The Left Hand of Darkness (5 points)
I was kicking myself for not reading Earthsea the week that we could. I had heard great things about Ursula K Le Guinn’s writing and representation and really should have started there. So, to make up for it, I read The Left Hand of Darkness. Honestly, I did not know what I was expecting. A race of nonbinary winter hobbits who go into heat was definitely not on my list. Despite that, I thought that the examination of a world without gender norms was fascinating and a little bit hilarious. I tend not to be too vocal about my sexual and gender orientation because of various social taboos, but I think that my interpretation as both asexual and gender-questioning is relevant.
The planet of Winter feels closer to a utopia than any other setting I have experienced. As a result of the Gethenians having their cycle of kemmer, the constant measuring up and scrutinizing that comes with having a sexual drive is basically non-existent. I have known that I have been asexual basically right when others understood that they had a sexual drive. As a result, I am always on the defensive around most people, always having to make excuses and reasons for why I’m not in a relationship nor planning to seek one. On top of that, I have pretty recently come to the understanding that gender to me is practically meaningless, only to be used to fit people into social stereotypes to keep an outdated sense of community going. So, to find myself reading about a world where gender doesn’t matter and sexual drive is something dealt with in the same practicality of the seasons changing was somewhat comforting.
Where the humor comes in for me is how Le Guinn has to constantly measure up the Gethenians to Earth social standards. The fact that Genly Ai cannot for the life of him comprehend that everyone he talks to biologically cannot relate to his binary gender assumptions is hilarious. Even after what is most likely hundreds of thousands of years, Genly has no comprehension of people who aren’t cis and heterosexual. This need for constant explanations is definitely a product of the time period of writing and for me is absolutely hilarious.
The planet of Winter feels closer to a utopia than any other setting I have experienced. As a result of the Gethenians having their cycle of kemmer, the constant measuring up and scrutinizing that comes with having a sexual drive is basically non-existent. I have known that I have been asexual basically right when others understood that they had a sexual drive. As a result, I am always on the defensive around most people, always having to make excuses and reasons for why I’m not in a relationship nor planning to seek one. On top of that, I have pretty recently come to the understanding that gender to me is practically meaningless, only to be used to fit people into social stereotypes to keep an outdated sense of community going. So, to find myself reading about a world where gender doesn’t matter and sexual drive is something dealt with in the same practicality of the seasons changing was somewhat comforting.
Where the humor comes in for me is how Le Guinn has to constantly measure up the Gethenians to Earth social standards. The fact that Genly Ai cannot for the life of him comprehend that everyone he talks to biologically cannot relate to his binary gender assumptions is hilarious. Even after what is most likely hundreds of thousands of years, Genly has no comprehension of people who aren’t cis and heterosexual. This need for constant explanations is definitely a product of the time period of writing and for me is absolutely hilarious.
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