Date of Publication

8-2025

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Language and Literature Major in Literature

Subject Categories

English Language and Literature

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

Literature, Department of

Honor/Award

Outstanding Thesis Award

Thesis Advisor

Ronald Baytan

Defense Panel Chair

John Iremil E. Teodoro

Defense Panel Member

Johann Vladimir J. Espiritu
Gary C. Devilles

Abstract/Summary

Where does the queer figure emerge in futures favored by an insistence on generational continuity? In many futuristic narratives, emphasis frequently centers on safeguarding the next generation, with themes of procreation, family, and genetic continuity often taking priority—reflecting an inadequate and exclusive view of what it means to build a future. In this context, science fiction reveals an implicit dependence on heterosexual reproduction, shaping speculative futures that sideline or negate possibilities for queer desire, and identity, thus creating a “no future” scenario for those outside heteronormative structures. This study examines how Philippine science fiction envisions alternative futures and its articulations of sex, gender, class, and Filipino identity. This preliminary study on Philippine science fiction engages with queer politics and queered visions of fictional futures as depicted in selected 21st century Philippine science fiction texts from (1) Diaspora Ad Astra: An Anthology of Science Fiction from the Philippines (2013); and (2) Science Fiction: Filipino Fiction for Young Adults (2016). Using José Esteban Muñoz’s concept of “queer utopia” and Lee Edelman’s critique of “reproductive futurism,” this thesis explores how selected Filipino science fiction writers engage in queer world-making practices in envisioning and redistributing a queer future. Apart from examining the renderings of imagined queer futures, this study contributes to the scholarship and teaching of science fiction by proposing a queer reading strategy that attends closely to the politics, poetics, and assumptions of queer science fiction.

Keywords: Philippine science fiction; futurity; queer theory; no future; reproductive futurism; queer utopia; Lee Edelman; José Esteban Muñoz

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Keywords

Science fiction, Philippine (English); Queer theory; Politics in literature

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Embargo Period

8-11-2028

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Available for download on Friday, August 11, 2028

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