One of the important reasons why I love speculative fiction is that it can look at issues often ignored in other fiction. There are many important speculative fiction works that explore gender, such as Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness and Delany’s Triton. There is also an important place for smaller works that have gender as a centrepiece.
Last week Podcastle published Alberto Yáñez‘s “Recognizing Gabe: Un Cuento De Hadas“, a heartfelt fantasy short story about a family that includes a transgender son and is struggling to accept his identity while interacting with a fairy godmother. It’s a simple story, but that simplicity makes it very accessible.
“Recognizing Gabe: Un Cuento De Hadas” can be found in text at Strange Horizons or in audio at Podcastle.