Octavia Butler Bloodchild Analysis

“Bloodchild” is a science fiction story written by Octavia Butler that tells the experience of a young boy named Gan who is chosen to carry T’Gatoi’s eggs. In this dystopian society, these insect-like creatures called Tlic inhabit the planet and find that human males (but also females) are good hosts to carry their eggs. This society consists of female Tlic’s who impregnate human males with their larvae, while leaving females to bear human children. On the day that Gan is to be impregnated by T’Gatoi (his chosen Tlic), Lomas (an N’Tlic who is currently carrying a Tlic’s eggs) stumbles upon them when his eggs are about to hatch and his Tlic is nowhere to be in sight. Now, in this society, it’s dangerous for a host to give birth without their Tlic. If the egg …show more content…
In the society that Butler creates, the process of implantation involves a female alien and a male human, which switches the power dynamics between these two genders. Gan is a young male who assumes the role of a “woman” in this society, while T’Gatoi does so for “man.” By creating this role reversal, Butler is able to have men and women see through the eyes of the opposite sex in regards to the gender roles that they assume. In this society, Gan is a young male who is placed in a submissive role when he gives himself to T’Gatoi and allows her to impregnate him. In a familiar manner, the males are seen as “hosts” to a Tlic’s eggs and reflect females in our society – who are “hosts” to an unborn fetus. In Butler’s story, human females can only bear human children while human males are left to carry a Tlic’s eggs. Despite this, the female Tlic is the one to assume the dominant role and is needed to perform a cesarean on the N’Tlic. Butler’s story is a role reversal that has females being the ones to penetrate males and place them in a position similar to ones that we see our society place females