We have came to the point in class where we just completed our third book. While none of them have been my personal favorites or have made me tremendously excited, none of them have been awful either. I was reflecting on the book choice and comparing the science fiction methods of writings of each book and trying to make connection between the three when one glaring thing stuck out to me. How much of a role gender has played so far in every book! Gender has not just been some underlying theme, it has been arguably the central and most important aspect of every book we have read. Which is impressive considering all of the books have been science fiction/Utopian/Dystopian and how different each three have truly been from the other.

In left hand of darkness it is obvious what complex role gender is going to play from the very beginning of the story. In a gender neutral society Genry Ai tells an account through a male perspective. The whole story is his gendered perspective on things which really falls short of describing events on Gethen. Even if he could describe the event through a gender-less perspective it would be hard for us to comprehend it because we are tailored into a gender based society. So even though the role of gender is obvious in The Left Hand of Darkness it has the most complex role of the three novels.

In Kindred we took a step back from the glaring role of gender but I would still argue its relevance and that it is one of the central themes. While race determined Dana’s role in the antebellum south more than anything, her gender influenced her role in the past and present. The passage that specifically talked about her and Kevin’s fight hinted around this. Kevin is proven to have no racial tensions throughout the book but the fight scene is one in which they argue about a power struggle. Kevin is telling Dana to do his work because he feels he should  be able to tell her these things being the one in power, which I really viewed as the typically man vs woman power struggle we see in marriage. We also see gender play a huge role in the way Dana is treated by Rufus because if it wasn’t for his sexual preference for her then her situation would have been much different. It is obvious the feelings he has for her until the very end when he forces his self on her. The whole plot of the story would be changed if Dana was a man or if her ancestor, Rufus, was a woman.

The gender role in Handmaids Tale is another obvious one but it has a few layers. The obvious fact is that woman have been completely destroyed in this new society. They have basically no powers and no rights unless they have a relationship with one of the commanders and even then they are far less from than they are in todays society. I think that was obvious but also I think the book was trying to tell us something more about gender with the entire plot of the story. I think the whole idea that this could one day happen or that “the only fictional thing about the story is the time and place” concepts are hinting around the way society viewed gender in 1986. I think that today as a society the idea is a little far fetched and it probably was then too but just form historical knowledge we know that women have not always been viewed as equals like they are today. Even 40 years ago we know that women were more restricted in society and I think Margaret Atwood was calling society out on this inequality. It is her way of saying listen, we need to open our eyes and realize somethings before something seriously bad happens.

In all, no matter how different the authors present gender in the books, it is still the central theme. I think this says a lot about how, even though these books are highly fictional, they are still sending a message and ideas. It really is eye opening and interesting to think about the message the author is trying to get through in a science fiction book because after reading these three novels, I truly believe the authors were trying to do more than sell books.