Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?
Genly Ai has trouble understanding the culture of Gethenians for various reasons, and the most apparent is the inability to identify with the gender of Gethenian citizens. This gender instability makes it impossible to understand if certain citizens are male or female, which makes it even more difficult for Genly to relate to any Gethenuans, let alone speak to them. This distorts his understanding of them, and it shows that he comes from a world much like our own (a world where gender is not interchangeable). Gender is a way of identifying on a more mental and emotional level with your peers. Genly was sent on a mission to convince the royalty of Gethen to join his alliance of space, but not being able to identify with the Gethenians on a more personal level makes it harder for him to communicate with them and negotiate their terms of commitment to his space alliance.
As confusing as the book may seem, Genly Ai is a character us readers can relate to. His struggle to relate to Gethenians is similar for us due to our worlds being entirely different. I like that you pointed out how Genly is unable to identify with them on a personal level, which makes it difficult for Gethenians to trust him. If an alien came to our planet seeking to join an alliance our president and us as citizens would probably be skeptical as well. The unusual and unknown often creates fear, much like how many people fear death (like Lord Berosty seeking the date of his death on page 43). The Gethenians find it odd that Genly does not change gender, but he finds it odd that they do, which makes everything a bit confusing for everyone. Perhaps if Genly Ai was able to change gender he would be treated differently and it would be simpler to get his message across.
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