ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009000472905877
Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
English (Ph.D.)
Department
English
First Advisor
Dr. Dohra Ahmad
Second Advisor
Dr. Jennifer Travis
Third Advisor
Dr. Robert Fanuzzi
Abstract
Disturbing the Macho: Re-imagining Gender Relations in Feminist Speculative Fiction of the 20th Century investigates authors' contributions to a global and cross-cultural feminist debate. I critique patriarchal ideologies in various cultural contexts around the world, including the United States, Canada, India, Egypt, and Morocco. The central texts of this dissertation include Sultana's Dream by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy, The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Fall of the Imam by Nawal El-Saadawi. Feminist speculative fiction creates space for women's resistance, rejection of unfair practices, and expression by erasing men's presence in utopian narratives and, later, asserting the continuation of male dominance in the political and cultural scene as long as patriarchal ideology persists. While these texts differ in subgenre, stylistic writing choices, and use of science fiction elements and are set in different geographic and cultural contexts, they all combat patriarchy and gender injustice, as well as condemn women's oppression and inferiority, which is perpetuated by violent politics and misogynistic political systems that weaponize Christian and Muslim rhetorics to oppress women and manipulate men. Cultural and social differences between these regions impact the evolution of the speculative fiction genre, raising awareness of the genre's adaptability to criticize political and cultural flaws in contemporary reality while reimagining alternative fictional narratives. I analyze these texts using feminist theory, gender ideology, Western and Arab-Islamic perspectives, and postcolonial discourse. This dissertation draws on the work of Anna Gilarek, Judith Butler, Ivan Jablonka, Amina Wadoud, Maha El-Said, Fedwa Malti-Douglas, Fatima Mernissi, and Leila Ahmed, among others, as groundwork through which to understand the intricacies of speculative fiction writing and the dynamics of how utopian and dystopian narratives function to investigate male continued dominance and women's historical and cultural subordination. This dissertation on twentieth-century feminist speculative fiction encourages readers to reimagine the world in new ways, allows us to rethink the systems we pursue, evaluates gender relations, and examines the possibilities of reconstructing emancipated societies and unshackled cultures while defying oppressive systems.
Recommended Citation
Arige, Nouf Abukhater, "DISTURBING THE MACHO: RE-IMAGINING GENDER RELATIONS IN FEMINIST SPECULATIVE FICTION OF THE 20TH CENTURY" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 872.
https://scholar.stjohns.edu/theses_dissertations/872