Umane, ma non troppo. Personaggi femminili e utopie resilienti nella fantascienza di Gilda Musa

Abstract

This essay examines the female characters in the work of Gilda Musa with respect to some science-fiction themes of the Western tradition. I will show that women in her fiction often occupy an eccentric position between what is considered ‘human’ and what is defined as ‘the Other’. This peculiar status enables them to establish a privileged connection with different forms of life, as well as to convey a critical perspective on Western modern notions such as knowledge and science. What is interesting in the author’s narrative is the way in which marginalised subjects – especially in terms of gender and race – rise up and react to the coercion of men and the violence of the present patriarchal society. In so doing, Musa offers alternative versions of possible and more ‘biophilic’ futures, once freed from the myth of human domination, unlimited growth and from the dystopian dream of ‘humanising’ the universe.

Keywords: Gilda Musa, Italian neo-fantastic, science fiction, feminism, cyborg