WEEK 9: Space Opera | Aye, and Gomorrah Response

The genre of space opera became popular in the 1960s based off of the concept that we wanted to explore space in a masculine sense. This week I chose to read Aye, and Gomorrah which was a facinating short story.  For me, the plot was the most intriguing and very set apart from other space opera stories I am familiar with. In the story, I become acquainted with a group called Spacers who's appearance and gender are far different than other humans. They are child looking, androgynous, and quite frustrated when they come back to earth. The dialogue is surrounded by the topic of sexual orientation. Seeing this story was written in the 60s makes us think that gay people during this time might have felt like this. Stories of emotion and feeling in circumstances that are hard to find. They are looking for an emotional connection and seeking to fit in. We see that they long for emotions in a world that is sterilized. I feel that this story was way before it's time and really addresses the mental headspace of someone in today's world who might feel isolated due to gender or sexuality. The female in the story shows compassion to one of the Spacers and treats him as a normal human being and no different than anyone else.

-Abigail