Wait a minute, was Asimov guilty of anything here?
Apparently (although he wasn’t the worst of the bunch among science fiction authors of his generation), Asimov liked to pinch women’s bottoms, so…
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I’m not sure about everybody loving robots. The 1980s were when the Big Three auto manufacturers started introducing robots to assembly lines and a lot of autoworkers weren’t happy about it.
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Rule 34 goes waaaaaaayyyyy back.
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Isaac Asimov’s butt-pinching predilections were well-known in the day. They were also fondly tolerated–by men whose butts were, of course, inviolate.
This first letter is addressed from Earl Kemp, chair of Chicon III, to Asimov. Kemp had a request, “based on your delightful wit, and frankly your reputation”. That would be Asimov’s reputation for nonconsensual butt pinching, otherwise known as sexual assault. Kemp wanted Asimov to deliver a speech at the masquerade, one of the central events of many F&SF conventions.
Specifically it should be delievered at the masquerade and should be something on the theme of THE POSITIVE POWER OF POSTERIOR PINCHING. They went on to say that we would, naturally furnish some suitable posteriors for demonstration purposes.
The suggestion was made to Kemp in jest, but Kemp liked it enough to ask Asimov in earnest. And how did Asimov respond?
Quite favorably, as you can see from our second letter.
I have no doubt I could give a stimulating talk that would stiffen the manly fiber of every one in the audience.
The audience, clearly, was made up entirely of those who had “manly fiber” to be stiffened, despite the fact that enough women attended these conventions that there would be bottoms for pinching.
Besides the real reason is that I will have to ask the permission of various people who are (or would be) concerned in the matter. If they say ”no”, it will be “no.”
That was how sexual harassment and assault was dealt with at the genre’s major convention back in 1961. Everybody knew, and not only was it not stopped, but it was encouraged. Tee-hee. Isn’t it funny. Let’s put the guy on stage to tell us all how to enjoy this wonderful thing. Because “us”, like the audience at the masquerade, excluded everyone who wasn’t male. Women weren’t considered at all.
https://the-orbit.net/almostdiamonds/2012/09/09/we-dont-do-that-anymore/#comment-117821
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Most of the times when I read his works, I get the feeling he had very limited exposure to humans.
Asimov wasn’t exactly alone in his wide-eyed optimism about machines giving people more free time. Pretty much every “world of tomorrow” segment produced from the 50s through whenever said segments fell out of popularity was gung-ho on automation meaning an increase in leisure time and a rise in family incomes (even if they were also wildly sexist about how that free time would get spent).
I’m not sure exactly when the script flipped from “computers will mean 12-hour work weeks and long family vacations in self-driving punchcard-controlled cars” to… whatever the fuck was up with Fiverr’s abominable “In Doers We Trust” ad campaign, but it’d be really nice if we could, y’know, flip it back.
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It’s more the perception that flipped to match reality, as automation under capitalism is about the owners of the machines claiming the majority of the benefits, not liberating us from drudgery. That it appeared so in the postwar period was the confluence of unusual historical circumstances married to an unusually strong labour movement that managed to increase labour’s share of the gains.
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For some people, the “future” is less about human motivations and more about technology taking over…
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Oh my gosh that is a real thing
https://www.amazon.com/Sensuous-Dirty-Old-Man/dp/0802703631
One of Asimov’s funniest books - but it has an actual commentary. He originally published it only under the pseudonym “Dr. A”. At the time, there were several best sellers about sex (“The Sensuous Woman” by M) and this was a parody of those, but not so much a parody as yet another chance to gain insight into the playful mind of Isaac Asimov.
I had no idea!
From The Sensuous Dirty Old Man:
Let us imagine that you are a dirty old man but are dedicated to keeping it a secret because you are a bank vice-president and are interested in exuding an odor of sanctity so that no one will notice, until it is too late, that you are preparing to abscond [run away].
Now a lovely girl walks past you with a dress whose neckline is generously loose and under which there is clearly and obviously no bra. What do you do?What you do is roll your eyes briefly in their sockets with the eyelashes lowered so that no one will see what you are doing. The result? You don’t see anything at all, except perhaps for one flash of quiver that is far more upsetting than sating.
And what is the girl’s reaction? She sees that flicker of eye even if no one else does (since she’s watching for it) and despises you as a rotten little coward. You see that look of contempt in her eye (for it goes through you like an ice pick) and your self-esteem is shattered. Indeed, there is a very good chance that the girl will instantly realize that a man who would look at her with so miserably sidelong a glance is a man who would abscond with every cent of the banks property and she will inform on you at once.
But suppose you are not only a dirty old man, but are proud of it, too, and suppose the same girl walks by in the same condition. Now it is possible to be joyous and open. You can emit a melodious whistle or a snort of pleasure. You can stare openly. You can walk over to get a closer view. You can address the girl in friendly fashion.
And how does the girl react? She is pleased that she has created such an obvious stir in a gentleman of such substantial and prosperous appearance. She realizes that you agree with her own opinion of herself and this can’t help but impress her with the excellence of your taste.
Seeing in you a person whom she can respect, she will think, “What a nice, gentlemanly old man,” and will smile at you. From that to a friendly word or two is but a step, and from that to a pat on the cheek or some slight pressure on the upper arm is but another.
You own self-esteem will shoot up and if you are the vice-president of a bank, you will be so buoyed up by all the this that you will go right to your office and put back all the money. This is only one example of many I can cite in which being an open and honest dirty old man is an enormous aid to public morality.
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