One of the most ethically and politically loaded aspects of writing speculative fiction is just describing how a character perceives another human being they’ve never met. So much world building is packed into every choice you make there.
Do people assume others’ genders on sight? Binary genders? Do they ascribe pronouns to this person immediately? When rendering physical descriptions will your character assume and name race or ethnicity or avoid stating them outright? What do your choices reveal about this world?
And it gets even more complex if your character finds this other character “attractive” on first sight. What beauty standards are involved there, and what does that reveal about the culture of your world, and your character’s role in it?
Maintaining the status quo and relying on familiar tropes and conventions often means replicating white supremacy, transphobia, ableism, fatphobia, etc. into your world. Do you intend that? Maybe—we don’t have to write utopias—but be purposeful and aware of what you’re doing.
This is one reason spec fic writers should read a lot of contemporary spec fic! Many brilliant authors are wrestling with reimagining these conventions and interactions, decolonizing spec fic, and you can learn a lot from them! Figure out what works for you & what doesn’t.
Spec fic as a whole is having a fast-paced, productive conversation about decolonizing basic human interactions, and if you aren’t paying attention, your work will probably feel dated and yucky. Noting to myself, as much as anyone, because I need to read more short stories!
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