Wave One

I believe Genly Ai struggles with seeing Gethenians as them self because he did not grow up with them or there ways. To him he is away from home and his way of life. Genly point of view he is at a new place with the Gethenians. "I was tired and downcast. I said, "I've been cold ever since i came to this world." "what do you call it, this world, in your language?" (Chapter 1, pages 20 and 21) This shows to me that this is just a new world to him and Gethenians are just a new life form. They aren't girl nor boy and for Genly who grew up thinking your a boy or girl and you don't change. Genly world he comes from is much different them from the world where Gethenians come from. Another example of how it would be hard for Genly to see the Gethenians as themselves is that he explains how they can be so female then be man like. This completely messes with his way of thinking. In a way it is reversed for Genly. " "A person from Cime, a female" I had to use the word that gethenians would apply only to a person in culmination phase  phase of kemmer, the alternative being their word for a female animal. "permanently?" "yes." " (Chapter 3, page 36) The way Genly has to us the word Female and Argaven asked Permanently shows how different Gethenians way of life is different from Genly's ways. For the idea of not being girl or boy is hard to understand or accept in Genly's mind.