Page "James Tiptree, Jr." Paragraph 8

After the death of Mary Hastings Bradley in 1976, " Tiptree " mentioned in a letter that his mother, also a writer, had died in Chicago — details that led inquiring fans to find the obituary, with its reference to Alice Sheldon ; soon all was revealed.

Several prominent science fiction writers suffered some embarrassment.

Robert Silverberg had written an introduction to Warm Worlds and Otherwise, arguing on the basis of selections from stories in the collection, that Tiptree could not possibly be a woman.

And in an introduction to Tiptree's story in his Again, Dangerous Visions anthology, Harlan Ellison opined that " Wilhelm is the woman to beat this year, but Tiptree is the man.

" Silverberg's article in particular, by taking one side, makes it clear that the gender of Tiptree was a topic of some debate.