Ursula K. Le Guinn is a legendary American science fiction author, known for her Earthsea Cycle novels among many others. Her 1969 novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel. This book was is a fantastic thought experiment that carried my mind through about nine hours of commuting.

The reason this novel is so significant still today is for its perspective on feminism and gender. The plot features a man named Genly Ai who travels to the planet Gethen as an ambassador of the Ekumen, a sort of intergalactic fellowship of people who descended from humans.

Here’s the twist. Gethens are neither male, nor female. During cycular seasons, Gethens undergo kemmer where they express their sexuality as either male or female and have the capacity to mate with others undergoing kemmer. A Gethen can become male one cycle and female another—it’s random.

While this obviously has many affinities with modern transgender discussions, this was not Le Guinn’s focus. She used this literary fiction as an opportunity to explore feminist viewpoints on gender.

The plot is interesting, but it moves slowly. The value here lies in thinking through what it means to be male or female.

Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness. 1969. Narrated by George Guidall, audiobook ed., Recorded Books Media, 2017.