Gender and Power Theme Analysis

Through the relationship between Gan and T’Gatoi, Butler uses an unfamiliar environment to critique familiar gender roles and the balance of power within stereotypical relationships. Gan, although male, is a representation of motherhood and traditionally feminine role (in human terms). By effectively gender-swapping these roles, Butler lifts them away from the reader’s preconceptions about men and women so that these roles can be considered in their own right. Butler uses this conceit to highlight the restrictive and harmful nature of traditional gender dynamics, in particular the ways in which rigid adherence to masculinity robs others of agency and power.

T’Gatoi, though female, reflects traditional masculinity. She is physically dominant, being ten feet in length and far more powerful than Gan. T’Gatoi never makes requests, but only gives commands, even when she is in Gan’s family’s home. When she brings sterile eggs for the family to drink, for instance, she dictates who gets how much. T’Gatoi is also socially dominant: she is a successful politician and the ruler of the Preserve, using this power to protect the Terrans from the “hordes” of desperate Tlic that would consume them. This reflects the dominance and responsibility that men have long held in patriarchal societies.

By contrast, it’s clear that Gan—occupying a traditionally female role—is not equal to T’Gatoi in their relationship. Gan has been chosen from birth to carry T’Gatoi’s children in his body, without ever having any say in the matter, as a part of a social contract between the Terran and the Tlic. His singular function in life is to help T’Gatoi have children. This parallels the arranged marriages of certain human societies wherein young women were promised as future brides at a very young age. It is further significant that the children Gan must bear are literally parasitic, just as an unwanted pregnancy may seem like a parasitic attachment, a foreign organism draining a woman’s strength and well-being. Until Gan comes of age, he has also been entirely submissive to T’Gatoi, doing whatever she asks and accepting whatever physical affection she gives. Even when T’Gatoi strikes him, knocking him across the room, Gan blames himself for not heeding her warning to obey her rather than blaming T’Gatoi for hurting him. It is also stated multiple times that Gan is T’Gatoi’s property. This again parallels the traditional subservience of women within patriarchal relationships.

T’Gatoi’s unmatched power and strength are critical for the protection of Gan’s family from the world, but cause inequity in her relationship with Gan. Butler uses their unbalanced relationship to critique the way that rigid masculinity often stunts relationships. Because T’Gatoi needs this power in the outside world to protect Gan and his family, she has not learned to show weakness or allow herself to be vulnerable within the relationship. This makes Gan feel powerless and drives him to suppress his own fears of her and what she will do to him in the birth process until it hardens into hatred. Gan even considers murdering T’Gatoi and killing himself, simply as an act of self-assertion. Butler here criticizes the exercise of traditional masculine power, which the story suggests creates a deeply unhealthy dynamic wherein men cannot admit vulnerability and women cannot exercise their own agency.

Only by embracing vulnerability is T’Gatoi able to make space for Gan to confront his fears and take agency in their relationship. Butler is firmly arguing that is in the best interest of both men and women for men to let go of their power and for women to assert their autonomy. Although T’Gatoi chose Gan from birth, Gan is not able to truly choose T’Gatoi until Gan forces her to accept the risk of allowing Gan to have agency. This manifests specifically in his demand that T’Gatoi allow the family to keep their illegal rifle, despite the fact that that means her children will be around a potential weapon in the future. By allowing for that uncertainty, T’Gatoi joins Gan in feeling the fear of not being in control. He tells her, “Leave it here … Accept the risk. There is risk, Gatoi, in dealing with a partner.” Gan’s newfound ability to choose T’Gatoi for himself, rather than being forced to submit, gives him a personal stake in the relationship and the wellbeing of their future Tlic children. Not only is he willing to be with T’Gatoi, but he wants to be with her. He wants to honor her by caring for her young. Butler suggests that not only is a balance of power within the relationship more ethical, but it is also far more fruitful. When both parties accept the risk of dealing with a true partner—rather than a subordinate—they allow for the creation of genuine trust.

Significantly, Butler’s critique of gender roles does not aim to abolish them entirely. Indeed, by setting Gan and T’Gatoi’s relationship against a hostile environment, the author shows the clear need for traditionally masculine power in some circumstances, such as T’Gatoi’s use of political dominance to protect Gan’s family and the other Terrans in the Preserve from the Tlic masses who are desperate for hosts. Even so, Butler strongly argues for equity within a relationship. This redistribution of power will be better both for each individual’s development as well as their strength as a unit.