: Re: How do I present a future free of gender stereotypes without being jarring or overpowering the narrative? My story takes place in a relatively near future setting where gender stereotypes have

@Twilah982

Short answer: You cannot.

Human fundamentals never change. If you desire to narrate a story where against all odds certain Things about humanity have changed - dramatically - you ought to recognize that your story is actually about Those Things, and keep them in focus.

Even if you try to play it down and make it seem like it's not a big deal, at some point the difference between our-humanity-as-it-is and your-humanity-as-you-write-it will become too great to ignore, and some fundamental assumption that either you or the reader have made will snap the dissonance to the forefront. Think of it like a Big Lipped Alligator Moment but for imaginatively altered human behavior. But, you can avoid this situation in two ways:


If you never sweep the dissonance under the rug, no one will ever be surprised by it
An explicitly transhumanist setting is a powerful reason to modify humanity in all sorts of interesting ways


I understand you might want to avoid shoving things in the reader's face, but remember that you're imagining a world where the basic building blocks of millions of years of sexuated life have been dismantled. That is not something you can really avoid placing front and center, and to do so would actually benefit your core message.

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