Wielka cisza w (polskim) kosmosie – (nie)obecność kobiet w polskiej fantastyce socjologicznej doby PRL
Great Silence in the (Polish) Outer Space – Social Science Fiction in the Polish People’s Republic With(Out) Women

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine Polish social science fiction developed in the 1970s and 1980s as an anti-feminist literary genre. Applying a cultural studies approach the author shows how science fiction literature is linked with social life. The comparative juxtaposition of Polish and Western SF reveals how dissimilar they are in the manner of women`s representation. Even these days in Polish science ficrion there is no feminist subgenre. This fact is very symptomatic, but unperceived by scholars. The author argues that in the novels by Janusz Zajdel, Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński or Marek Oramus women are never leading heroines, but only a “decoration”, described by their beauty and sexual attractiveness. Through analyzing the language and depictions in the established literary works of the above mentioned writers, the author comes to a conclusion about the cultural climate and social life in the decline of PRL, as a time when women were not seen as equal partners, both in the political and family life. Finally, author suggests a connection between the manner of depicting women in social SF and their insignificant participation in the anti- communist political opposition, such as the „Solidarity” movement.

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