Decoding Gender looks at the ways science fiction writers have incorporated, explored and revised conventional notions of gender. Although the study draws on feminist insights, it is not exclusively devoted to women writers or the treatment of women characters. Instead it examines both men's and women's writing and the question of sexual difference. Begins with science fiction's origins (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein ) and follows to the present day, suggesting new perspectives on the field's best known writers.