Abstract
Octavia Butler is one of the only writers of science fiction who identifies as a black lesbian. This genre of writing, usually dominated by the white male experience, finds new light as Butler’s characters display myriad unique perspectives and identities. The conflicts and issues her fiction delves into hold significance to the Queer community. This paper explores two of her novels, Dawn and Adulthood Rites, as well as her short story “Bloodchild,” elucidating upon connections Butler makes between her fiction and the dehumanization any given person may feel as a part of humanity’s need to maintain hierarchical structures of inequality. Though Butler writes from the social position of a black lesbian, her fiction suggests a displacement of social structure would be favorable to any attempts to fix what humans have already established. Thus, Butler suggests the only solutions to human inadequacy are extinction or post humanization.
Recommended Citation
Hart, Daniel
(2012)
"A New Way For Life: Striving for Post-Humanity in Octavia Butler’s Fiction,"
Proceedings of GREAT Day: Vol. 2011, Article 14.
Available at:
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/proceedings-of-great-day/vol2011/iss1/14