Acceptance through Speculative Fiction
Speculative Fiction is an umbrella term that encompasses writings from science fiction to fantasy. Gomez expands upon this to state that, "The manifestations [in Speculative Fiction] are extraordinary yet illuminate, finally, the ordinary emotional and intellectual questions we all ask of ourselves"(Gomez, 949). For minority groups that face daily, social oppression; the use of speculative fiction provides the ability to create a Utopian society where all people are accepted. This type of writing allows those that never feel a role in the world they live in to step into a new place where their identity can not only be found, but also accepted.
Lynx and Strand
In Gomez's story Lynx and Strand, the reader experiences a society that is very futuristic, yet in some ways comparable to what we see currently. Although the government does not monitor relationships and companionship's today, there are still legal boundaries same sex couples have to surpass that are set by our government. And seeing as Lynx and Strand is considered speculative fiction, it is supposed to, "speculate a world that makes manifest more than is currently accepted" (Gomez 948-949). So, although this futuristic government is monitoring relationships, the author is still portraying a world and society that is more accepting than we experience now through the tattooing process experienced by Strand. It is clear that the connection of acceptance through speculative fiction is very strong in this story. While reading Lynx and Strand one may notice that this futuristic government is overbearing or out of line but, put in the perspective of speculation, true individual acceptance is found as Lynx and Strand become one through the tattooing experience.
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A Word from Jewelle Gomez
When asked to expand on her use of speculative fiction in Lynx and Stand and Houston, Gomez responded:
"I am an optimist by nature so tend to write stories which envision the possibility of people finding themselves and finding each other. That's why in the story Houston, Gilda tries to avoid killing the hunter and is able to bond with Houston. The idea is that they can see each other for who they are inside. In the novella Lynx and Strand, I started just wanting to tell the story of a woman getting an extreme tattoo. It came to me as I was getting one of my tattoos. And as I worked I thought about the belief that what you have tattooed on your body becomes part of you. Then I started thinking about a relationship between two people so opposite as to be painful. The tattoo of one onto the other is one of the most 'extreme' plot things I've ever done and it served the story well as a metaphor for how we dig down inside to find what we need to make ourselves whole."
"I am an optimist by nature so tend to write stories which envision the possibility of people finding themselves and finding each other. That's why in the story Houston, Gilda tries to avoid killing the hunter and is able to bond with Houston. The idea is that they can see each other for who they are inside. In the novella Lynx and Strand, I started just wanting to tell the story of a woman getting an extreme tattoo. It came to me as I was getting one of my tattoos. And as I worked I thought about the belief that what you have tattooed on your body becomes part of you. Then I started thinking about a relationship between two people so opposite as to be painful. The tattoo of one onto the other is one of the most 'extreme' plot things I've ever done and it served the story well as a metaphor for how we dig down inside to find what we need to make ourselves whole."