"Aye, and Gomorrah..." is a famous science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by Samuel R. Delany

Samuel R. Delany

Samuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...

. It is Delany's first sold short story, and won the 1967 Nebula Award

Nebula Award

The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...

 for best short story. Before it appeared in Driftglass

Driftglass

Driftglass is a 1971 collection of science fiction short stories by Samuel R. Delany. The stories originally appeared in the magazines Worlds of Tomorrow, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, If and New Worlds or the anthologies Quark/3, Dangerous Visions and Alchemy & Academe.-Contents:*...

and Aye, and Gomorrah, and other stories

Aye, and Gomorrah, and other stories

Aye, and Gomorrah, and other stories, by Samuel R. Delany is a thematically arranged collection, in the style of James Joyce’s Dubliners , Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio , and Willa Cather’s Youth and the Bright Medusa . Also, for all practical purposes, it is Delany’s collected science...

, it was first published as the closing tale in Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison

Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...

's seminal 1967 anthology, Dangerous Visions

Dangerous Visions

Dangerous Visions is a science fiction short story anthology edited by Harlan Ellison, published in 1967.A path-breaking collection, Dangerous Visions helped define the New Wave science fiction movement, particularly in its depiction of sex in science fiction...

. It was controversial because of its disturbing sexual

Sex in science fiction

Sexuality in science fiction refers to the incorporation of sexual themes into science fiction or related genres. Such elements may include depictions of realistic sexual interactions in a science fictional setting, a character with an alternative sexuality as the protagonist, or exploration of the...

 subject matter.

It takes place in a world where astronauts, known as Spacers, are neuter

Neutering

Neutering, from the Latin neuter , is the removal of an animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The process is often used in reference to males whereas spaying is often reserved for females. Colloquially, both terms are often referred to as fixing...

ed before puberty to avoid the effects of space radiation

Ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...

 on gamete

Gamete

A gamete is a cell that fuses with another cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually...

s. Aside from making them sterile, the neutering also prevents puberty from occurring and results in androgynous adults whose birth-sex is unclear to others. Spacers are fetishized

Sexual fetishism

Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...

 by a subculture of 'frelks', those attracted by the Spacers' unattainability and unarousability ('free-fall-sexual-displacement complex'). The mischief-loving Spacers exploit this for amusement and money -- and possibly out of loneliness and a desire to recapture their lost sexuality.

Frelk is used as a derogatory term by the spacers in the story, who nonetheless engage in prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

 by accepting money to give frelks the pseudo-sexual contact they desire.

External links

• Aye, and Gomorrah on Sci Fiction
  Sci Fiction
  Sci Fiction was an online magazine which ran from 2000 to 2005. At one time, it was the leading online science fiction magazine. Published by Syfy and edited by Ellen Datlow, the work won multiple awards before it was discontinued.- History :...