#blklifescience

Taken from an interview with Stephen W. Potts in 1996

"She simply came in, climbed into one of her special couches, and called me over to keep her warm" (Butler, 1).

While reading Bloodchild, I could not help but think about the ways state-sanctioned isolation and separation might connect to the idea of the preserve. The preserve fosters a sense of liminality and surveillance, similar to that of reservations and racial segregation in America. I found it so interesting to consider the real-life examples of this sort of disassociation and how they may have served as inspiration for Butler's work. Additionally, how the preserve aligns with anti-colonial and anti-imperalist discourse. Although I do not think the mathematical expression I provided as a title captures this sentiment, here is an article I found about the role of the reservation in American history.

See the tweet here: https://twitter.com/pinpoms/status/844924502521843712

"Back when the Tlic saw us as not much more than convenient, big, warm-blooded animals, they could pen several of us together, male and female, and feed us only eggs. That way they could be sure of getting another generation of us no matter how we tried to hold out" (Butler 1995, 5).

"Bloodchild" reminded me of a book I read over the summer, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I do not want to give too much away, but I see lots of parallels between these stories, as in both there is a higher authority that is preserving these special people, like on the Preserve or at this special boarding school, to be used for a special purpose later in life that really only benefits this higher authority.