In the novel “The Left Hand of Darkness,” Ursula Le Guin states that the world is moving from alien politics to alien bodies. In the article, the writer argues that one has to concentrate on the walls that separate them from one another: both the physical and metaphorical barriers. The author further writes that one has to think of the body as the first wall that they have. She writes, ‘We all need our bodies’ (78). The paper states that the body structure has been used to create distinctions in all aspects of human living. For instance, the writer gives the example of the Catholic, which has never allowed women to be priests. The article also states that the Congress has for a long time been composed of men only. Le Guin, however, states that in the fictional Gethen, people have both sexes. They change their genders based on the partners. In the novel Le Guin writes, ‘The Gethenians are androgynousthey change their sex depending on their partnersa Gethenian who gives birth one year has the ability to sire a child the nest year’ (106).
In essence, I believe that the term androgynous used by Le Guin in the novel is symbolic to mean that the people have no gender-specific roles. It signifies equality in the society. Since this is not normal in an ideal society, the writer refers to the people as alien bodies. I believe that the author pushes a point that it is possible to have gender equality and still maintain a proper society. One can observe this from the desire of the alien being referred to as a human and not man or woman.
I believe that the writer has a solid point, which contributes to gender equality. Primarily, the society needs to eliminate all physical gender roles because they contribute to the oppression of the female gender and belittling of the women. The only gender roles that should be emphasized are biological ones like giving birth.
Work Cited
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness. Hachette UK, 2012.
