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Books queer SFF Speculative Anthologies That Get Creative With Gender Here are 5 fantastic speculative fiction anthologies that get creative with gender concepts. By Ayida Shonibar | Published on March 19, 2025 Comment 0 Share New Share Fantasy, science fiction, and horror bend the rules as we know them. They construct limitless thought experiments through their literary devices. These genres have the potential to play with, interrogate, or utterly upend ideas we are taught to accept without question in real life, including cisnormativity and compulsory heteronormativity. Innovative worldbuilding reshapes the ways we understand the possibilities of existing; it can shake up how we imagine relating to each other as people, to our surroundings as fragments of a fluid nature. And by showcasing a range of different authors, anthologies bring together a multitude of writing styles and perspectives—a format befitting the vast variation encompassing trans and genderqueer experiences from diverse cultural environments. This list highlights some of the fantastic speculative fiction anthologies that get creative with gender concepts. Embodied Exegesis (Neon Hemlock, 2024) The cyberpunk stories and poems in this transfeminine anthology feature a whole range of technological and fantastical metamorphoses of the body. Within this overarching premise, narratives vary widely based on the transformative source, the relationships between characters, and the aspects of the body that become changed—which, as mentioned in the introduction, also includes the mind. One concept that makes an appearance across multiple stories is the role of corporations in misappropriating the materials needed for regulating bodily changes. Another, on a related note, is the idea of agency—who or what gets to control administration of transformative tools, and the ways this is enforced or reclaimed in society. And there is also a recurring theme of venturing into the unknown: of pursuing indefinable change when the only alternative is remaining stuck in a situation that is wrong, of creating or destroying life as acts of both god and fundamental human nature. Love After the End (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2019) The stories in this anthology portray speculative apocalypses that draw from Indigenous histories and understanding of disasters that have shaped reality. Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer authors write about their characters’ love and dedication for each other and for their settings—commitments that ground them through various endings of worlds. In “Andwànikàdjigan,” îhkwewak, Two-Spirit people, connect ancestral spirits to living communities, preserving and sharing generations of oral histories through markings that appear on their bodies when they listen to others’ stories. When most of the world abandons a destroyed Earth for a parallel dimension in “History of the New World” by Adam Garnet Jones, a defiant Indigenous 2SLGBTQI community reaffirms their reciprocal responsibility to their origin planet and all its life forms. “How to Survive the Apocalypse for Native Girls” by Kai Minosh Pyle shows how fluidly any aspect of society can change—personal identities, belonging, teachings, definitions of community, nations, borders—and how people come together to honour or endure these foundational transformations. Joshua Whitehead’s introduction explains how this anthology was initially intended to be dystopian in genre. Instead, the project evolved into an exploration of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer characters thriving, caring for their communities, and nurturing joy after their world ends. In this way, the anthology develops a futurism that arises from the important connections Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer people share with each other and with the land. Despite the destructions that threaten both environment and people, the steadfastness of these cultural, spiritual, and queer bonds protects a collective future through mutually assured safekeeping. Inara: Light of Utopia (Meraj Publishing, 2024) In this mixed-media anthology created by queer Palestinian authors and artists, Eman Abdelhadi’s and editor Yaffa AS’ introductory pieces remind us that a free Palestine, that a more liberated world, is on its way here. It is that future the pieces of this anthology manifest into concrete, tangible scenes. The anthology engages in hope as a political praxis; it outlines possibilities of a better reality in a commitment against the layers of intersectional oppression that are imposed on queer Palestinians and that suffocate our shared world. The achingly beautiful stories, poetry, essays, photographs, and artwork convey a continuity between human life and Palestine as a place. Maria Zreiq’s poems, accompanied by photos, depict intimacy between partners who recognise collective experiences of the land and its people in each other’s bodies. She, Palestine, comes to life in Sonia Sulaiman’s sensory love poems “My Homeland” and “She.” In “Where Divine Love Meets You,” AB Bedran connects the healing of Queer bodies to the affirming love of familial relationships and to the memory of Palestinian roots. And Mama Ganuush’s closing powerfully declares the sovereignty of the narrator’s feelings, existence, and even death. Relationships with others, with one’s own body, with gender, with anthropomorphised land all flow over each other, inseparable. They exist in superimposed space as they define and rely on each other. The Vela (Serial Box, 2019) This serialised space opera, also available as podcast episodes, takes place in a system where excessive solar harvesting by the inner planets is destroying their sun and threatening the existence of the entire solar system. Refugees from the outer planets, which suffer the worst and earliest consequences of the dying sun, are predictably unwelcome on inner planets. Although not a traditional anthology with separate stories, episodes are written by different authors, all of whom have well-established expertise in speculative fiction. The worldbuilding reflects the range of its creators. While the premise effectively employs battles in space and fantastical technology to mirror the uneven repercussions of colonialism, extractivism, and environmental collapse in our own reality, the multiple fictional cultures also draw inspiration from different parts of our world. At the forefront of this epic setup, we have two queer protagonists, one a trans woman and one nonbinary. In these complex, multiplanetary societies that suffer from context-specific discrimination and prejudices, bigotry against queer people is not one of them. The characters’ gender dimensions exist without drawing repressive reactions—or any particular reaction, for that matter. We Mostly Come Out at Night (Running Press Kids, 2024) A young adult anthology that reclaims queer narratives by delving into the stories we know about monsters. The pieces span a range of tones and draw on different sources of inspiration. There are multiple retellings, as well as subversions of popular storytelling concepts, with trans or nonbinary characters. These include both love stories and tales of terror. Mythology, folklore, and classic works in the Western tradition have often put forward models of people, bodies, and relationships that reinforce the dominant norms of its worldview. As a result, this can erase or villainise queerness and other cultural perspectives. By restricting themselves to such limits, these canonical narratives may miss opportunities to take speculative questions further, to truly test the expansiveness of the human condition. Queer retellings like the ones in this anthology reenvision well-loved tales by creating diverse characters and worlds that resonate with the timeless themes of the originals. [end-mark] The post Speculative Anthologies That Get Creative With Gender appeared first on Reactor.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will no longer provide “medical or surgical therapy for gender dysphoria,” the department announced Monday. “I mean no disrespect to anyone, but VA should not be focused on helping Veterans attempt to change their sex,” stated VA Secretary Doug Collins. “All eligible Veterans—including trans-identified Veterans—will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law.” The VA’s announcement brings the department, which provides medical care to millions of U.S. military veterans, into compliance with President Trump’s executive order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” The VA explained it “is adjusting its policies to fully comply” with the order, which states that “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” Since 1999, the code of federal regulations prohibits the VA from providing “gender alterations” (38 CFR 17.38(c)(4)). However, the Biden administration interpreted this prohibition to apply only to gender transition surgeries. They provided cross-sex hormone therapy, voice training, and genital prosthetics. They would even take care of all procedures surrounding a gender transition surgery, referring to outside providers and providing extensive post-operative care, including follow-up surgeries. According to internal documents obtained by The Daily Wire, the Biden administration created numerous resources and trainings to instruct VA employees on how to provide gender-affirming care. There was even a training to instruct “parking attendants or valets, maintenance staff, [and] housekeepers” how to ask for a veteran’s preferred name, gender, and pronouns. Another Biden-era document directed VA staff to pay outside providers for laser hair removal from a trans-identifying person’s “face/neck, back, chest, abdomen, or genitalia” by using an “unlisted procedure code for skin, mucous membrane, and subcutaneous tissue,” to conceal the true nature of the transaction. Collins announced that the VA will immediately cease providing hormones, training, prosthetics, and other services related to gender transitions. The only exception is for veterans who are currently taking cross-sex hormones, which require a weaning-off period. The VA also announced “that all intimate spaces, such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and patient rooms, are designated by sex (male or female) or unisex for single-person spaces,” in accordance with President Trump’s executive order. Over the past two years, American public opinion has turned dramatically against transgender ideology, according to recent polling. This trend coincides with mounting evidence of the harm caused by gender transition procedures, especially in minors, as well mounting protests of women forced to share locker rooms or sporting events with biological males. Since 2021, more than half of U.S. state legislatures—27 to be exact—have enacted legislation protecting minors from gender transition procedures, based on the fact that minors are not mature enough to reasonably consent to life-altering, potentially harmful hormone treatments and surgeries. Under the Trump administration, the VA is approaching the topic of gender transition procedures from another angle, which only a handful of states have addressed. Instead of examining the effects of gender transition procedures on minors, the VA has concluded that gender transition procedures are incompatible with the biological reality that every person belongs to one of two unchangeable sexes. And, on the basis of that determination, the VA has decided that American taxpayers should not be forced to pay for medical procedures based on a controversial ideology with which they disagree. “If Veterans want to attempt to change their sex,” Collins concluded, “they can do so on their own dime.” “This is a great decision by the VA,” FRC Senior Fellow Meg Kilgannon told TWS. “Gender affirmation is not optimal health care because sex change is simply not possible. This notion should not be endorsed or encouraged by our military or government.” Originally published by The Washington Stand The post Department of Veterans Affairs to No Longer Provide Gender Transition Procedures appeared first on The Daily Signal.

President Donald Trump has paused $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania for violating his executive order banning biological men from women’s sports. Pennsylvania is the alma mater of William “Lia” Thomas, the biological male swimmer who competed against and tied with Riley Gaines in the NCAA Division I Women’s Championships three years ago Wednesday in 2022. Trump signed an executive order protecting women and girls’ sports from male intrusion on Feb. 5, making good on a campaign promise. Three years ago to the day I raced and tied a man at the DI NCAA Championships in the 200 freestyle. Today, the Trump administration paused $175M in federal funding to University Pennsylvania for this reason. Serendipitous. pic.twitter.com/97X9s9S7Bu— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) March 19, 2025 Thomas competed on the University of Pennsylvania men’s team for three years before “identifying” as female and joining the women’s team.  The Office for Civil Rights received a complaint under Title IX about Thomas in 2022 and opened an investigation, but the Biden administration failed to resolve it, The Daily Signal first reported. Trump’s OCR sprung into action, investigating violations of the president’s directive. The pause is not a direct result of the investigation into the university, which the Department of Education announced Feb. 6. The OCR is investigating San Jose State University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Maine, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, and others for reported violations of Title IX, the federal law that ensures equal opportunities for women and girls. Almost three-quarters of voters say they think medals awarded to biological men who defeat females in sports should be given instead to the women who lost, according to polling from Scott Rasmussen shared with The Daily Signal. A majority of voters, including Democrats, don’t think men should play women’s sports, a New York Times poll in mid-January found. The post Trump Cuts Millions From Alma Mater of Trans Swimmer Thomas appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The pardon authority is the president’s alone and cannot be delegated, according to a legal analysis by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project.  The watchdog group—which first conducted an analysis of former President Joe Biden’s White House use of autopen—released a memo late Monday night on the matter, bringing the numerous acts of clemency into question.  “Every leftist who shrieked, whined, and moaned about defending democracy is a complete hypocrite if they are not outraged by the antidemocratic action on the scale of presidential actions enacted by people who were never elected to anything,” Oversight Project Executive Director Mike Howell told The Daily Signal Tuesday.   ?Autopen Memorandum?Since we released our bombshell findings on the growing Biden Autopen Scandal, several constitutional scholars, historians, and investigators have raised questions about the legal implications of the autopen presidency. https://t.co/Jbpaqsh3UA pic.twitter.com/tzgUBZDOPh— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) March 18, 2025 Howell added, “The pardons are as valid as a $3 bill.” The legal analysis came after President Donald Trump, based on the Oversight Project’s investigative work, said he would nullify the pardons.  The “Pardons” that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more…— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 17, 2025 Pardons included members of Biden’s family, members of the House Jan. 6 committee, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley. “If President Biden’s non-delegable official actions were not his own, then they are invalid,” the analysis says. “Start with the Constitution. Multiple Constitutional provisions, like the pardon power, vest those powers solely in the president. In those cases, the president affixing his signature is his execution of the acts as president.” The use of the autopens occurred amid broad speculation about whether Biden had enough cognitive capacity to carry out the job of president.  An early 2024 Justice Department report by special counsel Robert Hur—regarding Biden’s handling of classified information—found Biden had “diminished faculties” during the counsel’s interview. Biden’s own Democrat Party eventually forced him off the 2024 ticket during last year’s election.  Howell predicted the end of the Democrat Party, which he said will meet its demise “defending terrorists, transgenders, and autopens.” “If we have autopen, we don’t really need them anyway,” Howell said.  The use of autopen is not new for presidents and staffers, but has traditionally been for minor or routine proclamations.  Howell stressed that after the John F. Kennedy assassination, the 25th Amendment was enacted to ensure a process is in place if an incapacitated president is not able to serve. In this case, the autopen was misapplied, Howell said.  “This was a device used as a workaround of the 25th Amendment,” Howell said.  Based on a 2005 Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel finding, it’s permissible to use autopen signatures for legislation. The Oversight Project contends the DOJ was wrong in its conclusion.  Nevertheless, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel 2005 opinion states, “we are not suggesting that the president may delegate the decision to approve and sign a bill, only that, having made this decision, he may direct a subordinate to affix the president’s signature to the bill.” The Oversight Project analysis adds, “Thus, the Biden administration’s use of the autopen may well have been contrary even to the most permissive interpretation of the law.” Autopen_Memorandum_(Final)Download The Oversight Project’s memorandum examines the Biden administration’s use of the autopen to exercise “non-delegable presidential power to issue clemency in light of President Biden’s deteriorating mental state throughout his Presidency.”  The memorandum says, “This apparent use raises concerns about: whether President Biden personally authorized each official act; whether or which unelected staff controlled the autopen device; and whether they acted with his approval. These concerns are amplified by substantial public evidence of President Biden’s cognitive decline during his term.” The Daily Signal reached out to the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware, the 46th president’s platform for public engagement, which did not immediately respond for comment.   The post Biden Autopen Actions ‘Non-Delegable’ and ‘Invalid,’ Legal Analysis Finds appeared first on The Daily Signal.

DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—President Donald Trump’s administration is hiring two IRS agents who alleged a coverup of Hunter Biden’s tax crimes, tasking them with leading “reform” at the agency. The Treasury Department announced in a Tuesday press release that whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler will be senior advisors at the department. The agents came into the spotlight in 2023, alleging that federal agents slow-walked investigations into former President Joe Biden’s son and later alleged that the Biden administration tried to wreck their careers for doing so. “These veteran civil servants join us to help further the agency’s focus on collections, modernization, and customer service, so we can deliver a more effective and efficient IRS experience for hardworking American taxpayers,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday. The secretary said the two men “will help us drive much-needed cultural reform within the IRS.” The whistleblowers testified to Congress during Biden’s presidency that leadership in the Department of Justice (DOJ) continuously hindered their roles in probing Hunter Biden, who was later convicted on charges of falsifying tax returns and for false statements relating to the purchase of a gun during his sordid years of foreign business ties and heavy drug use. His father pardoned him of all crimes in his final days in office despite repeatedly promising the public he wouldn’t. The Biden administration put Shapley and Ziegler’s careers in administrative limbo before President Donald Trump took office, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported. Ziegler even testified that the IRS threatened him with “criminal conduct” for sending an email voicing his concerns. The agency never ruled on their claims of professional retaliation against them despite years’ worth of time, their attorney told the DCNF in January. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who supported the agents’ whistleblower efforts, called their promotion a step toward “justice.” The Trump administration is sending “a clear signal that pointing out wrongdoing is an honorable thing [to] do,” he said in an X post Tuesday. Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation The post Trump Admin Gives Hunter Biden IRS Whistleblowers Their Careers Back appeared first on The Daily Signal.

When the Masks Our Intellectual Superiors Wear Pretending to Be 'Better Humans Than You' Slip

Schlesinger in 1961: The CIA Is a 'State Within the State"