Racism & Sexism

We talked a little at the beginning of class about how in the beginning of the novel, Butler doesn't outright mention the race of either Dana or Kevin. If you're at all familiar with the plot, you'll know that Dana is black, but lots of people didn't realize Kevin was white until a couple of chapters in. The relationship starts out very normal. However, I thought it was interesting the way Butler, in between Dana's trips back in time, filled in the back story behind Dana and Kevin's relationship, showing that the race and gender divides that were so apparent in the 19th century were still very much present in Dana's time.

The most obvious example of racism in Dana's time is the reaction both Dana and Kevin's families have to their marriage. Kevin seems optimistic that his sister will be okay with it, but Dana, who has more experience with this kind of thing, is a little more pessimistic. However, it turns out that Dana is right -- Kevin comes back from visiting his sister disappointed. This is the first real mention of racism (aside from the "chocolate and vanilla" comment). We also get a couple references to gender inequality -- for example, Kevin wanting Dana to type his stuff up (my uncle said that at MIT that they just all had "the women" type their things up). Even though Kevin totally seems like a nice guy, the effects of the time are shown on him just as the effects of Rufus's time are shown through him. Casual sexism embedded in the times tends to permeate everything.

It's interesting that Butler puts it after a couple of Dana's trips back in time. The times are such a contrast at first -- Rufus is totally in awe that Dana and Kevin are in an interracial relationship -- but Butler clearly shows that the blatant racism and sexism in the 19th century definitely isn't erased all those years later. One of the things that's most interesting about Kindred is the way Butler portrays the long-reaching effects of tradition, even though they may not be immediately obvious.