For centuries, men and women have abided by the strict gender roles set forth by society. In her piece Bloodchild, Octavia Butler goes against gender norms set forth by society in an inverse way. Butler wanted to experiment with the notion of a man bearing children. The impregnation of a man shows the reversal of male and female roles. The process of implantation involving an alien female and human male leads to the switch in power dynamics between the two genders. The “children” in this short story are worm like creatures that will grow into adults resembling sea serpents with tentacles. The main event is the disturbing delivery of these “children,” which are torn from the body of the male host in a bloody procedure. Butler studies the reversal