الفهرس 
Introduction to Afro-Futurism and Performativity TheoryOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Octavia Butler is an exceptional writer who conquered the fact that science fiction is a white masculine genre. Her fiction belongs to black science fiction (i.e. Afro-futurism); a term coined in 1990 to describe speculative fiction written by African Americans. It is a new genre that mixes science fiction elements with Africans’ concerns. This study discusses the notion of the body and its problems in three Afro-futuristic novels by Octavia Butler (i.e. body and identity in Wild Seed, body and difference in Dawn, body and power in Parable of the Sower). In general, the body is known in relation to flesh and bone which are considered the main components of the body. The purpose of this thesis is to show how the African American science fiction writer, Octavia Butler, used the weird bodies of her fictional characters to fight the categorization and the classification of bodies on basis of race and gender. Since the selected works are discussed from two perspectives (e.g. race and gender), Judith Butler’s theory of performativity is applied to Octavia Butler’s literary works. This theory fights the performativity of categories and the stereotypical construction of bodies in society. By calling for undermining the use of categories in classifying bodies, this study can be significant in fighting discrimination and oppression.
In Wild Seed (1980), the body acts as a holder of several identities and this is clear through the shape-shifter character. Also by setting the novel in the past, this paved the way to find out what constitutes the performativity of the marginalized groups historically. Fear and Silence are factors that shaped the performativity of slaves (i.e. blacks and women) over time.
In Dawn (1987), the great physical difference between the aliens and humans asserts the trivial difference between white and black skins. The fact that the aliens have three genders aims at deconstructing the human gender binary. Through the aliens’ world in Dawn, it is clear that language participates in constructing human performativity. The focus on genes helps in exploring the role of biology in forming humans’ performativity. Human Intelligence and Human Hierarchy are two deadly characteristics in humans’ genes that are responsible for the way humans view other bodies; they could lead to humans’ destruction.
In Parable of the Sower (1993), the state of hyper-empathy is the protagonist’s point of strength and power. In addition, the masking of gender reflects the power of performativity, as an approach to attain power; consequently it shows the importance of dress and appearance in forming performativity. Finally, Revealing some truths (i.e. sexuality and illiteracy), in Parable of the Sower, participates in demolishing the power factors that help in shaping the performative bodies of women socially.