| "Even the Queen" | |
|---|---|
| Short story byConnie Willis | |
| Genre(s) | science fiction |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Asimov's Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Davis Publications |
| Media type | Print (Magazine) |
| Publication date | April 1992 |
"Even the Queen" is a science fiction short story byConnie Willis, exploring the long-term cultural effects of scientific control ofmenstruation. It was originally published in 1992 inAsimov's Science Fiction, and appears in Willis' short-story collectionImpossible Things (1994) andThe Best of Connie Willis (2013), as well as in the audio-bookEven the Queen and Other Short Stories (1996).
Three generations of women discuss the decision of one of their daughters to join the "Cyclists", a group of traditionalist women who have chosen to menstruate even though scientific breakthroughs (in particular, a substance called "ammenerol") have made this unnecessary. The title refers to the fact that "even the Queen" (of the United Kingdom) menstruated.
"Even the Queen" won the 1993Hugo Award for Best Short Story.[1] It also won the 1993Nebula Award for Best Short Story.[2]Nalo Hopkinson called it "hilarious and contrary".[3]Laura Quilter, conversely, felt that it was "more of a diatribe against" feminism, with its humor being largely "its rather mean-spirited depiction of various strains of feminism";[4] Quilter subsequently specified that although the story "had some truthfulness & consequently some honest humor", she found it to be "hugely over-rated".[5]
The Village Voice considers it "light-hearted" and "a comedy of identity politics and mother-daughter relations",[6] whileBillboard, reviewing the audiobook, describes it as a "sly jab at bothfeminists andanti-feminists."[7]