Subverting the stargates

This article explores the transformative potential of Black girl protagonists in space operas, a genre traditionally dominated by Eurocentric, colonialist narratives. By analyzing the Africanfuturist novella Binti (Okorafor 2015) and the Afrofuturist novel A Song of Salvation (Dow 2023), this article highlights how the emancipatory practices of Black girl protagonists in space operas subvert conventional tropes and explore Black girlhood as a site of interstellar emancipation and agency. This paper utilizes dark matter as an analytical framework to examine how the protagonists navigate and dismantle oppressive systems, creating worlds that honor their existence and contributions. This approach challenges the genre’s colonial legacy, emphasizing Black girls’ emancipatory practices and speculative imaginations as foundational forces driving transformation and liberation in speculative fiction. Through this critical lens, the article underscores the importance of recognizing and celebrating the inherent worth and varied knowledges of Black girls in both literature and reality, positioning them as pivotal agents of change. This essay investigates the empowering nature of these narratives for the Black girl protagonist to examine how these stories redefine their roles in the cosmic realm and, ultimately, emancipate monsters – be they aliens or otherwise – as a vital intervention against the exclusionary violence of the Dark Fantastic Cycle (Thomas 2019).