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Sad Puppies, SJWs, and Science Fiction: Struggles for Control of a Social and Cultural Field

Mon, August 12, 8:30 to 10:10am, Sheraton New York, Floor: Third Floor, Liberty 4

Abstract

In 2013 a group of science fiction authors launched a campaign to reform the Hugos, one of science fiction’s most prestigious awards. Dubbing themselves “Sad Puppies,” these activists sought to correct what they viewed as a political imbalance. Science fiction, they argued had moved away from entertaining story telling in favor of heavy-handed message fiction meant to spread pernicious liberal values. This article draws on an analysis of internet posts by actors involved in the movement to examine the Puppies’ efforts to reform the science fiction field, reclaiming it as a space for conservative authors and fans. I argue that the leaders of the movement were able to build small fan communities into a larger social movement by linking their efforts to exogenous political and cultural debates occurring in proximate social fields. This analysis demonstrates the processes by which challenges to a particular field’s orthodoxy developed and examines their implications for the larger study of how social fields function.

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