The Left Hand of Darkness was an interesting read that I felt tackled a few concerns that are present within many people that are within our society. I enjoyed the book in that our main character, Genly Ai, acted as our interpreter; we saw these unfamiliar events through a familiar medium, with that medium being another person. Many of Ai's experiences and reactions to the events that occurred throughout the story were made much more relatable through this, especially the issues present in the book that relate to a bit of my day to day life.
One of the issues the book touched upon was the idea of gender identification. On the first planet Ai lands on, he discovers that its citizens are genderless and only have a specified gender two times per month. Not only that, but they may choose which gender they wish to be depending on the relationship they are in. While reading, I mostly thought of this as an odd, yet intriguing concept. In hindsight, though, this concept of not belonging to two very distinct groups, although removing some of the issues that may exist in having those two groups, presents its own issues. Many people today wish to identify as gender fluid, or as the opposite gender, as well as having some other interests. Having the two groups of genders today present a whole lot of expectations. Many of these expectations are a bit hindering on their respective genders, but they also allow us, as a culture, to be able to predict at least a little bit of how some people may react to certain things. Removing these two genders, many of these "expectations," or stereotypes disappear. When the categories are gone, the characteristics become less specific, leaving room for a bit more confusion in some behavioral expectations.
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