Il culto della virilità: insicurezza, violenza e conflitto di genere nel post-patriarcato di Katharine Burdekin

Moving from a perspective deeply rooted in cultural studies, this paper aims to draw a comparison between two science fiction works by English author Katharine Burdekin to highlight the way a female, feminist perspective can enrich the discourse around gender identity and has been able to shed light on the need for male supremacy that still fuels gender conflict. For this purpose, in this analysis, we will focus on the creation of Burdekin’s main dystopia and we will propose a definition to describe its society as we reflect on the structures of utopian and dystopian literature to underline the critique the author leveled at her contemporaries and at society as a whole. Throughout the paper, however, the focus will remain on the characterization of male identity as opposed to female, with particular attention to the models of science fiction and the creation of Burdekin’s own male pseudonym.