Politics of pronouns in the Imperial Radch

[kaberett]

(Not sure what's going on here? The answer is Ancillary Justice.)

We're told that Radchaai does not bother with gendered pronouns. It seems to me that the default pronoun used means gender-irrelevant (rather than gender-unknown or gender-specific, which seem to me to be a useful way of considering pronouns of gendered beings). We're told that Strigan's society uses gender-known pronouns even though it professes to consider gender irrelevant.

And yet: the Radchaai frequently refer to ships as "it" (I note that the standard English pronoun used to refer to vessels is the same as the way in which the Radchaai default pronoun is rendered). It's clearly not as simple as in/animate - ships have emotions, ships have personality and identity, ships are sentient, ships have ancillaries. Except that this is done in a literally dehumanising way - ships are explicitly not Radchaai, not citizens, and therefore not considered human; characters who are uninterested in or unsympathetic toward ships are far more likely to refer to them as "it", whereas characters who like ships seem to mostly not pronoun them; non-Radchaai humans are generally called the standard pronoun for Radchaai, despite being considered by at least some in the society to have sub-human status - and so I am left picking away at what distinction it is the Radch is making here...

Thoughts very much appreciated!

Comments

[jack]

Ooh, yes, that makes so much sense... I had wondered how Breq was not able to follow simple clothing cues that would get it right MOST of the time, especially if they're trying to avoid drawing attention. But if they're in the habit of never assuming an appropriate form of address, it makes sense how it's impossible to go back -- like being invited to address people of different nationalities by different pronouns, and saying "how can I tell", and people say "just look" and saying "I CAN'T DO THAT!"

Although now I say that, I remember Breq didn't keep using a best-approximation to a neutral pronoun, but had to guess and guessed wrong. That undermines what I just said. But maybe your version is still my head-canon.

[sfred]

I just made this comment directly to kaberett but I think it more properly belongs here:

I'm pretty sure it's Breq/JoT-as-narrator who says at one point that there's a sea of things other cultures would consider gender markers (body shapes, clothing, jewellery, makeup, hair arrangements). Among Radchaai these are configured in so many different combinations that the decoding other cultures would do wouldn't work anyway (although obviously in the book, other cultures go on body shape). That makes (even more) sense to me of how much Breq struggles with remembering which cues are supposed to be relevant elsewhere.

[kaberett]

It's entirely plausible that the languages Breq was speaking didn't have neuter forms of address - second-person pronouns were not only gendered but in some instances included markers of familial status. I don't think that language forcing a guess automatically undermines your previous point! Though I am sad about a bit early on where Breq goes "I had to guess, but at least it's only fifty-fifty" (which can be interpreted in the really sad-making way, or to mean the society in which she was participating forces a binary choice in modes of address/description...)

[jack]

It's entirely plausible that the languages Breq was speaking didn't have neuter forms of address

I assumed this was the case, (either than second person was gendered, or it was hard to avoid third-person, or the language was inflected according to who you were addressing, like choosing the polite title to apply to someone, or that there are firm but less structured cues like shaking hands vs not, etc.)

I was thinking if Breq was trying to talk gender-neutral when that wasn't really an option, it would fit this interpretation better, whereas if they're guessing, but guessing wrong, it means they really can't guess which pronoun people are expecting.

Although now I think about it, maybe I was still too hasty. Maybe Breq does _usually_ get it right, even if it's based on a few blatant clothing cues which _most_ people have, but constantly trips over people who don't have those cues (one time in ten, or one time in fifty) and everyone else is used to guessing from facial structure but Breq isn't...?

[jack]

I am sad about a bit early on where Breq goes "I had to guess, but at least it's only fifty-fifty" (which can be interpreted in the really sad-making way, or to mean the society in which she was participating forces a binary choice in modes of address/description...)

Yeah :( I think the literal meaning is that the language they're using has only two choices, which is sad but not new. But it's a clear case where the book _could_ have made it clear Breq didn't think like that but _didn't_ :(