Smack dab in the middle of the speculative fiction universe, lies a parochial planetary empire, somewhere to the right of the Cyteen System in firm Space Opera territories, lies Barrayar. Ruled by an emperor, Barrayar is primitive, patriarchal, and flat out backwards in the viewpoint of one of its most famous ladies — Countess Vorkosigan — Captain Cordelia Naismith of the Beta Colony system.
Captain Cordelia Naismith is a competent and respected captain, in charge of a scientific exploration mission (the highest honor for a Betan commander), when she runs into Barrayar in Shards of Honor (1986). Her base camp is attacked by a Barrayarian, her crew escapes, but she is marooned with one of the most famous of Barrayar’s soldiers, the noted “Butcher of Komarr” — Aral Vorkosigan. Of course, they fall in love, amidst the struggle for the empire, and along the way Cordelia struggles to maintain her honor and her morals, while learning who Aral Vorkosigan truly is. After many battles and machinations common to a universe located in Space Opera territory, Cordelia, back on Beta, realizes the depths of her love — and also the now stifling nature of Betan morals and codes.
She steals a ship and returns to Barrayar, knowing that she is voluntary entering a culturally different, feudal and patriarchal society, with strict social mores and values, far to the right of her liberal upbringing. For love.
In Barrayar, (first published in installments by Analog and then as a book in 1991), Cordelia and Aral are expecting their first child, which Cordelia has agreed to try the “natural” way, according to Barrayaran custom. After an attack by deadly teratogen gas, Cordelia survives, but their embryo has been damaged. Defying Barrayar, Cordelia turns to Betan technology and chooses to implant the embryo in an uterine replicator, even knowing that her child will be considered sub-par by Barrayaran society. In fact, her father-in-law does everything he can to try to prevent full gestation, intent on not shaming the family by allowing a mutant to survive.
(The first two books are often published together as Cordelia’s Honor, first published in 1996.)
In Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (2016), three years after Aral’s early death, Cordelia decides to have children — daughters — using Aral’s genetic material. She also offers Aral’s long-time lover, Oliver, the option to have Aral’s children as well, using genetic manipulation and her egg capsule.
Throughout the entire Vorkosigan Series, Cordelia Naismith is a powerful presence, although only three books focus primarily on her. And there is nothing Cordelia Naismith delights in more then tweaking the Barrayaran patriarchy’s nose.
How does she accomplish, in one lifetime, almost single-handedly, the sexual revolution of an entire empire?
Well, of course, this is fiction, which helps. But the best of science fiction offers feasible, technological, possibilities and extrapolations, and Lois McMaster Bujold (having won multiple Hugos and Nebulas) is one of the best. And Cordelia, being a galactic citizen, with access to high standards of medical care, does have a longer life-span (she expects to easily reach 120), but the main way Cordelia revolutionizes Barrayar is quite simple — she provides access to reproductive technology (which allows sex to become separate from reproduction), licensed therapists, and organizes sex workers. She gives Barrayar the equivalent of Planned Parenthood.
In Betan society, uterine replicators are one of the many birth options (including natural) — the galactic civilization, especially the Betan culture, have long separated sex and love from being mandatory in reproduction. Anyone can safely have a child, regardless of their sexual orientation or identification.
(For the record, Lois McMaster Bujold is not the only one to have invented a uterine replicator/artificial womb — the first instance occurs in the 1932 publication of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.)
Throughout history, birth has been a uniquely female proposition. 
Cordelia, however, doesn’t view it that way at all — in Betan culture, hermaphrodites and women can naturally bear children, but the reproductive technology to create genetically linked children is available to all.
Barrayar, however, has never had access to this technology, having remained patriarchal and feudal. It’s only when the two worlds collide with Cordelia, that reproductive options are expanded, and as a matter of course, Barrayar starts using it — first mainly to preserve male genetic samples for space soldiers, allowing them to delay conception without risks of interstellar radiation and the subsequent genetic damage. This, in turn, leads to the first wave of women soldiers — as women are no longer required to stay at home to preserve their genetic material.
Over the course of the three Cordelia books, the ramifications of her one simple technological introduction spread outward. Licensed galactic therapists educate and offer different and alternative sexual standards to the Barrayaran heteronormative, including her own personal decision to allow her husband, Aral, his bisexuality, which leads to the introduction of Oliver into their relationship. (Cordelia, in her forthright manner, is absolutely, terrifyingly frank when it comes to sexual discussions and negotiations.). She organizes the sex workers who have historically serviced the military, leading to Barrayarans enjoying more sexual orientations and choices.
And when her world is shattered by the death of her husband, Aral, she not only makes the decision to avail herself of the opportunity to reproduce with Aral, she donates her dead husband’s genetic material to Oliver, allowing Oliver to realize a dream he didn’t even know he had, genetic children of his love.
Much like Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, Cordelia believes strongly in the right to decide whether to have a child and the right of a child to be wanted. She uses her position in a place of privilege as Countess Vorkosigan to basically set up what amounts to a universal Planned Parenthood — reproductive and sexual technology centers including both medical and therapeutic options, and in the course of one lifetime, starts a sexual revolution that changes Barryar and it’s empire, forever.
If only it were that easy to change a culture through funding reproductive services…..
I think one of my favorite Cordelia moments is when she and Aral are granted guardianship of the toddler emperor and all the old white men tell her she won’t have any power over the new emperor–she’s just in charge of overseeing his education. She and Aral exchange this look while she’s like “okay, sure, fine, no power just education.” Snort.
I loved that scene too. I adore Cordelia entirely.