Abstract
People in positions of privilege often have difficulty understanding the perspectives of the oppressed. The following article analyzes Octavia Butler’s short story “Bloodchild” as placing the readers in the perspective of the oppressed humans in the story. This framework also relates to Sarah Ray’s thesis in “Ecological Other: Environmental Exclusion in American Culture” that environmental oppression often occurs at the physical level of the human body. The present article outlines the ways in which Butler uses the body as a physical site of oppression to render the issue of race- or gender-based exploitation relevant to readers of different demographics.
Recommended Citation
Charvonia, Alissa
(2016)
"Becoming the “Other”: How “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler Helps Readers Frame Human Colonization of the Environment,"
Race and Pedagogy Journal: Teaching and Learning for Justice: Vol. 2:
No.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/rpj/vol2/iss1/2
Included in
Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons