The Utopian Solution to Feminist Dystopias: Reclaiming Women’s Voices in Suzette Haden Elgin’s Native Tongue and Christina Dalcher’s Vox

Abstract

The silencing of women’s voices is a prevalent theme in dystopian works, where language serves to reinforce gender oppression. However, not many feminist dystopias treat language as a tool for liberation. In Suzette Haden Elgin’s Native Tongue and Christina Dalcher’s Vox, linguistic strategies are used by the oppressed to overturn the dystopian condition. Thus, utopian outcomes can be envisioned by reclaiming one’s voice. This paper analyses how solutions rooted on linguistic agency have evolved parallel to current socio-political concerns. Such analysis aims to discern whether the dystopian genre is still a viable platform for reclaiming women’s voices. This comparative study takes into consideration the theory of linguistic determinism, the concept of cognitive estrangement, and the conventions of feminist science-fiction. Overall, Native Tongue and Vox offer a reevaluation of the intrinsic male ideology found in real-world languages. Through their instructive lens, these dystopias accentuate the relation between language and agency.