"Makeisha in Time" by Rachael K. Jones

[A. E. Lowan]

I ran across this incredible short story on tumblr the other day, and I just have to share it with everybody, everywhere! It appears on Crossed Genres.

“Makeisha in Time†by Rachael K. Jones | Crossed Genres

 

[Jabrosky]

Brace yourselves, another lengthy thread about diversity and demographic representation in speculative fiction is coming. Especially given this excerpted passage:

“You’re building a fake identity,” Philippa tells her one day, daring the towers of books and dried-out markers to bring Makeisha some soup. “There weren’t any black women in ancient Athens. There weren’t any in China. You need to come to grips with reality, my friend.”

“There were too,” says Makeisha fiercely, proudly. “I know there were. They were just erased. Forgotten.”

“I’m sure there were a few exceptions. But women just didn’t do the kind of things you’re interested in.”

Makeisha says, “It doesn’t matter what I do, if people refuse to believe it.”

One thing that stuck out to me about Makeisha's fantasies is how Eurocentric (or rather Eurasia-centric?) they actually are. Except for the mentions of Ethiopian dialects and singing in ancient Egyptian, she seems to be projecting herself into settings outside of Africa. Not that I have a problem with the prospect of African people visiting other parts of the world throughout history (I actually like that idea), but if she's so concerned about seeing people like herself represented in the annals of humanity, why not consider the continent they actually came from?

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Brace yourselves, another lengthy thread about diversity and demographic representation in speculative fiction is coming. Especially given this excerpted passage:



One thing that stuck out to me about Makeisha's fantasies is how Eurocentric (or rather Eurasia-centric?) they actually are. Except for the mentions of Ethiopian dialects and singing in ancient Egyptian, she seems to be projecting herself into settings outside of Africa. Not that I have a problem with the prospect of African people visiting other parts of the world throughout history (I actually like that idea), but if she's so concerned about seeing people like herself represented in the annals of humanity, why not consider the continent they actually came from?

Fine, I'll bite.

To answer your question, maybe because why limit herself? The story makes very clear that the character ends up in random places, all over the world, often leading to her death because there's a whole lot of water out there. That also means there's a lot of land that's not just Africa. And through the hard work and dedication of some very talented scholars, we're able to prove what common sense has told us was nearly erased - that populations joined by land and trade have always mixed.

And, to continue on, if you go back and reread the story, you may note that erasure is itself one of Jones' central themes. So, with that in mind, setting her story primarily in Africa could prove to be rather self-defeating.

 

[ThinkerX]

Her frustration reminds me of the book 'Secret History of the Mongol Queens,' daughters of Genghis Khan who took over his domain and did a fair job of managing things for several decades. Later Mongol historians deemed these women so outlandish they literally tore those pages out of the histories, leaving only bits and pieces recorded elsewhere.

I am also reminded of the excavation of a barrow holding the remains of Viking Warriors in Norway. For a very long while, it was simply assumed the bones were those of men, until a few forensic types took a closer look, and found many of these warriors to be female.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Yes, there was a story last year involving an Etruscan burial, where it was assumed that a skeleton was male because it was buried with weapons. But upon closer examination of the skeleton, it turns out that it in fact belonged to a female.

Archaeological Gender Switch: Etruscan Warrior Prince Was Really a Princess