Perla Soto
English 102
12 December 2018
We come into this world assuming that we are who everyone says we are. The moment
we pop out of the cave we receive the almighty, “it’s boy” or “it’s a girl”. We spend our entire
lives being indirectly told that we have to act a certain way because of who we were told from
birth. David Henry Hwang and Ursula K. Le Guin demonstrate to us through their literature that
gender and sexuality are the driving forces within our societies. The manner in which we
function is based on this apparent idea that a woman is dainty and submissive while the male is
masculine and physically superior. Why should people have to live up to the presumptions of
their genders?
In M. Butterfly we see the story of a romantic tragedy unfold during the time of the
Vietnam war. The main protagonist, is a white western man, named Rene Gallimard, who works
for the French Embassy. This man is fixated with the fantasy of attaining the woman who will
come through with his most wished for desires. In his eyes he has a specific blueprint idea of the
misogynistic male the perfect woman is submissive, she is self-disciplined, and has the will to do
anything for her male dominant. This so-called perfect woman is willing to do anything and
whatever it takes to help reach satisfactory level with the male dominant. The will of the
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submissive woman could be shown by the way she decides to dress, from her staying quiet and
only speaking when it is necessary, or by doing things that are unknown and uncomfortable to
her. The time and place where the story of these lovers begins is at the opera. Here is where
Gallimard is immediately intrigued by a performer who was playing the role of Madame
Butterfly, a Japanese woman, who falls in love with a western man in the navy. The man leaves
the woman and she commits suicide. Fascinated by the performance Gallimard goes to look for
the actress who goes by the name of Song Liling. At first impressions Song is not too fond of
Gallimard. To him Madame Butterfly is a beautiful story because the woman committed an
honorable sacrifice for a man who was “unworthy” of her unlimited supply of love. However,
Song sees it otherwise. If the story was the other way around with a skinny, mini, boobie,
blondie who falls in love with a short statured Japanese businessman it would not have the same
value. Picture him treating the woman poorly and leaving her for some time while she sits and
prays for his return. Then when she finds out that the man who she had fallen for has married
another woman, she kills herself. This version of the story would not be glorified by Gallimard
because it is not an Oriental woman who ends her life for a western man (Hwang 18). Even
without having to see the roles changed in that story it is difficult to grasp the concept of
someone sacrificing their life for a person that will inflict emotional pain onto you and not have
any remorse for their actions. What makes the story even worse is that the woman falls in love
with a married man; how is betrayal and heartbreak beautiful? Within this love story are two
people who are both at fault for letting the events escalade to drastic extremes such as, suicide.
This is a perfect example of what a woman should not do. Sure, women are allowed to be dainty
but, that does not mean that she should be easily swoon over by little words that may or may not
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be true. For instance, being told that she is the love of his life even though he is a married man.
In addition, the male in the situation could have avoided all the conflict by telling the woman the
truth and not being so harsh as to leaving her to suffer without a care about how his actions will
affect her.
The truth about the perfect Oriental woman is revealed to the audience when we are told
that Song Liling is really a male spy taking information from Gallimard for the communist
government. It is interesting because although it was all an act, Song never broke character. In
the scenes where she appears without the accompaniment of Gallimard she continues the female
facade. Song is a male who wears clothing that is for “women” like dresses and skirts and things
along those lines. Dresses in general are comfortable so why is it a problem that she wears them?
If Song is comfortable in clothing that is feminine based then she should be allowed to wear it.
When dressed in the feminine clothing Song shows confidence whether it is through her
sexuality or her general way of portraying herself. There is a segment where her fellow Comrade
even protests about the dress she wears; perhaps deep down Song is a cross dresser. She keeps up
the act for over twenty years without ever being questioned by Gallimard. Song pleases
Gallimard without ever showing him what lies beneath her clothes. Many times he would ask her
to show herself to him, but the idea was brushed off by Song reminding him of her conservative
ways. Even though he never got Song to take off her clothes he would still get what he wanted;
For humans it is a normal thing to refer to someone as he or she which is what Genly Ai
does in The Left Hand Of Darkness t o cope with the concept of people not having a specific
gender. In this novel a human is plonked on a planet where the people are androgynous beings.
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Gethenians, which are the residents of the planet, choose to have either male or female sexual
organs for certain days of the month; that is called kemmer. Most of the time they are genderless.
Ai makes the effort to understand and come to terms with the whole idea of gender amongst
people not existing. Imagine living in a place where comparing oneself to the opposite sex is
nonexistent. The one person who he struggles to accept is Estraven, who is the protagonist of the
novel. This conflict relates to our society on how there are people who are not accepting towards
specific genders and to sexual preferences of certain people; such as transgender or bisexual. He
feels hostility and lacks trust in Estraven. In his sexist male point of view there are feelings of
suspicion and inhibition towards someone who feels concern and classifies them as feminine
qualities. On the contrary, features that astonish him or the things he finds to be satisfactory he
classifies as masculine (Cornell). Since the androgynous beings are nothing like his known
customs it is difficult for him to picture a world where a specific, binary, gender is obsolete. Ai
attempts to grasp and clarify the world that is around him. He does so by showcasing his own
culture and using his prefered way of communicating; it is all to make this new world more
relatable and simpler to live in. Although he is trying to get a better understanding of this world
he does it in way that changes who the Gethanians truly are solely for the purpose of him not
feeling uncomfortable with them. As his journey takes place he learns that he should not judge
only on what he sees. The main issue we are presented is the overall struggle Ai faces with
accepting and understanding who Estraven is. It is known that Ai is not fond of Estraven, but
eventually a connection made between the two. It is possible that in the beginning Ai found
interest in Estraven due his soft female-like features and his masculine character when taking
part as prime minister. However, he was afraid to see the reality of Estraven’s true self. Ai
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pretended to not see Estraven for who he was; both a woman and a man. The problem originally
arose from Ai’s need to categorize Estraven in a definite gender rather than just as a person.
People should not be judged on their quirks or certain characteristics they may have, but rather
for their actions and how they treat others in general life situations.
Ultimately, from both works of literature a lesson was learned. Both M. Butterfly and The
Left Hand of Darkness demonstrate that it is okay to for a male to be emotional and be in touch
with an inner feminine side. There is no shame in loving whoever it is you love. Also, that a
bond between two people should not be undermined because it makes a third party
“uncomfortable”. We are all made as individuals, with our own thoughts, and each of us have
our own feelings. No one should be told how they should or should not feel. Life would be much
simpler if people did not have labels of confinement, which are genders. Picture the simplicity of
being neutral and not having to think about these black and white concepts. There would be no
need for anyone to assume superiority towards anyone else. If we were to strip ourselves of our
skin, besides the reproductive, and genital organs, we would look and be the same. Under the
skin we are all made of the same materials. If we could simply ignore genders and sexuality we
would have more room for the things that matter the most. Issues like sexism and discrimination
The need to have fixed gender roles and sexuality comes from the notion that people have
to be put into categories. We live in a world that is the complete opposite to that of The Left
Hand of Darkness. In the world we live in people get classified as males or females, gay or
straight, transgender or pansexual, etc. Along with those classifications come the assumptions of
how a person has to act. Gender roles within our societies reckon how a person should act,
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articulate, groom oneself, and dress accordingly to their given sex. Women, for instance, have to
dress in a way that meets the feminine standards, they have to be mannerly, and be the nurturing
figure. Men on the other hand, are strong, show no emotions, and they are the ones who contain
the power. If a person wants to dress a certain way, wants to love a certain person, and do
anything in particular they should be allowed without a problem. The ability that a person has
should not be determined by the gender they were given when they came into this world. If a
male wants to wear a dress or skirt he should be allowed. If the male feels sensitive for whatever
reason, he should be allowed to express his sensitivity. The life that a person wants to live should
not be compromised because of their reproductive organs. Lastly, but certainly not the least, just
because a woman is a woman it does not make her inferior to the male.
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Works Cited
Cornell, Christine. “The Interpretive Journey in Ursula K. Le Guin's the Left Hand of Darkness.”
library.lavc.edu:2063/eds/detail/detail?vid=7&sid=b137f521-a25c-4fad-b17c-28fb3276381c%40
sdc-v-sessmgr03&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3D#AN=edsgcl.82469994&db=edsglr.
library.lavc.edu:2063/eds/detail/detail?vid=7&sid=b137f521-a25c-4fad-b17c-28fb3276381c%40
sdc-v-sessmgr03&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsgcl.82469994&db=edsglr.
Haedicke, Janet V.. "David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly: The Eye on the Wing." Journal of
Dramatic Theory and Criticism . Vol. 23..(1992): Web.<From Literature Resource Center>.
Le Guin, Ursula K.. The Left Hand Of Darkness. Ace Books, 1969. Print.
Hwang, Henry David. M. Butterfly. Longman Publishing Group, 1993. Print.
Shimakawa, Karen. "JHU Press." "Who's to say?" or, making space for gender and ethnicity in
'M. Butterfly.'. J ohns Hopkins University Press, Oct 1993. Web. <http://www.press.jhu.edu>.