While I was reading Left Hand of Darkness and trying to keep an open mind about a race of people that don't seem to have a set sex I kept getting sidetracked by the great many references to "he." I started to take note of this more and more and realized that for a race that is supposed to be lacking of any particular sex until "kemmer," they seem to still be predominantly male. Le Guin does not explain the use of "he" until later in the book (page 94). There she states from the notes of one of the first investigators that the use of "he" is meant to refer to the race of people and not the sex. She says "it is less defined, less speific." (page 94) However, everytime I see the word "he" I immediately think of a male, especially the way Le Guin actually describes the Gethenians. She may attribute female characteristics to this race but for the most part they seem very masculine. For instance on page 47 the main character is describing his landlady but then says, "a voluble man." Why not say person instead of man, this may open up the door to better understanding. In some ways I can understand using "he" to describe a group of people but at the same time feel slightly offended because when someone says "he" most people will immediately picture a male. I can't help but wonder if there was another term Le Guin could have come up with that would allow readers to stay neutral about sex and not be swayed towards one or the other. This is science fiction after all and it is perfectly acceptable to make up words.
Another way that the book seems more masculine is when the Gethenians themselves talk about sex. When children are born they are completely derived of sex and do not even begin to establish this until a sort of puberty. Yet on page 72 when Estraven is describing his relationship with Ashe and how to help him he refers to "our sons'" and on page 73 states, "we were kemmerings, and had two sons." If they are truely without sex why not refer them as just children? By using the term son he is making them male not androgynous. Using the term children would indicate that they are neither female or male, just children. Another reference is made to sons when on page 99 it is mentioned that the king is pregnant and is going to have a "king-son". Again, why not say a king-child? I find these references very interseting because to me they indicate a male society.
There is also another reference to make this world seem male dominated when the main character is visiting the Foretellers and is describing the "pervert." On Winter the pervert is someone who is more or less permenantly stuck in one gender and has lost the ability to switch back and forth during "kemmering." The interesting opart is that the pervert in this part of the story is stuck on the male side with "exagerrated maleness." (page 63) Why make the pervert male? There didn't seem to be any specific reason for this.
It just seems odd to me that this race, Gethenians, are supposed to be without sex until "kemmer" yet they all seem to be male. I know it is just they way my mind is perceiving the information in the book but I can;t help but notice those references towards the male gender. I just think that there was another way Le Guin could have gone about describing these people, their children, and the abnormal ones without making references to sons and males. It just puts the wrong images in my mind and makes it hard to remain open.
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