What does Bloodchild say about love?

 What does Bloodchild say about love? 

The relationship between Gan and T’Gatoi left a bad taste in my mouth. After reading the story once, I assumed their relationship was intended to be interpreted as manipulative. However, here’s what Octavia Butler had to say about the story: “It amazes me that some people have seen Bloodchild as a story of slavery. It isn’t. It’s a number of other things, though. On one level, it’s a love story between two very different beings.”

Personally, I still think Bloodchild makes more sense as a slavery narrative than as a love story. However, I can’t really argue with Butler about what she intended when she wrote the story. So from this point on, fine, Bloodchild is about love, presumably between Gan and T’Gatoi. But if that’s the case, what is Butler trying to say about love?

The society in this story is poorly designed for easy love between Terrans and T’Lic. Terrans have much less autonomy than T’Lic. The T’Lic seem to be the only species who participates in legislation that polices both parties. Terrans all have to live on Preserve, supposedly for their safety. Terrams aren’t allowed guns or weapons, leaving them defenseless against the T’Lic. And, Terrans are required to give at least one of their children to a T’Lic family to bear their young. The power imbalance between the two species is clear. 

Another example of a power imbalance: Gan was groomed by T’Gatoi. Gan was prepared and trained, from birth, to carry T’Gatoi’s children. As a result, he is more comfortable with the idea of “birth”, and with T’Lic in general, than other members of his family. The fact that T’Gatoi knew Gan since birth and was shaping him to be more receptive to their relationship, and to completing a pretty invasive task for her, makes their relationship uncomfortable at best. 

An important question is, can Gan really say no to his relationship with T’Gatoi? The answer is… sort of? But as I mentioned, at least one person in his family has to do this, so he knows the responsibility won’t just disappear. It’s basically him or his sister. Also, T’Gatoi’s grooming has been effective. Gan cares about her, and doesn’t like the idea of being replaced. He tells T’Gatoi, he agreed in order to save Hoa, “And to keep you for myself.” So he sees birth as an undesirable thing he must save his sister from, but also as something he must do in order to preserve his relationship with T’Gatoi, who has purposefully made him dependent on her, much like the T’Lic have done to the Terrans in general.

So basically… there’s no way Butler wrote this relationship with this much toxicity by accident. If so, I’m seriously concerned about her upbringing and the state of her own relationships. Giving her the maximum benefit of the doubt, I would have to guess that Bloodchild is a cynical take on love. Another statement she made about the story might support this: “it’s a coming-of-age story in which a boy must absorb disturbing information and use it to make a decision that will affect the rest of his life.” Maybe, through Bloodchild, Butler is attempting to depict certain sad facts about power differentials between sexes, races, and classes that affect relationships in the real world. Maybe Gan is meant to represent a young person becoming aware of these factors and consciously navigating them for the first time, whilst maintaining a relationship that definitely isn’t perfect, but maybe still holds a valuable connection. That’s my best guess. Otherwise, Octavia is kind of messed up.