October 2, 2016 - 14:59
The short story "Bloodchild" by Octavia E. Butler explores the complexity of the relationship between Gan and T'Gatoi. T'Gatoi is a Tlic, which is a powerful kind of creature who needs to implant its eggs in another living creature in order to reproduce. Gan is a Terran, which are the Tlic's favorite vessels. The relationship between their two species was influenced by decades of violence, revenge, and efforts towards peace. "Bloodchild", however, focuses less on the history of these conflicts and more on the relationship between the two individuals. Gan and T'Gatoi's lives are complexly woven together, but their relationship is heavily complicated by the power dynamics of their two species. Likewise, in the essay “Ravens at Play”, differences in power are the main factor complicating the authors’ attempts towards interspecies play. They hesitate to feed a coyote, knowing that the human species has the power to both feed and kill coyotes at will. However, when the three humans encounter a pair of ravens, they are able to play almost as equals. These texts demonstrate how, with communication, confidence, knowledge, and attentiveness, it is possible to navigate complex interactions between beings with different levels of power, and how these interactions can go wrong without those components
In “Bloodchild”, we learn that the Tlic are larger and stronger, and able to sting the Terran to death. They are also the ones who govern their shared society and gave themselves the right to use Terran children as incubators. The main weapon the Terran have against the Tlic is firearms, which are now banned. It’s clear that having guns wasn’t enough to shift the power balance on a societal scale, as we learn that entire Terran families were, “wiped out in reprisal back during the assassinations.” (Butler 5) But, within the relationship between Gan and T’Gatoi, a single rifle is enough to completely upend the balance of power. When Gan threatens to shoot himself, T’Gatoi offers to use Gan’s sister as a host instead of Gan. “Bloodchild” is, at heart, an exploration of the various ways that the imbalance of power can affect people’s lives, especially when they make no effort to address that imbalance.
For me, being in a relationship with a straight, neurotypical man brought up similar issues, of power on both macro and micro scales. As I mentioned in my first essay, we both had similar amounts of race and class privilege. In terms of gender, sexuality, and mental health, however, society privileged his identities over mine. No matter how either of us behaved within our relationship, those facts weren’t going to change. In all fairness, the vast majority of the time, the gap in our levels of privilege was a non-issue. In the relationship itself, we were on more or less equal footing. But, when issues of gender, sexuality, or mental health came up, we were forced to confront the difficult topic of what it means to have a power imbalance that was out of our control.
There was one instance, in particular, where it suddenly became apparent to me that we were standing on opposite sides of a power divide. We were walking side-by-side in downtown Chicago, when a man drove by and shouted something obscene about my appearance, which made me visibly upset. My boyfriend, however, seemed confused about why it had bothered me at all. He didn’t understand how it could have hurt me, especially since, as he pointed out, it was technically a compliment. He joked that he wished people would shout nice things at him from cars. In that moment, I was incredibly frustrated. I didn’t know why he was failing to grasp something that seemed beyond obvious to me.
Once I calmed down a bit, I explained to him how being catcalled like that makes me feel objectified and violated, not complimented. I talked about how it doesn’t always stop at words, how it’s part of a larger culture in which men sometimes follow you for blocks, touch you without your consent, and feel like they’re entitled to your body just because you’re a woman in a world where that’s a very dangerous thing to be. He listened to what I had to say and apologized, saying he had never really given it much thought. I can remember thinking that it must be such a privilege to have never had to give it much thought.
After reading the essay, “Ravens at Play”, I noticed that these issues of relationships with imbalances of power were reflected in the intricacies of interspecies play. These similarities compelled me to update this essay to further explore how we can negotiate these complex situations. In the essay, one of the authors, Stuart Cooke, tries to ascertain what is necessary for successful interspecies interactions. In order for ravens to play with humans, for example, Cooke notes that they needed to have, “not only a daring, but a keen knowledge of human biomechanics (our speed), as well as a confidence in their skills.” (Cooke 333) After looking at my own situation with my boyfriend, and other situations with differences in privilege, I was struck by how easily all of these could apply. It requires daring, because you must be willing to be to put in the work necessary, despite the risks. Knowing the history and the current state of the social issue that divides you is also important, as having this shared knowledge can make it easier to see eye-to-eye. As for confidence, I see that translating to a sense of security. If you don’t trust the intentions of the other person or your own strength, you’re not going to want to engage in such a potentially risky relationship. It made me wish that I had read this essay a couple years ago, so I could have used these tools to address the inequalities I saw in my relationship.
In my experience, and in “Ravens at Play”, the most important factor for navigating these relationships seems to be attentiveness. You need to pay attention to the other person and try to understand the situation through their eyes. In “Ravens at Play”, Cooke writes that, “It is because we were attentive to the dangling strands of the ravens’ playful narrative, therefore, that we were ourselves able to join in.” (Cooke 334) With attention comes empathy, which the real key to playing or being in a relationship with someone who, through circumstance alone, is in a different position of power or privilege. You have to willing to let go of your own notions and experiences for a moment and try to understand why the other person feels the way they do, even when it may not make sense to you.
Addressing imbalances of power starts with acknowledging that they exist, but it can’t stop there. Failing to address these issues can lead to a situation like in “Bloodchild”, Gan holding a gun to his head and T’Gatoi threatening to use his sister instead of him, or the authors of “Ravens at Play” carelessly choosing to feed the coyote. However, in either of these situations, the problem wouldn’t have been rectified by merely noting who has power and who doesn’t. It would require a long and arduous process, involving learning about the history that precedes your conflict, acquiring the daring and confidence necessary, and most importantly, paying attention and striving to understand. There’s no quick or easy way to fix such daunting issues, even on a two-person scale, but the rewards of doing so make it worthwhile. Without confidence, knowledge, and attentiveness, the authors of “Ravens at Play” would have never been able to witness the beauty of the raven’s play, how they “danced and glided in the fading penumbra.” (Cooke 332) There is so much we can learn from the lives of the people who we are often taught to stand in opposition to, and from the animals who we are taught to think that we are better than. When we are able to summon our courage, do our research, and keep our eyes open, we have access to entire worlds that would otherwise remain beyond our reach.
References
Butler, O. E. (1995). Bloodchild and Other Stories. New York City: Four Walls, Eight Windows.
Pinsky, E. L. (2016). June Jordan Response (Unpublished essay). Bryn Mawr.
Rose, Deborah Bird, Stuart Cooke and Thom Van Dooren. "Ravens at Play." Cultural Studies Review 17, 2 (September 2011), 326-43.