subjective as the selection of those authors who have mastered it. "Modern Prometheus" could just as easily be omitted because it falls into the horror genre. If it wasn't on that particular list, I would assume it fell out of the genre definition before I thought the editor selecting the stories was a sexist. If it were left out of a HORROR anthology, I'd have more cause to suspect the inclinations of the editor.
In the end, my major concern is the very idea of subjectivity being diluted by the drive to be politically correct. It is hard enough to define and discuss the merits of creative works based on their content and the skill of execution without also being overly wary of accusations of bias based on traits other than the artist's talent and originality.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 06:24 pm (UTC)And to be fair, the definition of genre is just as subjective as the selection of those authors who have mastered it. "Modern Prometheus" could just as easily be omitted because it falls into the horror genre. If it wasn't on that particular list, I would assume it fell out of the genre definition before I thought the editor selecting the stories was a sexist. If it were left out of a HORROR anthology, I'd have more cause to suspect the inclinations of the editor.
In the end, my major concern is the very idea of subjectivity being diluted by the drive to be politically correct. It is hard enough to define and discuss the merits of creative works based on their content and the skill of execution without also being overly wary of accusations of bias based on traits other than the artist's talent and originality.