Groundbreaking, provocative novels that challenge gender assumptions--in stories of aliens and humans, women and men, and the shifting nature of identity.   The James Tiptree, Jr. Award was established to acknowledge works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore our understanding of gender. The three novels in this collection each embody that continually evolving challenge in boldly original and highly imaginative ways.   A Woman of the Iron People: The inaugural winner of the Tiptree Award in 1991, this "excellent, anthropologically oriented SF tale" (Publishers Weekly) examines the fear and fascination on both sides when a group of human scientists discovers an advanced yet seemingly primitive alien culture.   "Fascinating . . . Very wise and funny . . . Full of complicated and irresistible people, some of them human." --Ursula K. Le Guin   Waking the Moon: Nebula Award-winning author Elizabeth Hand serves up a seductive, post-feminist thriller in which a college freshman accidentally discovers the existence of the Benandanti, a clandestine order devoted to suppressing the powerful Moon Goddess and secretly manipulating the world's governments and institutions.   "A potent socio-erotic ghost story." --William Gibson   Larque on the Wing: A middle-aged housewife's thoughts become reality when her rebellious inner child takes control, and she transforms herself into a fearless gay man. This is a moving, funny, surprising, and transcendent tale of one woman's unusual quest to come to terms with who she truly is.   "Springer effectively uses fantasy to evoke midlife soul-searching. . . . An engrossing novel about gender and self-formation." --Publishers Weekly