Gender Evolution: Observing dynamic gender within China Miéville's Perdido Street Station
Advisor Information
Kristin Girten
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
6-3-2015 9:00 AM
End Date
6-3-2015 10:30 AM
Abstract
The relationship between Yagharek, a Grarduda “bird-man” warrior creature, and Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, an unorthodox research biologist, within China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station (2000) suggests that gender is an ever evolving social construct which is expressed through social interaction, and is affected by experiences of gendered individuals. China Miéville is a science fiction writer who saturates his work with allegorical illustrations of political, humanist, and social commentaries. I want to emphasize one relationship within Perdido Street Station – that of the one between Isaac and Yagharek. While observing their alliance throughout the story, it can be noted that their gender is changing, evolving as the plot thickens and we are swept up into a thrill ride of Science Fiction. With outside research and my own evaluation into this phenomenon presented, I am going to dissect this kinship, between Yagharek and Isaac, while exposing its allegorical connection to current theories of gender identity. I will demonstrate that Yagharek and Isaac’s gendered identities are dynamic; they are constantly transforming throughout the course of the novel. These transformations are allegorically suggesting that gender is constructed by the individual and is not an innate characteristic. Based on my own outside research, it is clear that Miéville’s depiction of gender, through Yagharek and Isaac, is correct.
Gender Evolution: Observing dynamic gender within China Miéville's Perdido Street Station
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
The relationship between Yagharek, a Grarduda “bird-man” warrior creature, and Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, an unorthodox research biologist, within China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station (2000) suggests that gender is an ever evolving social construct which is expressed through social interaction, and is affected by experiences of gendered individuals. China Miéville is a science fiction writer who saturates his work with allegorical illustrations of political, humanist, and social commentaries. I want to emphasize one relationship within Perdido Street Station – that of the one between Isaac and Yagharek. While observing their alliance throughout the story, it can be noted that their gender is changing, evolving as the plot thickens and we are swept up into a thrill ride of Science Fiction. With outside research and my own evaluation into this phenomenon presented, I am going to dissect this kinship, between Yagharek and Isaac, while exposing its allegorical connection to current theories of gender identity. I will demonstrate that Yagharek and Isaac’s gendered identities are dynamic; they are constantly transforming throughout the course of the novel. These transformations are allegorically suggesting that gender is constructed by the individual and is not an innate characteristic. Based on my own outside research, it is clear that Miéville’s depiction of gender, through Yagharek and Isaac, is correct.