Gender Roles In Parable Of The Sower

Food as a Commentary on Traditional Gender Roles

So much changes throughout Parable of the Sower that it can be hard to think of anything that stays the same. The story follows Lauren and her journey north as well as the forming of her religion, Earthseed. In Parable of the Sower Butler’s use of food throughout showcases the idea that although the environment has changed traditional gender roles stay consistent.

When inside the neighborhood wall in Parable of the Sower it is depicted that gender roles are very prominent and they would take on a more traditional function. For example Lauren stated “I made rabbit stew and acorn bread—enough for Cory and all the boys when they came in”(102). Lauren had made the stew while her younger brothers

In this scenario the boys are not participating in any household responsibilities but Cory is in a child centered setting and Lauren is cooking for her family which are conventionally seen as a women’s role. Moreover it is not only Lauren or her family who has this structure; others within the community are structured similarly. When talking of Mrs. Sims after her death Lauren states that “During the rest of the week she sewed, made baskets, took care of her garden, sold what she could from it, took care of pre-school children, and talked about everyone who was not as holy as she thought she was”(24). Amongst all of those tasks that are seen as traditionally women’s tasks is gardening, by placing gardening amongst these other tasks it signals that it is a feminine chore. Additionally, there are many more people throughout the story that contribute to the continuation of gender roles in the near apocalyptic society Butler writes and a prime example would be Richard Moss. Having run his own business and it being quite lucrative he needs a way to be able to sustain the high demand, “Richard Moss lets his wives and daughters pull things like this. He works them like slaves in his gardens and rabbit raising operation and around the house,

There was one main event that showcased the group's interactions with food in Acorn, the night they discussed whether they would all stay or not. Butler writes “In preparation of the night they “[…] even had meat tonight, fresh meat. Bankole took the rifle and went off by himself for a while. When he came back, he brought three rabbits which Zahra and I skinned, cleaned, and roasted”(319-320). Neither Zhara nor Lauren had gone hunting even though they were skilled enough in the matter, instead they had skinned and cooked what Bankole had given them from his time hunting. Later everyone is gathered and they talk of whether they would stay permanently. During the group's discussion Lauren notes, “We can build a shelter, put in a winter garden from the seed I’ve been carrying and collecting since we left home” (319). Lauren had been the one to pick up the seeds and although that makes sense due to her overall goal, nobody else did. They had their own goal of making their way north but hadn’t picked up any seeds for when in their future they might settle. Overall, gender roles stay consistent throughout the