A Case (among many) for Female Space Marines

Warhammer has always been political.

For the last few years the topic of female space marines has been a relatively hot topic in the 40k fandom. In this blog post I'd like to share two perspectives as a relatively casual 40k fan (casual insofar as I am not versed in recent lore). First I'd like to discuss the dated commentary and then how female space marines could contribute to the commentary of the setting and offer a new faction that is distinct from the Adeptus Astartes and Adeptus Sororitas. 

Let's get into 40k lore (as I understand it, feel free to comment below). When Rogue Trader came out the world (specifically the UK) was a very different place. The UK economy was in dire straights. Unemployment was high. 

Notice the low and looooong dip starting in 1980

Industry receded and neoliberal policies were gutting the public sector under Margaret Thatcher. There were large union strikes associated with coal miners (these showed up as scenarios in Tragedy of MacDeath and the later Grudge of Drong Campaign Packs) and the various industries under attack by the neoliberal advance. 

Credit to Stuff of Legends for the pic of the Reagan and Thatcher Harpies.

The Soviet Union still existed as a co-dominant political force in the world. The Berlin wall had not come down and the slog in Afghanistan was still ongoing. From an educated, punk, and anarchist perspective the future was bleak: stuck under the authoritarian bootheel of Soviet-style communism or the jackboot of the neoliberal corporate power structure. 

These anxieties seem (unless Rick Priestley would like to chime in and set me straight) baked into the early core of Warhammer 40k lore. The imperium is a rigid hierarchy with a literal corpse at its head. Many people live in hive cities that are dense and stagnant industrial centers that are built to physically embody the hierarchical and inequal organization of the imperium. 

The number of people living in poverty in the UK rose dramatically during this period. Income inequality soared. And long with this came the growth in punk subcultures.

Hive Ganger with a Crass tattoo

Crass, an anarchist punk band from the late 70s to mid 80s

Thatcherite governance was also punctuated with centralizing power, conservative moral panic, police repression, fear of communist outsiders and persistent military spending (nearly double per capita what the UK spends today.) These themes are all reflected by the Imperium with it's highly centralized imperial government (though decentralized in other ways as there is semi-feudal governance over distant worlds that owe fealty to the emperor) constant alertness to the threat of heresy, liberalism, rebellion, and mutation, the inquisition, rampant xenophobia, and galaxy-spanning military industrial complex that is perpetually at war. 

We can also acknowledge some aspects of 1980s politics that are absent from Rogue Trader. For example we might acknowledge the AIDS epidemic in the gay community and women's liberation.

A lot has changed since the late 80s and a lot has stayed the same or become salient again. Many of the roots of the current political crisis are found in the 1980s. But some issues have taken on new preeminence and new dimensions. In short, I think that we can agree that a lot has happened and changed in nearly 40 years. Warhammer's politics are in need of an update to stay current with the times while adhering to it's anarchist roots. 

Let's talk about the Custodes

Most radical feminists and feminist scholars want equality for men, women, and non-binary individuals, they also want to abolish the draft. So, for them making women also subject to the draft is not a victory, rather abolition of the draft for both men and women is the goal. Relatedly, liberal white feminists are concerned with breaking the glass ceiling and seeing white women in boardrooms. In contrast, radical feminists are concerned with who the shards of glass fall upon - namely poor/bipoc women here at home and in the colonial periphery. They don't view women also wielding the violent tools of patriarchy upon marginalized people as a victory. Rather the tools of patriarchy itself have to be dismantled.

All of that is to say that the type of representation of women in Warhammer matters. It's not enough to simply have women in Warhammer; how they are represented matters especially if it is to honor the radical roots of Warhammer's Rogue Trader legacy. Placing women into the top echelons of imperial power gives Girl Boss vibes and serves to undermine the satire and commentary of the Imperium being an oppressive authoritarian and failed state. It is not clear how the addition of female custodes adds to the satire and commentary of the 40k universe. It'd be like if Warlord games added female models to their line of German bolt action miniatures: it's not the diversity we need. I want to be clear that I am arguing in favor of more diversity and inclusivity in Warhammer, just doing it in a way that adds depth to the world and improves the story telling. 

Enter Female Space Marines

The first and central premise that needs to be established when talking about female space marines is that the Imperium lies and cannot be trusted as a narrator. The Imperium are not good guys. They are an oppressive, predatory, failed state. So all of the lore about women not being fit for gene seed implantation needs to be thrown out as lies and propaganda. 

What was the imperium hiding with that lie? Women space marines can reproduce and thereby reproduce the gene seed itself. This has huge implications. It means that a legion of female space marines is not limited in number like traditional space marine legions. This means that female space marines are fundamentally less controllable than male space marine legions. Remember, the Imperium has a pathological need for control, so female space marines that can reproduce the gene seed is something they cannot abide. Imagine the Jem'Hadar from DS9 who were not reliant on Ketracel-white. Effectively the Imperium manufactured a problem for themselves (again.)

It also means that if female space marines are broken off from the supply lines of the Imperium but continue to reproduce they will not all be clad in power armor and armed with bolters. Right away from a design/game/aesthetic perspective they start to pull away from the traditional space marine look. 

Next, we know that there are 2 redacted space marine legions. What if these two legions are women? But then we have to ask, why are they redacted? And we would have to have a really good reason to have them redacted. 1. Because it has to make sense in the universe and 2. You can only use this plot contrivance once or twice. You can't come along a few years later and say "hey, BTW there's actually a 3rd redacted legion." 

So why are they redacted?

Because they rebelled. Now, I hear you say "yeah, so what?? So did Horus and his legions aren't redacted"

But the type of rebellion matters. When the enemy is cartoonishly evil, like Horus and his legions, it is easy to rally people to fight this type of enemy. From a propaganda/messaging standpoint nearly all of the evil committed by the Imperium can be notionally "justified" by pointing to its enemies. E.g. "We must do XYZ terrible thing to our people to stop THOSE obviously even more evil guys over there."

Violent and hierarchical states are quite effective at combatting other violent and hierarchical states/adversaries.

But what if the rebellion isn't evil? What if the female space marines rebelled against violence, hierarchy, xenophobia etc and promote democracy, equity, compassion, multiculturalism etc?

It's hard to use an enemy like that to justify the horrors of the Imperium - in fact it would be quite self-defeating. 

So the Imperium pretends they don't exist (at least openly). They lie. "That planet wasn't in rebellion, it was a gene stealer cult." "Another planet infected with Chaos heretics, had to be exterminated." No one left to refute the official narrative. 

But it goes deeper. The existence of this growing rebellion of female space marines would call everything into question. Purportedly, the Imperium is constantly beset by galaxy-ending threats. Always a new threat that could end everything. But is that actually plausible? 

Imagine a deamonically possessed space marine general of immense power. No matter how individually powerful this one dude is, he is no match for the laser batteries of an imperial battleship in orbit. I know the chaos folks have their own ships and legions and whatnot. But the point is that the lore often focuses on individuals that pose a threat to the imperium rather than movements (Tau and Tyranids aside). I understand that is a useful plot contrivance for compelling storytelling but it falls apart in terms of galactic threats. What could threaten the Imperium is an ideology that can't even be officially recognized. 

It may be more plausible that instead these other threats are used as propaganda/justification to keep the Imperium in a constant state of fanatical militarism and paranoia in order to fight the existential threat of anti-authoritarian rebellion: to stamp out the real beating heart of humanity itself - our innate desire for freedom. 

But is that grimdark?

How can a faction of good guys be grimdark and contribute to the aesthetic? Because they are being ruthlessly hunted down just for existing. Nothing is more grimdark than the embers of justice being utterly stamped out. The fact that the male Space Marines and inquisitors hunt these people down would immediately demystify any notion that the male Space Marines might be just defenders of humanity. It would make the intentions of the Imperium beyond redemption. It would put a face to the billions of victims of the Imperium. It would again make the social commentary clear and unambiguous - the Imperium is evil and most of its problems are of its own making - sort of like the current administration.

A female space marine faction would also line up with the radical anarchist satire of the original RT while being a contemporary update on the politics. It would be a very on-the-nose political commentary on the current political crisis in which gender, authoritarianism, and democracy are central and potent questions.

What might their faction look/play like?

Aesthetically, we have to assume that they borrow a lot of the material culture of the Imperium. Some of the marines would be ancient veterans still clad in their old power armor. Others would be more lightly armored in more make shift armor - imagine a Scout but giving Star Wars Rebel vibes.

Without access to imperial forge worlds, their vehicles would likely also be a combination of ancient Space marine vehicles and improvised civilian vehicles. Therefore their vehicles would likely be less directly powerful or fighty, but the faction might overcome this with strategems and abilities that emphasize their revolutionary zeal and adaptability. 

Next their army wouldn't just be space marines. It would also include units comparable to the Frateris Militia of the Sisters of battle: everyday members of the Imperium who have rebelled and taken up arms. They could be all manner of alien and/or the spectrum of 40k's humanity. Again, like the Star Wars legion rebels kit that comes with humans and aliens fighting together. Such interspecies cooperation wasn't uncommon in Rogue Trader - though it is now. This might be reflected in the army composition rules, perhaps the basic infantry might gain access to different support and heavy weapon options based on what kind of alien/abhuman coalition the player has assembled - a strong intrinsic reinforcement to play up the theme of diversity and open mindedness. In real life, multi-national command structures and linguistic barriers can lead to failures of command and control. Perhaps they could have some sort of coalition building point system like the Druchari pain token system where they are incented to build up the bonds of their force as they fight to gain bonuses. 

They might have guerrilla tactics like the Eldar scouts that could delay the arrival of the enemy. Maybe they would have weapons that reflect the types of labor they used to do like the gene stealer cults. Maybe they could do psychic warfare on the enemy, breaking their will to fight or causing them to desert by appeal to their cause. 

Next they might have different mission objectives such as evacuation, sabotage, rescuing civilians.

It might be an interesting opportunity to introduce a faction that fights in very different ways with very different aims. 

What do you think should GW introduce female space marines? Are there better ways to align this with the lore? Would this get past the "but will it sell??" argument?