Like “A Bolt out of the Blue”

In 1975, the East German Hinstorff publishing house issued an anthology of stories by established male and female authors, curated by the American feminist Edith Anderson. Written as utopian fantasies, each of the stories posits a gender transformation, either male to female or female to male. The texts in the volume criticized both patriarchal society and the dehumanization of society through scientific and technological advancement. The medium of science fiction allowed the authors to depict social problems in a whimsical light while simultaneously distorting or disturbing the expected development of social evolution. Along with Irmtraud Morgner’s “Good Message from Valeska” (published only in West Germany), these stories explore the extent to which patriarchal behaviors and habits were present in GDR society. Despite socialism’s emphasis on sexual equality, gender discrimination and patriarchal attitudes remained entrenched in these science fictional stories. Not surprisingly, all of the protagonists experienced varying degrees of alienation from the patriarchal status quo. Indeed, the “transformed” characters retain their gender experience as the essence of their identity. Gender transformation literature has roots in both Greek and Oriental mythology, and the genre seeks to overcome the historical, physical, and psychological gaps between the sexes.