Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?
Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves stems from the fact that he comes from a world vastly different from Winter. Gethenians are genderless. Thus, Genly Ai struggles to understand and comprehend the interactions of Gethenians, because Genly Ai simply can not relate with Gethenian society. In addition, Gethenians also find it difficult to understand and comprehend Genly Ai, for he is permanently in "kemmer". Furthermore, Gethenians see him as a pervert, and as a result, both sides have difficulty understanding each other. Especially, Genly Ai, who faces culture shock, for Ai he cannot grasp how Gethenians can live in an androgynous lifestyle. Although Genly Ai has been on the planet of Winter for two years it is apparent in his narrative that he still is not accustomed to Gethenian ways, nor has tried to understand them.
Genly Ai's attitudes toward Gethenians reveals how he believes in gender roles. Throughout Ai's narrative, we see how he constantly refers to masculine characters as "he", when in reality they are androgynous meaning they are not specifically male or female. Furthermore, the world that Genly Ai comes from is similar to Earth. The idea of gender roles is deeply ingrained into Ai's mindset to an extent where he tries to force the idea of gender roles onto Gethenians which can be seen when he refers to again masculine characters. This idea of gender roles reveals how Genly Ai views the world in a man's point of view believing that gender plays a significant role in society.
I can completely relate to Genly in this book. During the reading, I feel just as weirded out as Genly. However, the book does well at showing that their are two sides to everything. While Gently might think the Gethenian people are weird, they are looking back at him in the same exact way.
ReplyDeleteGenlys lack of understanding, or remembrance, of this worlds' genderless culture is completely understandable. That's exactly how some people are today when it comes to those who are transgender. People know and understand that the person is antoher gender, but because of the way society has boxed in the qualities of males and females, they forget to call them by the correct pronoun because they don't look like a stereotypical boy or girl. I'm excited to continue reading and find out how/if Genly is able to adapt and expand his way of thinking.
ReplyDeleteIt all comes down to how one is brought up and what their embedded idea of normal is. Like it was already stated, Genly is viewing Gethenians as different individuals because he knows that they are the only ones who are androgynous. Every other planet has genders. But to the Gethenians, androgynism is all they know and that is the correct lifestyle because any other and you're considered a pervert. It's obvious where they both could be confused but it is understandable, I would be shook if I met an androgynous alien too.
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