![]() The Xenogenesis trilogy presents a world in which humanity has destroyed the Earth in an unnamed conflict, the means unknown except that they are absolute. Interspecies Sex, Heteronormativity, and Ménage à trois Her challenge to human moral hegemony is implicit, but there is also an acute self-awareness throughout her work that suggests she wanted to inspire discussion. ![]() ![]() These stories show us how norms, particularly sexual ones, are flexible between worlds, cultures, and especially individuals. This essay will present an examination of how Butler challenges sexual norms, from the incest taboo in the Patternist series, to interspecies sex in the Lilith’s Brood trilogy, to pedophilia and rape in Fledgling, and arguably all three of these in her short story Bloodchild. Butler herself appears to take no moral position, simply presenting behaviors and situations that might be considered objectionable by some, and leaving it for them – be they readers or her characters – to discuss the implications. Butler, few are more perennial than sexuality and the inherent moral questions it raises. ![]() Amongst the many rich and complex topics tackled by legendary science-fiction author Octavia E. ![]()
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