Jared Coleman
Doctor Beth McCoy
Throughout the fiction works of Octavia Butler, we as readers are constantly met with ideas requiring us to think and analyze at a much deeper level, to better understand that which is presented to us. I have found Butler’s works, both of this semester: Adulthood Rites and Dawn, and Bloodchild, which I studied last semester, to have sparked a much deeper process of thinking than I have felt during more traditional reading. Last semester, in a course focused on diving into Butler’s literary works in Bloodchild and Other Stories, I was introduced to the theme of humans present on a foreign planet, surrounded by controlling foreign beings. Initially, I found the ideas of Bloodchild to be confusing, and I found myself having difficulties grasping its deeper meanings. However, as we moved further into the semester, I began to gain a deeper understanding, as I grew alongside the main character, Gan.
Now as I engage Butler’s other works of fiction, I find myself going through the same process of learning and reflection. I feel both Adulthood Rites and Dawn present ideas that are eerily similar to those found in Bloodchild, especially in regards to their exploration of bodily autonomy, consent, and independence. In Bloodchild, we encounter a unique birthing process between the humans (Terrans) and the alien species known as the Tlic. The story presents this to us as a seeming rite of passage, as each host is raised around a Tlic in preparations for their implantation. “Consent is an act of implicating relations of power; it marks the presence of power, arrangements and actions that one does not oneself create but to which one submits.” (Wendy Brown, States of Inquiry). Much like the quote from Brown, throughout both Bloodchild and Dawn, consent is portrayed to us as not a free, autonomous decision, but as a forced and constrained choice. These stories both contain a power dynamic, whereas the one who gets to set the terms is placed in a position of much higher control; and it was through Brown’s quote that I was reminded that consent in these stories only happens within already-made systems that both Gan and Lilith have no control over. Both Butler and Brown present these ideas to us in a similar fashion, revealing to the reader that the control Gan and Lilth have over these decisions is seemingly limited to a yes or no, and are shaped and weighed unequally in a world where they no longer have a say.
The ideas of consent and autonomy of the body are heavily present both in this process and the story as a whole, as our Terran main character, Gan, has grown up with the belief that this is something he must do. Gan battles with his own beliefs of this process throughout the story as he grows through his experiences, learning to question both the morality and the meaning behind this process. and this is where I see the heaviest connection between Bloodchild and both works from this semester, as Gan begins to grow through his struggle between obligation and his autonomy.
Reading through Dawn, I found myself once again being met with this oddly familiar setting. In Dawn, we read from the perspective of a woman named Lilith, who we learn has found herself aboard a strange ship, inhabited by beings known as Oankali. The themes of bodily autonomy became immediately apparent to me once again as I learned that the Oankali had removed Lilith’s cancer from her body without her knowledge or consent. ““A cancer. We got rid of it. Otherwise, it would have killed you.”” Later in Adulthood Rites, we once again are exposed to this similar theme as Lilith is impregnated by the Oankali, not from her wishes, but from what the Oankali knew she felt, and what they felt was best for the betterment of themselves, “It made me pregnant, then told me about it. Said it was giving me what I wanted but would never come out and ask for.” (Butler, 27) This moment once again echoes the idea of having one’s bodily autonomy and choices ignored, and is equally reminiscent of Gan’s own experience, as both characters are forced to confront the loss of their bodily control. Immediately I made a mental connection of the similarities that were present between each of these works, as the Oankali way of life was one dependent on the alterations of DNA and genes, which shares the same similarities as the Tlic’s human dependence. Both Dawn and Bloodchild introduce us to protagonists who undergo growth and internal conflicts as they are forced to grapple with the ideas of their autonomy in a new environment where their own human choice and independence have been compromised.
Not only do I see the similarities between the growth of Lilith and Gan during their journeys and battles with their bodily control, but I feel that their stories are eerily reminiscent of current issues in our society and legislation. While I aim to maintain professionalism, I can’t help but see the striking parallels between these fictional struggles and the current legislative challenges surrounding reproductive rights. The present ongoing struggle of women, and their control over their own bodily and reproductive rights, which are now again being challenged by our current legislation, are issues that sadly are reminiscent of the issues with the struggles with the ideas of consent, bodily autonomy, and independence found in Butler’s works. I find it extremely troubling to see that the connection between the issues explored by Butler in works of speculative fiction has become a startling part of our reality. What I feel is my deepest “Butler Trouble” is that these seemingly fictional scenarios and issues are now sadly becoming non-fiction and much like my position as a reader whereas I was powerless to influence what was already written, in todays society, while I am not directly affected in the sense of bodily control, that doesn’t prevent me from offering my sympathy for the women in my family as well as those close to me who now have to battle with these issues regarding their autonomy.