Bloodchild

I thought that Bloodchild, although somewhat disgusting, was very interesting. The fact that humans are being used as vessels for another species to birth their young is very odd and almost perverse. The situation that Gan finds herself in seems similar to certain things that are happening in many societies today. Just like in Bloodchild, not everyone in our country has the option to choose what happens to their bodies. I think that this story comments on that in a very compelling way. This alien species has attempted to befriend the Terrans in order to use them for their own purposes. I can easily relate this to our own government. We have this group of people that manipulate others into thinking that they have their best interest in mind, all the while they are parasites using us for their own gain. 

Something else that also stood out to me about the story is how the Tlic people tend to impregnate men instead of women. This kind of further pushes the scenario because I think in some ways it challenges what I think of masculinity in society. I thought it was a little more disturbing knowing that the men were the ones being impregnated. Somehow in my mind that is worse than the women being the ones having to carry the burden. 

I would love to see this story extended into a full novel. I wish that Octavia Butler included a little more information as to what T'Gatoi actually looked like beyond her multiple limbs, so the first thing I would do is provide a few more details. Besides the appearance of the Tlic I am also curious of the overall setting of the story which we did not get many details about anyway. I would like to see how Butler invisions this future.