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When It Changed
A science fiction short story about an all-female human colony planet whose inhabitants produce offspring by chemically combining ova because all their males died in a plague 30 generations earlier.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1972
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About the author
Joanna Russ
182books475followersJoanna Russ (February 22, 1937 � April 29, 2011) was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as How to Suppress Women's Writing, as well as a contemporary novel, On Strike Against God, and one children's book, Kittatinny. She is best known for The Female Man, a novel combining utopian fiction and satire.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 19, 2021
When It Changed is a very brief work of science fiction that packs a punch. (seriously, it's only 7 pages long but accomplishes a great deal)
Set on an all-female colony 30 generations after a plague killed off all the men, the main character is a woman in her 30's with a wife and three children. Through small details we learn how this community has created a functioning society, a government, and loving family structures. Teen girls come of age by going into the wilderness and killing a beast, and occupation is not determined by gendered expectations. But men from earth have arrived, with all their misogynist pride. Astonishment that women could do so well on their own, and certainty that said women will celebrate the return of men to their society.
The prose can feel a bit choppy at times, but ultimately this is a very successful short story. Interesting that it was written in the 1970's and still hits so strongly today. Definitely worth a read and makes me want to check out more of this author's work.
Set on an all-female colony 30 generations after a plague killed off all the men, the main character is a woman in her 30's with a wife and three children. Through small details we learn how this community has created a functioning society, a government, and loving family structures. Teen girls come of age by going into the wilderness and killing a beast, and occupation is not determined by gendered expectations. But men from earth have arrived, with all their misogynist pride. Astonishment that women could do so well on their own, and certainty that said women will celebrate the return of men to their society.
The prose can feel a bit choppy at times, but ultimately this is a very successful short story. Interesting that it was written in the 1970's and still hits so strongly today. Definitely worth a read and makes me want to check out more of this author's work.
November 8, 2022
I can only say they were apes with human faces.
After 30 generations of female only society, that was the first impression of the sight of men when they returned to the thriving colony of Whileaway. They are obviously of our species but off, indescribably off, and my eyes could not and still cannot quite comprehend the lines of those alien bodies.
A short story, but dense with layers of significance. The world-building feels real, and is revealed casually.
Published in the 1970s, it must have been an eye-opener at the time for a woman to refer to another woman as "my wife."
After 30 generations of female only society, that was the first impression of the sight of men when they returned to the thriving colony of Whileaway. They are obviously of our species but off, indescribably off, and my eyes could not and still cannot quite comprehend the lines of those alien bodies.
A short story, but dense with layers of significance. The world-building feels real, and is revealed casually.
Published in the 1970s, it must have been an eye-opener at the time for a woman to refer to another woman as "my wife."
September 7, 2022
What we have here is a very short, short story about an all female colony world. At some point a plague had removed the y-chromosome from their population. Then one day some blokes from Earth arrive and due to problems at home they want to spread their seed a little.
The story is however not the one you're expecting. 'When It Changed' is a little thought experiment, but to me it is more of a character study. How would this situation feel to a person living it out?
I regularly skip authors' notes, but this little story had quite an interesting afterword which I liked almost as much as the story itself.
Anyway I enjoyed it, but it's sooper-dooper short and while very interesting, it's not very compelling, which is something I definitely need for a micro story to have a big impression on me. I liked that the author cared very much about not giving us the expected, typical structure for this kind of imagined world.
Here's a bunch of quotes with the thoughts they triggered when I read them:
"I've seen her [Katy] take the whole car apart and put it together again in a day." - well, speaking from some experience, this seems unlikely, or at least extremely impressive.
"on a country road as bad as only our district can make them" - is this a universal feeling? Do we all think our neighbours' roads are better constructed than our own? I've been living pretty close to a state border for a while now and it has always felt obvious that my neighbouring state takes better care of their roads, but now I'm wondering if this is just a case of the grass always being greener on the other side!
"She has even gone hiking in the forests above the 48th parallel without firearms." - sorry to say it, but this sounds very American. I regularly hike for several days and would never consider a gun necessary. Ok, we don't have bears in Australia, but it is Australia. Ok, the better point is that this story is set on a different planet in a very different universe.
"There are thirty millions of us now." - I guess I was picturing a much smaller population, so this was a pleasant surprise.
"and he walked past Katy's rifle into the square of light coming from the door." - wait a minute, wait just a minute. I thought that Katy never carried a firearm.
It'll take you 15 minutes so I do recommend you check it out.
The story is however not the one you're expecting. 'When It Changed' is a little thought experiment, but to me it is more of a character study. How would this situation feel to a person living it out?
I regularly skip authors' notes, but this little story had quite an interesting afterword which I liked almost as much as the story itself.
Anyway I enjoyed it, but it's sooper-dooper short and while very interesting, it's not very compelling, which is something I definitely need for a micro story to have a big impression on me. I liked that the author cared very much about not giving us the expected, typical structure for this kind of imagined world.
Here's a bunch of quotes with the thoughts they triggered when I read them:
"I've seen her [Katy] take the whole car apart and put it together again in a day." - well, speaking from some experience, this seems unlikely, or at least extremely impressive.
"on a country road as bad as only our district can make them" - is this a universal feeling? Do we all think our neighbours' roads are better constructed than our own? I've been living pretty close to a state border for a while now and it has always felt obvious that my neighbouring state takes better care of their roads, but now I'm wondering if this is just a case of the grass always being greener on the other side!
"She has even gone hiking in the forests above the 48th parallel without firearms." - sorry to say it, but this sounds very American. I regularly hike for several days and would never consider a gun necessary. Ok, we don't have bears in Australia, but it is Australia. Ok, the better point is that this story is set on a different planet in a very different universe.
"There are thirty millions of us now." - I guess I was picturing a much smaller population, so this was a pleasant surprise.
"and he walked past Katy's rifle into the square of light coming from the door." - wait a minute, wait just a minute. I thought that Katy never carried a firearm.
It'll take you 15 minutes so I do recommend you check it out.
April 6, 2025
I said "Yes, here you are," and smiled (feeling like a fool), and wondered seriously if male Earth people's minds worked so very differently from female Earth people's minds, but that couldn't be so or the race would have died out long ago.
This short-story has been on my radar since I read and a friend said I needed to read this one as well. I don't know anything about the background for those two, but they are clearly set in the same universe and logically it feels like this was Russ working with the idea for Whileway for the first time which then got expanded in The Female Man, but I might be completely wrong about this and I'm don't want to do the research to be sure now.
Anyway, this story is about first contact between Whileway civilization and what is probably "our" Earth. On Whileway some 30 generations back, plague killed all males and since then only women are born. As a result, Whileway is a very no-nonsense lesbian civilization that isn't quite in industrial era yet, but that is also totally fine with that, preferring the slow sure progress over rapid one.
Anyway, in this story a delegation of Earth men meats with women from Whileway and... well, I guess you can safely guess how it looks like.
If you are curious about , I think this is quite a good taster. It is much easier to orient in than TFM, because it's straightforward and short. On that note, it is really short, so don't expect much our of the story, but I quite enjoyed it, some passages were SO satisfactory to read. So yeah, pretty great time, glad that I gave Russ another shot, will be continuing exploring her work!
Note: Don't confuse this book with this book: , that anthology is named after this short-story, but it doesn't actually include it!
You can read the story for free here:
April 29, 2021
Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before.
Science-fiction? Honey, this is THE dream!!! I hope I'll still be alive one day to see it happen <3
Science-fiction? Honey, this is THE dream!!! I hope I'll still be alive one day to see it happen <3
April 14, 2024
a no men planet!
March 16, 2021
Read this because of a class in college, and it definitely shows some the 60's movement for women's liberation. It was written in 1972, I believe. A short story basically where only women are living on a planet called "Whileaway", male astronauts land on the planet, and assume they are what these woman want. The story epitomizes how these men think they are the best thing to 'save' the women. Women who are not interested in men. Quite chavaunistic these men.
January 10, 2024
Required Reading for an English class. Fantastic feminist short story! If you have 20 minutes give it a read.
February 2, 2024
woah this was actually super interesting
February 11, 2023
3.5
hot mechanic hunter dueling lesbians. women's anger. portrayal of women's frustration, rage, and fear in the face of imminent loss of autonomy felt so good & cathartic to read. a similar feeling to stone butch blues tbh. i love u lesbian authors <3
there was some dumb bioessentialism tho
hot mechanic hunter dueling lesbians. women's anger. portrayal of women's frustration, rage, and fear in the face of imminent loss of autonomy felt so good & cathartic to read. a similar feeling to stone butch blues tbh. i love u lesbian authors <3
there was some dumb bioessentialism tho
November 10, 2021
The stories in “Science Fiction: Stories and Contexts� recite the same themes over and over. I’m reading it for a college class and growing tired of the repetition.
January 7, 2023
I truly adore Joanna Russ and it was wonderful to find myself on Whileaway again. Russ continuous packs a punch and is a fantastic writer. She was keeping it real her whole career.
April 19, 2021
Rating: 3.5/5
When It Changed is a short, seven-paged story about a civilization that is comprised entirely of women and what happens when men arrive and take control.
I found this story to be very easy to read, as it read quite modernly although it was written in 1972. I also found the premise to be interesting and engaging, and I loved the sapphic representation! While I am aware that this is a short story, I do wish it was a bit longer even if it was only one or two more, just enough for me to connect with the characters. But, even though it is a short as it is, the theme was still easy to grasp onto. I particularly found it fascinating how the author explores how sapphic couples are treated and stereotyped and accompanies this with more colonialism-type themes.
When It Changed is a short, seven-paged story about a civilization that is comprised entirely of women and what happens when men arrive and take control.
I found this story to be very easy to read, as it read quite modernly although it was written in 1972. I also found the premise to be interesting and engaging, and I loved the sapphic representation! While I am aware that this is a short story, I do wish it was a bit longer even if it was only one or two more, just enough for me to connect with the characters. But, even though it is a short as it is, the theme was still easy to grasp onto. I particularly found it fascinating how the author explores how sapphic couples are treated and stereotyped and accompanies this with more colonialism-type themes.
July 19, 2024
4 stars
I have never heard of Joanna Russ before. This story was recommended to me after I had read "Bloodchild" by Octavia E. Butler and it is definitely in the same vein of introspective science fiction short stories that were ahead of their time. I love short sci-fi stories, they tend to be some of the most thought-provoking and terrifying explorations into humanity and socialization. I am glad to now have Joanna Russ on my radar for reading more science fiction.
This short story is very brief, but it packs a punch in introducing us to a group of women who live on a planet that is ravaged by battles and subterfuge, but is fully populated by women who have learned how to create life with the absence of men and with each other. Men have just arrived to their planet and are claiming that sexual equality now exists on Earth. Essentially, I hope the men leave these women alone, but it already shows the darkness lurking and waiting to possess, destroy, and claim this colony/planet of self-sufficient women.
I have never heard of Joanna Russ before. This story was recommended to me after I had read "Bloodchild" by Octavia E. Butler and it is definitely in the same vein of introspective science fiction short stories that were ahead of their time. I love short sci-fi stories, they tend to be some of the most thought-provoking and terrifying explorations into humanity and socialization. I am glad to now have Joanna Russ on my radar for reading more science fiction.
This short story is very brief, but it packs a punch in introducing us to a group of women who live on a planet that is ravaged by battles and subterfuge, but is fully populated by women who have learned how to create life with the absence of men and with each other. Men have just arrived to their planet and are claiming that sexual equality now exists on Earth. Essentially, I hope the men leave these women alone, but it already shows the darkness lurking and waiting to possess, destroy, and claim this colony/planet of self-sufficient women.
June 2, 2024
3.5
what she said in the afterword about the left hand of darkness made me go 🙂↕️🙂↕�
"I had read a very fine SF novel, Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, in which all the characters are humanoid hermaphrodites, and was wondering at the obduracy of the English language, in which everybody is “he� or “she� and “it� is reserved for typewriters. But how can one call a hermaphrodite “he,� as Miss Le Guin does? I tried (in my head) changing all the masculine pronouns to feminine ones, and marveled at the difference. And then I wondered why Miss Le Guin’s native “hero� is male in every important sexual encounter of his life except that with the human man in the book."
what she said in the afterword about the left hand of darkness made me go 🙂↕️🙂↕�
"I had read a very fine SF novel, Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, in which all the characters are humanoid hermaphrodites, and was wondering at the obduracy of the English language, in which everybody is “he� or “she� and “it� is reserved for typewriters. But how can one call a hermaphrodite “he,� as Miss Le Guin does? I tried (in my head) changing all the masculine pronouns to feminine ones, and marveled at the difference. And then I wondered why Miss Le Guin’s native “hero� is male in every important sexual encounter of his life except that with the human man in the book."
June 17, 2022
Read this for my speculative fiction class—feminist utopias are an outdated idea nowadays, but I really enjoyed it. It’s short and cuts to the point—very vivid. A lot of the other stories I was assigned were from a male perspective. It was great to actually read about an all-female utopia from the women’s POV lol. The part where the men were like “Don’t worry baby, you women don’t have to be alone anymore, we’re here now� was the best part. The women don’t care if you’re there or not, bud. 4/5 for enjoyment and amusement.
March 24, 2023
Lo he leído en formato audiolibro en castellano gracias a Los Cuentos de la Casa de la Bruja. No había leído nada de la autora aunque siempre me ha intrigado mucho su libro "El hombre hembra". Este relato nos sitúa en otro planeta donde los hombres se extinguieron hace seis siglos y las mujeres han creado una nueva sociedad sin presencia ni nostalgia de lo masculino. Pero acaban recibiendo una visita de un planeta vecino que podría cambiarlo todo. La pluma de Russ se hace enrevesada en ocasiones pero no deja indiferente. Seguiré descubriendo a la autora.
August 7, 2024
One of the very best stories ever! Feminist SF at its most evocative.
My rating system:
Since ŷ only allows 1 to 5 stars (no half-stars), you have no option but to be ruthless. I reserve one star for a book that is a BOMB - or poor (equivalent to a letter grade of F, E, or at most D). Progressing upwards, 2 stars is equivalent to C (C -, C or C+), 3 stars (equals B - or B), 4 stars (equals B+ or A -), and 5 stars (equals A or A+). As a result, I maximize my rating space for good books, and don't waste half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.
My rating system:
Since ŷ only allows 1 to 5 stars (no half-stars), you have no option but to be ruthless. I reserve one star for a book that is a BOMB - or poor (equivalent to a letter grade of F, E, or at most D). Progressing upwards, 2 stars is equivalent to C (C -, C or C+), 3 stars (equals B - or B), 4 stars (equals B+ or A -), and 5 stars (equals A or A+). As a result, I maximize my rating space for good books, and don't waste half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.
February 27, 2024
It is really depressingly easy to see this happening. A society of women running perfectly fine for 30 generations getting completely interrupted and up-ended because men come back and think they're god's gift.
I'd like to think there's a follow up that has the society show these earther men the nearest launchpad and invite them to leave and never come back.
I'd like to think there's a follow up that has the society show these earther men the nearest launchpad and invite them to leave and never come back.
March 19, 2022
really interesting conversation on gender roles. russ did a really great lecture on women in fiction and women writers and the limitations that comes with both and it really matched up well with this short story.
November 22, 2022
Everything that came out of those men's mouth made me so uncomfortable...so I have to say, well-written in that aspect for sure. Definitely an intersting topic; could we and would we live in a society without men if reproduction was not a problem?
September 10, 2023
This was powerful. I wish there was a little more world building. I’d love to know more about the history and culture of the colony and what Earth is really like. But that ending left me with so many thoughts. I really enjoyed this one.
April 17, 2022
Eh... Kind of meh, for me the author fells biased...
November 24, 2022
Read in an anthology reviewed here:
Read
November 30, 2022read for my pulp fiction class
January 30, 2024
really enjoyable, the reveal comes about quite quickly (pg 3?) and the turn happens with a lot of force (put down for a moment, very emotive). Recommend.
February 7, 2024
it was okay. i wouldve rather slept cuz it is kinda boring
Read
April 8, 2024read for politart
April 18, 2024
Re-read after discussion with WBT. Still powerful and I prefer the framing being from the women in contrast to Tiptree's Houston, Houston, do you read.
Read
November 2, 2024dream world where there are no men ✨️ 😌
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