Can't Live with them, so We'll live Without them!: Women Only Worlds in Science Fiction

Alice Sheldon

Alice Sheldon was born on August 24, 1915 as Alice Bradley. Her career path was rather varied throughout her life. In the 1940s, she worked in various occupations in the art field, including art critic and graphic designer. She enlisted in the U. S. Army in 1942, and she found a position in their photointelligence group. Once she left the military, she co-owned a small business with her husband and began writing. After a short stint in the CIA, she attended college and received a B.A. and a doctorate.

Near the beginning of her career as a science fiction author, Sheldon created the pen name of James Tiptree Jr. She did not want her gender to impact people's perceptions of her work. She said, "I had the feeling that a man would slip by less observed. I've had too many experiences in my life of being the first woman in some damned occupation" ("James Tiptree, Jr.").

She maintained her identity as Tiptree for several years. She never hid the fact that "James Tiptree, Jr." was a pen name, but she protected her own identity carefully. Although some people argued she was a woman, many famous science fiction authors had been very vocal about their belief that Tiptree was a man. Robert Silverberg compared her style to Hemingway and argued that Tiptree must be a man because he wrote in a masculine voice and captured the male persona so well. He also felt like a woman would not have the necessary background in world travel, typically male leisure activities, and the workings of government bureaucracies.

Eventually, the truth about Sheldon's true identity came out. In 1976, Tiptree revealed enough about "his" family for the fans to unearth Sheldon's name. However, her gender did not impede her career. She won her last Nebula Award after her true identity had been revealed. Sheldon's writings often featured physical or spiritual death. She also wrote some feminist themed stories. Her emotional problems may have contributed to the dark nature of her works; she died by her own hand in 1987 after killing her husband.