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Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation

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""Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation" by K.N. Sirsi and Sandra Botkin" is a 1998 science fiction short story by American writer Cameron Reed, writing as Raphael Carter. It was first published in the anthology Starlight 2.

Synopsis

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Rather than being a conventional narrative, "Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation" is presented as a scientific paper in which two researchers describe a rare condition whereby individuals are unable to perceive gender — or, rather, are able to so accurately perceive subtle differences in gender and sex (being able to distinguish, simply by looking at a photograph, categories as disparate as 'born with hypospadias', 'takes supplemental sex hormones after a hysterectomy', and 'has a high androgyny score on the Bem test') that they find the terms 'male' and 'female' hopelessly inadequate.

Reception

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"Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation" won the 1998 James Tiptree Jr. Award[1] and was a semi-finalist for the 1998 Theodore Sturgeon Award.[2]

Gardner Dozois considered it to have "some very intriguing ideas", but to be "as dry as the form it is mimicking" (i.e., academic literature).[3] Strange Horizons observed that the story's "premise seems simple" but relies on a notion which is "both challenging and invasive."[4] At the SF Site, Paul Kincaid called it "extraordinary," with "unique brilliance" and "startling power".[5]

References

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  1. ^ 1998 James Tiptree, Jr. Award at Tiptree.org; retrieved November 5, 2018
  2. ^ "Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award 1999". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus. Archived from the original on 2015-04-23. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  3. ^ The Year's Best Science Fiction: Sixteenth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois, published 1999 by St. Martin's Press
  4. ^ Render Unto Chaos: The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2, edited by Karen Joy Fowler, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, and Jeffrey D. Smith, reviewed by Victoria Hoyle, at Strange Horizons, published November 6, 2006; retrieved November 5, 2018
  5. ^ The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2, edited by Karen Joy Fowler, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, Jeffrey D. Smith, reviewed by Paul Kincaid, at the SF Site; published 2006; retrieved November 5, 2018
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