Quoting the link: In 1975, in an introduction to a book of Tiptree's short stories, Robert Silverberg wrote of his friend, "It has been suggested that Tiptree is female, a theory that I find absurd, for there is to me something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree's writing."
That is from "Warm World and Otherwise". I have the second printing, from 1979, which is after SF learned that Tiptree is a woman.
One of the ways I learned about how views on "masculinity" and "femininity" have changed was to read Silverberg's commentary about the apparently widespread question of "is Tiptree a man or women?", and concluding there is "something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree's writing".
Then because I have the second printing, I also saw Silverberg's followup:
> "She ... called into question the entire notion of what is "masculine" or "feminine" in fiction. I am still wrestling with that. What I have learned is that there are some women who can write about traditionally male topics more knowledgeably than most men...."
This was one of my first steps in learning that 'the entire notion of what is "masculine" or "feminine"' is not the clear binary distinction that I had been brought up with.
Another scifi author with a "secret life" used the pseudonym Cordwainer Smith. He was actually Paul Linebarger, a military expert in psychological warfare, close confidant of Chiang Kai-shek, CIA agent, and advisor to JFK.
...and he wrote astonishing stories about the remaking of man, after thousands of years of technology and emotional reworking. And never failed to put in fan service remarks about ancient heroes and villains that were characters in previous books. His entire works are collected in 'Rediscovery of Man'.
Tiptree’s selected letters to various intellectuals of her time, including Le Guin, were published in 2015, it’s great. It’s a pity that she’s not known more widely, especially in these times.
That is from "Warm World and Otherwise". I have the second printing, from 1979, which is after SF learned that Tiptree is a woman.
One of the ways I learned about how views on "masculinity" and "femininity" have changed was to read Silverberg's commentary about the apparently widespread question of "is Tiptree a man or women?", and concluding there is "something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree's writing".
Then because I have the second printing, I also saw Silverberg's followup:
> "She ... called into question the entire notion of what is "masculine" or "feminine" in fiction. I am still wrestling with that. What I have learned is that there are some women who can write about traditionally male topics more knowledgeably than most men...."
This was one of my first steps in learning that 'the entire notion of what is "masculine" or "feminine"' is not the clear binary distinction that I had been brought up with.