The Question of Sex

Of the Gethenian myths and folklore shared in the story, I found The Question of Sex to be one of the most intriguing stories. It's told from the point of view of an investigator, another human like Genly, yet holds importance in its explanations. The investigator takes note on how Gethen became a cold, undesirable planet to live on from a warmer planet like Earth and left the Gethenians had to  adapt to the has conditions at hand over time. They also discuss how kemmer takes place only from the 23rd to 28th day of the month, leaving the possibility of anyone being a mother or a father for the rest of the days. I found both pieces of information interesting because we see the negative side effects of Gethen's environment when King Argaven's child died not long after birth, most likely having been due to to the cold. It's also a factor that leads many Gethenians to honor life more as not everyone gets to live into adulthood and may be one of the reasons why suicide is such a shame of an action. Kemmer in itself has fascinated me because it has made it virtually impossible for anyone to be sexually shamed for an action. Everyone is treated the same and has equal opportunity while not having to be tied down by sexual repression or needs for the majority of the month and has allowed Gethen to develop some of the societies Genly comes to take note of throughout the book. Overall, I feel the equity found on Gethen is what makes the book feel as alien to us as it does to Genly. Genly is generally sexist in many of the observations he makes, but it’s because he comes from our society where women and men have come to have expected gender roles. With Gethen, we're given a place where a king can be pregnant and people have been able to settle with their own customs and culture without gender becoming a limitation on what can be done. Maybe a little gender fluidity is all we need to innovate and expand in the same ways some day.