The long-acknowledged problem with science fiction is that for a genre that is supposed to transport readers to worlds beyond their imagination, it is surprisingly rooted in the power structures of the real world. Why is it that many science fiction writers regularly create entirely new inventions, species and languages but cannot seem to envision a setting where anyone but cisgender, heterosexual white men is in charge? People from historically oppressed groups – women, people of colour, queer people and more – have long been voicing their discomfort with the narrow vision of science fiction canon, and have been creating their own works to offset this manifestation of white male supremacy in the genre.

Check out this list of feminist science fiction books to add some diverse and innovative science fiction to your reading list.