Power and the Gender Binary: Between Disruption and Reaffirmation

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the implications of gendered language within the narrative world of the fantasy book Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Mass (2015). Gendered language reflects the expectations set upon the normative ideals of the gender binary, which itself is a system of power that is based on normalization and exclusion. This system is destabilized through disruptions. However, the disruption of gender expectations is not sufficient for the deconstruction of the gender binary itself. The analysis of the book’s central female heroine will uncover how power negotiations are inherently linked to a binary gender system. Building an awareness towards gendered language presents the first step towards moving beyond the binary.