Unbound Reader's Proof for "The Female Man"

This unusual document is a publisher’s proof of the novel The Female Man by Joanna Russ, published in 1975. It was used for preliminary copyediting of the typeset book, and bears Russ’s notations for her editor. 

Born in New York City in 1937, Joanna Russ was a celebrated science fiction author, LGBTQIA+ advocate, and feminist scholar. Writing, and thriving, in a male-dominated field, Russ used fiction to challenge mainstream sexist representations of women in literature. A professor of English at the University of Washington from 1977 – 1991, she won numerous awards for her writing. 

The Female Man tells the stories of four versions of the same woman, each living in an alternate reality. One comes from our world, another from a reality where the Great Depression never ended. The third lives in a utopian future where men have died out, and the fourth comes from a world where men and women are literally at war. As the four women visit each other’s worlds, each is challenged to rethink her own political and gender roles.