All-female worlds, often utopian, are part of the feminist sf-tradition. In constructing these worlds, one vital aspect that by necessity needs to be re-thought is reproduction. How this has been done varies wide-ly. Examining both “reproductive solutions” and how these are represented as part of cultural, social and political contexts allows us to explore feminist reproductive futurities; that is, we can explore ways in which feminism can reformulate both reproduction and kinship per se, and, more importantly, the connection between these and a future free from gender-based oppression.
This paper focuses on Nicola Griffith’s novel Ammonite (1992), set on the all-female planet of Jeep and featuring Earth-born anthropologist, and newcomer to Jeep, Marghe Taishan. Three thematic concerns are analyzed. First, I look at how the novel represents reproduction as not only a biological but also a mental process; secondly, sexuality and its connection to reproduction will be discussed. Finally, the idea of be-longing, of being or becoming part of a world or a community and the ways in which the novel connects this experience to reproduction will be explored. The emphasis on belonging in the novel, and in particular belonging represented as part of a biological/genetic process comes across as highly topical in a time where we increasingly talk about identity and kinship in terms of DNA. On a more general note, Ammonite also raises equally topical questions of assimilation and integration, of power and powerlessness in meetings between cultures.