Gender in Modern Society: A Critical Analysis of The Left Hand of Darkness Jarrett Nichole Bowen College

In 1969, Ursula K. Le Guin published an extraordinary science-fiction novel, entitled The Left Hand of Darkness, which earned the prestigious Hugo and Nebula Awards and changed the scope of the science-fiction genre in and of itself. The novel achieved these awards and its momentous impact on the genre due to its fantastic, unabridged work in dissecting human psychology, evaluating the development of culture, and introducing critical questions about sex and sexism in modern society. Le Guin’s book follows Genly Ai, a native Terran male sent to the planet of Gethen as an Envoy from an organization of eighty-three other human-inhabited worlds called the Ekumen, with the sole purpose of convincing the Gethenian people to join the Ekumen’s universal community for the mutual benefits of trading goods and knowledge, as well as to further the unity of humanity across the stars. However, the cultural divide between the Gethenians and Genly prevents him from succeeding in his mission throughout most of the book. While Genly is a biological male, the Gethenians have no fixed sex. Instead, they undergo a unique kemmer cycle once a month, in which they embody the male or female sex for a few days in order to procreate before returning back...