Aye, and Gomorrah: Sexual Tendencies in a New Light

Sexuality is one of the principal themes in the story Aye, and Gomorrah by Samuel Delany. Centered on a “spacer” who seems to have neither sex nor gender, the story works as a lens through which to view this debate-provoking topic in a new and refreshing light. In Aye, and Gomorrah, certain sexual tendencies which have in many cultures caused widespread disagreement no longer hold their controversial status, and the claims made in reality against these tendencies are easily spotted as invalid when viewed next to the fetishes that have developed in Delany’s fictional world.

“Sorry. But you have nothing that…would be useful to me. It is too bad, for you look like you were a woman, no? And I like women, too…”

The actions and statements of the characters of Aye, and Gomorrah indicate that the social “norms” of the reader’s reality are not relevant in this fictional setting. “Frelks” are considered the “anomalous” group of society; frelks are the men and women who, because they have no fear of eliciting or failing to elicit a sexual response, sexually desire spacers. On the other hand, homosexuality—as seen through the encounters of the narrator—is accepted in many different countries in Aye, and Gomorrah as something conventional. Numerous characters throughout the story convey that they would not have sexual intercourse with a spacer because spacers have no sex, but that they would engage in this behavior with either a man or a woman. Frelks, however, are considered perverted and abnormal by the spacers—and sometimes by the frelks themselves!—which casts frelks in same light that was cast on homosexuals for centuries. 

“Perverted, yes? In love with a bunch of corpses in free fall!

“Frelks” and “spacers” appear to be an embodiment of the argument against homosexuality that certain conservative groups have contended for years. Spacers have no functioning sexual organs, and therefore can neither reproduce nor receive sexual pleasure from engaging in relationships with the frelks; they can only escape loneliness for a short while. Opponents of homosexuality have argued that homosexuals are “unnatural” because reproduction cannot occur between people of the same sex. Furthermore, some of the most misguided contenders of homosexuality claim that two men or two women cannot satisfy each other sexually as a man and a woman can sexually satisfy one another. By creating frelks and spacers, Delany has created a mirror that subtly calls these claims against certain groups in our society to question. The reader wonders whether there is any argument that can be used legitimately against homosexuality, when considering the real complications and questionable situations in the relationships between frelks and spacers, in which each party only exploits the other.

“You really don’t regret you’ve got no sex?” 

“We’ve got you.”