September 16, 2016 - 09:20
Slipping, as described in Anne Dalke’s chapter of the same name, is a multifaceted and rather complicated term to define. The process of slipping has become even more apparent as we make our way into the 21st century and come in contact with people of various ethnicities and races. Slipping should not be thought of as outright racist comments, but simply small remarks or actions that reveal ingrained racial bias, prejudice, or a disregard for the cultures of others. However, it is important to note that slipping is not always done in an attempt to offend or hurt; it may be, exactly as the term itself suggests, a simple mistake.
Bloodchild, with its graphic descriptions and extreme imagery, illustrates some of the forms slipping can take and some of the ways slipping can reveal someone’s true opinions. In Bloodchild, Gan, a young boy, is faced with a life-changing choice. He must choose either to host his alien caretaker/mother figure’s young or force his sister to do it in his place. It is not an easy decision; Gan has trouble deciding what is right to do in this scenario, or if there is in fact a right choice. However, it is not Gan’s slips that I feel the need to examine more closely; it is his alien, or T’lik, as they are known in the story, caretaker whose slips I want to take a closer look at. The relationship between Gan and his T’lik caretaker, Gatoi, is a strained and complicated one. She was born from Gan’s father and has raised him since birth to be the host for her own young and follow in his father’s footsteps. However, the process by which the young are extracted from within the host is not the most pleasant one, and Gan witnesses an extraction, or “birth” as it is called, very early on in the story.
Gan is unable to look away as he witnesses Gatoi operate and pull thick, bloody worms out of another T’lik’s human host, Bram Lomas. As Gatoi watches Bram lose consciousness because of the pain, she casually notes: “’Good,’ T’Gatoi looked down at him.’ I wish you Terrans could do that at will.’ She felt nothing.” (Butler, 9) Gan realizes at this point in time that Gatoi may not care as much about the humans as she says she does. She also slips, perhaps most significantly, by using the phrase “you Terrans.” The use of this phrase widens the gap between Terrans and T’lik and distributes the balance of power between the two races even further. It sounds derogatory, and Gan makes note of this.
There are more instances in the story where we see Gatoi slip and give us a sense of her true, underlying opinions. During the course of the operation, she quips: “’Ah, there are more,’ T’Gatoi said, plucking out two thick, long grubs. ‘You may have to kill another animal, Gan. Everything lives inside you Terrans.’” (Butler, 10) Gan is clearly disturbed by the fact that she says this so off-handedly. He is witnessing something horrific, something that he will have to experience firsthand in due time. Perhaps she doesn’t realize the significance of the situation for Gan, or is distracted trying to save Bram from death, but her comment definitely leaves a mark on the young narrator. The phrase “you Terrans” is used by Gatoi for a second time, and again highlights the unequal partnership the two races. Before this occurrence, Gan was surer about the fact that he was to host Gatoi’s young. His opinion has clearly changed both because of the disgusting, bloody nature of the birth he just witnessed as well as the attitude he realizes Gatoi actually has towards. This situation that Gatoi was forced into definitely gives Gan more insight into the reality of the relationship between the two species.
Gan eventually does come to the conclusion that he cannot force his sister to undergo the process of hosting and birthing Gatoi’s young. Right before Gatoi is about to implant her egg in him, Gan second-guesses himself once again. He asks Gatoi, in a moment of crisis: “’Do you care?’ I asked. ‘Do you care that it’s me?’” (Butler, 18) She doesn’t respond for many moments, and when she eventually does, she doesn’t answer his question. By skirting around Gan’s question and not addressing the issue, she has slipped once again. She has made it apparent that, in fact, she doesn’t really care about Gan in the way that he wants her to.
While slipping may not always reveal an ingrained racial bias or prejudice, it does in this story. Gatoi’s simple slips of the tongue prove to the reader, and to Gan, that she may be hiding more of her true opinion than she wants to let on. For this reason, slipping is often complicated. As Anne Dalke made clear, “we all slip.” Of course, we aren’t all inherently racist or prejudiced. Some of us simply make mistakes in terms of accommodating for the beliefs of others, which is a human thing to do. At other times, people may say things that reveal their true nature, the nature of themselves that they try hard to cover up. This does not have to be negative, however. Some people desperately want to change their prejudiced beliefs and may make slips along the way. Others may simply be prejudiced or biased and not want to change at all. Again, it is hard to tell what the actual beliefs of a person are from a simple slip.
Gatoi, however, makes her beliefs very clear in the final sentence of Bloodchild: "’I'm healthy and young,’ she said. ‘I won't leave you as Lomas was left - alone, N'Tlic. I'll take care of you.’” (Butler, 20) Gan, to her, is something she has to take care of. He is a possession to her, albeit a valuable possession, as he carries her young. This statement goes to show that all of her slips did in fact reveal something true about her character and beliefs. Gatoi, however much she wants to hide her true thoughts about humans, still has some ingrained beliefs about where they fall on the chain of hierarchy. As Gan came to find out, she lets us know of these opinions quite accidentally, with just a seemingly simple slip.
Works Cited
Butler, O. E. (2005). Bloodchild and other stories. New York: Seven Stories Press.
Cohen, J., & Dalke, A. (n.d.) Slipping. Steal This Classroom: Teaching and Learning Unbound. Bryn Mawr: Punctum Books.