Illustration of Behnaz Farahi by Allyssa Etoile.

PART IV: SPECULATIVE FUTURES

Feminine-led, emotional technologies.
Octavia Butler is seriously such an important writer. This legendary speculative author had literally no other black woman sci-fi writer to see herself in, but unabashedly saw no limits to what she could do and got to work!

Her novels and short stories show how much complexity can exist in a science fiction novel with a young black femme protagonist. Octavia Butler uses sci-fi elements such as time travel, aliens, and dystopian apocalyptic worlds to examine intimate issues such as love and codependency, race and kinship, and guilt and bravery against a backdrop of inequality and power. Her characters encounter the ultimate ethical dilemmas, but rather than coming off as cliché, they are utterly nuanced and personal because of the depth of the character’s personality and backstory. I would have loved to see Erykah Badu and Octavia Butler in conversation. Our faves include Bloodchild & Other Short Stories, Kindred, and Parable of the Sower.

Speaking of feminine futures, Behnaz Farahi is one of the baddest in the game. Her work carries a distinct feminist future theme in both aesthetic and functionality. “Caress of the Gaze” is a wearable-shawl-meets-chest-armor covered in active grasslike blades that responds to an onlookers gaze (a futurist response to Nicki Minaj’s “Lookin’ Ass Ni**a”?). Her work “Ruff,” created in Will.i.am’s studio (who knew Will.i.am was a wearable tech entrepreneur? Now we know!), involves skeletal ruffles that move and respond to a wearer’s bodily needs or environment. “Synapse,” is a headpiece with soft pink lighting and ribbing that can shield, invite, or intimidate based on perceived brain readings.