September 12, 2014 - 15:52
When I encountered Hank Green randomly in the airport, he was to me, a celebrity. His vast fanbase combined with his achievements made it clear that my position in the online community we shared was greatly unbalanced. He is the one who talks, I am one of the many who listen. He has a certain amount of power over his viewers, in that his words can influence their actions. With such a large viewership, his ideas and thoughts and goals can spread to a wide variety of people. To an extent, the fans play a role in the community, saying what they like and dislike, adding ideas of their own and stating what they disagree with. However, at the end of the day, he is the leader. If he says something, people tend to believe it. Hank tends to use his power for good. He holds charity events and performs in concerts, creates educational content and works to make the world a better place. However, there are people within the “youtube community” in similar positions of power who have in the past used their power in a negative way. Recently, there were several scandals that came to light. These were men on youtube, singers and bloggers and entertainers, who entered into relationships with girls much younger than themselves. Their power as performers and as celebrities, combined with the power their older age brought was used to put these young girls in abusive situations. In these cases the men didn’t always know their behavior was abusive, because frequently the victims didn’t outright say no, or let things they were uncomfortable with happen after being persuaded. The reason this was abuse though, was because the age difference combined with their position of celebrity put them in a position where they were often uncomfortable saying no. Many of the girls felt like their positions were enviable, that other girls would kill to be in their positions therefore they were not in a place to say no. They were scared to speak out because of the number of supporters these celebrities had. They feared their story wouldn’t be believed, that they would be blamed for their abuse. One girl stepped forward with her story of being in abusive relationship with one man. Then another came out with a similar story about her relationship with him. Then another shared her experience in an abusive relationship with a different man. Many allegations eventually came to light, some of the men issued apologies, some didn’t. All have disappeared from the internet, and no longer make videos. One of the main things that can be taken away from all of this is the idea that people in the position of celebrity should not enter into relationships with younger fans because the power differential skews the concept of consent.
In the story Bloodchild, Butler also looks at the question of whether two parties of unequal power can enter into a “real” relationship. Can there be love when one party is clearly exploiting the other? The Tlic are clearly in the position of power. It was made clear that the only reason the Terrans were able to live in their homes with their families rather than in cages like animals was because the Tlic allowed it. The Tlic hold power both in their size and in their physical characteristics that can be very easily harmful to humans. Although the relationship appears to be a familial one where the Tlic and Terrans live together, it is clear that the Tlic sees the humans merely as a breeding ground for their young. Although the two parties live together and cohabitate, one party is clearly in power, and one is without agency. The Tlic need the Terrans more than the Terrans need the Tlic, and with the differential in power, Gan’s family and all Terrans living on the reserve are lucky that the Tlic are allowing them to live their lives, although they are in fact the property of the Tlic and therefore without agency.
In the story, the Tlic named T’Gatoi lives in Gan’s family as an equal. She helps care for and protect them. However, she has been promised one of the children to use as a carrier for her young. Gan is the one who is going to do it, and he is ok with this position until Gan sees Lomas, a N’Tlic like he is going to be, “give birth” to the young inside of him. “His body convulsed with the first cut. He almost tore himself away from me. The sound he made . . . I had never heard such sounds come from anything human. T'Gatoi seemed to pay no attention as she lengthened and deepened the cut, now and then pausing to lick away blood...I felt as though I were helping her torture him, helping her consume him.” (Butler). Gan is now seeing the truth of what it means to be N’Tlic. He wants nothing to do with it. But ultimately, he doesn’t have a choice. T’Gatoi has a biological need to implant her eggs. She is going to do it to someone, She doesn’t care who it is. However, Gan does. Initially, he says he wants his sister to be the one to carry the eggs in his place, but ultimately, he doesn’t want to put his sister in that position. There’s also a part of him that wants it to be him. "But you came to me ... to save Hoa." "Yes...And to keep you for myself." (Butler). Butler is making the argument here that there is a relationship between these two. That Terrans can feel love for Tlic and truly consent to having eggs put inside them. For most of the story, this is hard to believe. It’s hard to believe that there can be a loving, equal relationship when the two parties are so greatly unbalanced. In the case of the abusive youtube video creators, it was shown that an imbalance of power can take away the agency of the disadvantaged party. Gan doesn’t have a choice in the matter of T’Gatoi putting her eggs in the body of himself or someone in his family. He can choose to take the eggs himself rather than force his sister to experience the horrors he witnessed, but neither choice will change the way their world works, the Tlic will continue to use the Terrans as carriers of their young. The Terran are not in quite the same position as the victims of abuse by celebrities. They aren’t envied for being in relationships with the Tlic because every family is a part of it. For this reason, they also don’t live with fear that their stories won’t be believed, their fear is more that their situation will never change. However the Terrans, like the young girls, are being forced to use their bodies in a way that makes them deeply uncomfortable. They are scared of the Tlic, even though they are used to them, and they know that any attempt to fight against them would be futile. Gan submits to her putting the eggs inside him because he knows he doesn’t have a choice. There is a moment that seeks to level out the power differential, when T’Gatoi allows Gan to keep the shotgun, however it isn’t enough. Although T’Gatoi and Gan may be close to having a real relationship, the system in which they live is such that a real relationship of equals can’t be achieved.
Works Cited
Butler, Octavia E. "Bloodchild and Other Stories." Washington Post 1995: n. pag.
Washington Post. Web. 12 Sept. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/bloodchi.htm>.