In Ursula Le Guin's novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, Genly Ai, an agent from the Eukemen, is sent to the planet Winter, one of the non-federated planets in the universe. His mission is to see if he can persuade the people from Winter to join the federation. However, Genly soon finds out that the rulers of Winter did not like the idea of being part of a federation, because it might result in a loss of some of their own personal power. Genly is then forced to become a fugitive until, by using shifrethgor, the honor system of the Eukemen, he is able to trick the kings of Winter's nations into entering the federation. Throughout the novel, Genly Ai encounters androgynous beings, people who are able to change their sex roles whenever they become fertile. He is surprised that only androgynous exist inside of Winter's nations. He is also amazed that the people only have sexual drives for a small part of the year. Instead of using their energy in sexual urges, the people of Winter use their energy in the arts and sciences. They have been isolated from the rest of humanity for many thousands of years on a relatively cold planet. They have been completely unaware of other men among the stars until the arrival of Genly Ai.
             Sexuality plays an important role in the novel because it affects Genly's character and his perspective of other living creatures outside of the Ekumen. Throughout the novel, Genly questions his sexuality because he is unsure of the feelings he feels for another man. Genly is not use to these feelings because he never encountered androgynous humans before in his life. He lived in an environment that consisted of males and females. Therefore, Genly must simultaneously determine his sexuality and accomplish his mission.
             There are no men and women on Winter, therefore, there are no sexual expectations they have to live up to. Men do not have to try to be masculine and the breadwinner
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