We are pleased to announce that Dr Sara Martín Alegre has published the book Masculinity in Contemporary Science Fiction by Men: No Plans for the Future (Liverpool University Press, 2025). The recent publication addresses gender roles in conflict and war set in Sci-Fi narratives, examining how masculine identity is shaped by military, ecological, racial, and gendered tensions.
The volume offers a comprehensive study of masculine self-representation in 21st-century science fiction. Across fourteen chapters, Dr Martín Alegre traces the slow but noticeable evolution in the representation of gender in male-authored science fiction, highlighting the emergence of significantly more caring and vulnerable male characters due to the impact of feminism and gender studies, as well as a shift in readers’ expectations. The study suggests that outdated stereotypes are being replaced by a collective reflection on how masculinity and male identity are changing. Yet, the lack of a common agenda results in novels that are both challenging and exciting but that frequently miss the opportunity to imagine a better, anti-patriarchal, pro-feminist future.
The authors analysed include Robert Charles Wilson, Geoff Ryman, Samuel R. Delany, Richard K. Morgan, John Scalzi, Iain M. Banks, Ernest Cline, James S.A. Corey, Colson Whitehead, Andy Weir, Daniel H. Wilson, Ian McDonald, Yoon Ha Lee, Tade Thompson, Neal Stephenson and Kim Stanley Robinson.
You may retrieve the original publication and the Spanish self-translation here:
Martín Alegre, Sara. Masculinity in Contemporary Science Fiction by Men: No Plans for the Future. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2025. https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/epub/10.3828/9781836245704
Martín Alegre, Sara. Sin planes de futuro: masculinidad y ciencia ficción según los hombres. Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona: Departament de Filologia Anglesa i de Germanística, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2025. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/318505