Why Bloodchild Made Me Feel Uncomfortable

For this weeks' reading I read Octavia Butler's short story, Bloodchild. It was a very interesting read, though, it made me quite uncomfortable by the end. As I progressed further and further into this story it became increasingly apparent that while Gan and his family had what they viewed to be a positive and healthy relationship with T'Gatoi, the relationship between the Terran and the Tlic was anything but. While most of the Terran in this world had come to terms with and rationalized the relationship it was clear to me that this was because of the normalized oppression of them. The Tlic claim that the Terran are as free as they are and manipulate them into believing this by making as simple a change as not referring to them as "host animals" even though they still are, even if it is to a lesser extent of abuse as in the past. They even try to guilt the Terran by claiming that they are their saviors and are being so kind as to let them live in the Preserve. They claim all of this innocence yet the Terran are not allowed firearms in fear of a rebellion and they don't have much of a choice in carrying the Tlic's children even if they are told that they do. It's sick, quite frankly, and it's easy to see why so many read this as an allegory for slavery and racial oppression. I myself made this connection when I read it as well. What really get's me though is the uncomfortable relationship between Gan and T'Gatoi. There is this oddly sexual and romantic air around the two and it makes me feel uneasy given that T'Gatoi essentially helped raise Gan from a baby and is much much older than him, presumably by even hundreds of years. The way that Gan just accepts being implanted by the end of the story and acts almost jealous of the fact that T'Gatoi would have implanted someone else is incredibly uncomfortable given the fact that we know he has just had a major realization of how wrong this power imbalance is. When I researched a bit more after reading this story it just furthered my discomfort when I found out that Butler herself stated that Bloodchild is supposed to be a coming of age love story. The exploration of this idea of an almost stockholm-syndrome-esque relationship between these two is very thought-provoking. Overall, it is a very interesting story with a lot of depth to it and a lot of ideas to explore.