Bloodchild by Octavia Butler is seen as a story about the relationship between alien oppressors and a group oppressed humans. It has also been described as a love story between the human narrator and the chief alien. In her afterword, she describes “Bloodchild” as “a love story between two very different beings,” “a coming of age story” and a “pregnant man story.”(Hardy) However, when one comparing Butler’s “Bloodchild” to Simone De Beauvoir’s essay “The second sex”, similarities surrounding the social issues of gender inequality arise. The circumstances of the narrator mirror social issues affecting modern women. Bloodchild by Octavia Butler examines the dynamics of power between the sexes; by switching the gender roles in the story, she show how women are marginalized in society. Women are living in a patriarchal society which contributes to gender inequality. It dominates most of the institutions of society like; religion, the family politics, and the work place. The International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences describes patriarchy as a social structural phenomenon in which males have the privilege of dominance over females, both visibly and subliminally. The value of women is often reduced to the role of Trophies, housekeepers and reproductive tools. “Because the subordination of women to men is a feature in the majority of all societies, patriarchy is often argued to be due to biology, such as women’s principal role in childbearing.”(Darity) Patriarchy is the cultural norm of many societies so it is seen as natural. “Bloodchild” challenges how natural the role is by reversing the roles and showing a parasitic male pregnancy. Feminist theory is an important idea to apply when analyzing how women are... ... middle of paper ... ...s and Contexts. Ed. Stephen A. Scipione Feinstein and Marisa. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, n.d. 119-34. Print. 29 Oct. 2013. Darity William A. Inequality, Gender." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 624-627. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. De Beauvoir Simone. “The second sex” Ch.1. 2009. Science Fiction Stories and Contexts. Ed. Stephen A. Scipione and Marisa Feinstein. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, n.d. 119-34. Print. Locke, Jillian L. "Feminism (Second-Wave)." Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History. Ed. Thomas S. Langston. Vol. 6: Postwar Consensus to Social Unrest, 1946 to 1975. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2010. 170-174. Gale Virtual Library Hardy, Sarah Madsen. "Bloodchild." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 Dec. 2013
MacLean, Nancy. A. The American Women's Movement, 1945-2000. A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, a.k.a.
Bloodchild is one of the best science fiction stories in history. The novel was written by an American writer, Octavia Butler. This book was first published in 1984 and edited in 2005 where two stories; Amnesty and Book of Martha were added. Blood child has been a famous novel and it has won several awards such as Science Fiction Award in 1984 (Butler, 1984). The novel Bloodchild generally describes the unusual bond between a human being who has escaped from the earth and invaded the planet of insect-like alien species called the Tilac. This paper thus aims to explore how the information from the novel, "Bloodchild" is related to the real-life situation by looking and analyzing different themes.
Readers are defamiliarized to the imposed humanity of Lilith, she given new context as the construct is tested against unearthly customs. In the novel Lilith is expected to be a leader and diplomat to a small group of saved humans where “there is no one to teach” them about alien life except her (Butler Loc 1588). Lilith has to teach about the otherness of the aliens, and Butler uses this to allude to the idea that Lilith as a women act as a form of “other.” Also, a world where nothing is familiar, Lilith’s plight sticks out as undeniably human and garners attention and sympathy from the audience. Things such as the act of motherhood, a normal and expected role for most women to play, in the face of “grotesque Medusa children,” the act is removed from the realm of the expected (Butler 675). We understand her actions more when contrasted against a species that is not remotely human. This strange alien centered book presents the reader with a strange heroine, and it is this undeniably female image that makes the novel different from others in its
hooks, bell. "Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression." Feminist Theory Reader. Ed. Caroline McCann and Seung-Kyung Kim. New York: Routledge. 2003, 50-57.
To understand the theory of gender inequality better, it is necessary to confront the obstacles that have limited prior attempts. Amongst these, one the most important ones is the strong urge to minimize all explanations of gender inequality to some fundamental contrast between the sexes.
Gender inequality specifies to unequal treatment or approach of individuals based on their gender. It occurs from differences in socially constructed gender roles as well as biologically through chromosomes, brain structure, and hormonal differences. In 2006, the World Economic Forum introduced The Global Gender Gap Index. It is a framework that captures the magnitude and capacity of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. The index measures national gender gaps on political, economic, education and health based criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups, over time. The rankings are mainly designed to create a greater awareness among a global audience of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them.
(6) Simone deBeauvoir, The Second Sex, translated by H.M. Parshley (New York: Random House, 1972) p. xxx
Butler, Octavia E. "Bloodchild." Bloodchild and Other Stories. New York: Seven Stories Press, 1996. 1-32.
Adele had learned these values by living in Poland, which possessed a far more egalitarian view of women’s roles in the community, which allowed Adele to evaluate American patriarchal society from a differing point of view: “I—a servant? Even in our worst poverty in Poland none of our people have ever been servants. Tailors, storekeepers, but never a servant. Should I be the first to go down? In this perspective, Beauvoir’s theory of the historically constructed gender roles of women as the “other” are subjective, since many differing societies can possess egalitarian views of women: Beauvoir focused not on an individual consciousness but on a relationship…She redefined feminist discourse through her epistemological privileging of female voices.” These are important aspects of Adele’s view of the world, since she has an alternative perspective on how women should be educated from her experiences in Poland,. Beauvoir argues that women can make an actual choice about their gender role identity, since many subservient aspects of female identity are artificial creations by patriarchal social institutions. Certainly, Beauvoir’s The Second Sex defines the social aspects of women’s choices, which Yezierska implies in her main character, Adele, as she struggles to eventually start
Gender stratification can be described as unequal power, wealth, and privileges between men and women. This stratification is more generally aimed at women who are oppressed in the work place, economic class status, and many other aspects of life because of their gender. We can blame this on the patriarchal culture that we prescribe too, where males hold primary power and privileges in our society. Two of the most common aspects of gender stratification that we see in the United States includes the wage gap between men and women and the violence that women face. There are many more aspects to gender stratification, however, these two topics seem to be a gender stratification problem all over the world.
It was published in two sections or volumes in 1949. When “The Second Sex” was released, it was the first of its kind to attempt to confront the woman’s perspective. De Beauvoir’s thesis is driven around the fact that men systematically and fundamentally oppress women by labeling and characterizing them (Mussett, Simone de Beauvoir). The man is the subject and the woman is the object, therefore being denied subjectivity. Simone states, “Specific ways that the natural and social sciences and the European literary, social, political and religious traditions have created a world where impossible and conflicting ideals of femininity produce an ideology of women’s ‘natural’ inferiority to justify patriarchal domination,” (Mussett, Simone de Beauvoir). The quote explains the fact that due to early European culture, women were seen as housewives and weaker and inferior to men. Simone de Beauvoir claims that this notion has remained the same and therefore this disparity is still present
Firstly, the novel manifests the desperate desire many individuals have to birth a male offspring in a country with a pervasive preference for sons. When Kavita gives birth to her second daughter, her husband has a strong disincentive to raise her. This notion is explored when Jasu says, “She will become a burden to us, a drain on our family,” (Gowda, 16). Unfortunately, Kavita has to suffer the loss of giving away her daughter as a consequence of the traditional gender discrimination that is deeply embedded in the patriarchal society she lives in. Jasu’s attitudes and behaviour are vitally influenced by the economic, social, and emotional norms of his culture. He sees no reason to raise a daughter who is incapable of bringing his family prosperity,
There has been a long and on going discourse on the battle of the sexes, and Simone De Beauvoir’s The Second Sex reconfigures the social relation that defines man and women, and how far women has evolved from the second position given to them. In order for us to define what a woman is, we first need to clarify what a man is, for this is said to be the point of derivation (De Beauvoir). And this notion presents to us the concept of duality, which states that women will always be treated as the second sex, the dominated and lacking one. Woman as the sexed being that differs from men, in which they are simply placed in the others category. As men treat their bodies as a concrete connection to the world that they inhabit; women are simply treated as bodies to be objectified and used for pleasure, pleasure that arise from the beauty that the bodies behold. This draws us to form the statement that beauty is a powerful means of objectification that every woman aims to attain in order to consequently attain acceptance and approval from the patriarchal society. The society that set up the vague standard of beauty based on satisfaction of sexual drives. Here, women constantly seek to be the center of attention and inevitably the medium of erection.
Butler, Octavia ." Bloodchild." The Prentice Hall Anthology Sscience Fiction and Fantasy. Ed. Garyn Roberts. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. 1035-1048.
de Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. Trans. & Ed. H. M. Parshley. London: Penguin, 1972. Print.