In the book, sex plays a major role in the development of Desdemona. Growing up in a strict Greek culture, she was taught that maintaining one's purity is paramount. Because of this cultural pressure placed on her, Desdemona lived her life ashamed of her sexuality. This shame she feels is further complicated by Desdemona's romantic love for her brother Lefty. In the next generation, the cycle of incestual love continues, when Tessie and Milton fall in love with each other and Desdemona fears that their sexual relationship will lead to genetic defects in their future children. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Additionally, Desdemona's act of hanging a silver spoon over a pregnant woman's belly to determine whether the baby will be a boy or a girl is very significant. to her. While Tessie is pregnant with Cal, Desdemona completes this ritual on Tessie's stomach and predicts that the baby will be a boy. So far, none of Desdemona's predictions have been wrong. However, when Cal is born intersex, with ambiguous genitalia, Desdemona realizes that her prediction is wrong. After this, Desdemona resides to no longer make predictions about the biological sex of unborn babies and stops her silver spoon ritual. Although the ritual may seem silly, it represents a part of Desdemona's cultural heritage, and when her decision to stop this act means she is abandoning another part of her culture. I think in some ways Cal's upbringing might have been easier if they would have been raised as boys. One reason I'm inclined to think this is Cal's attraction to women, which prompts two crucial moments in the book. One of these pivotal moments is when Cal meets and kisses Clementine, and in turn realizes that she is not like the other girls. Another is when Cal falls in love with another girl at his private all-girls school. Cal begins a sexual relationship with this other girl, but the girl's older brother finds out, makes fun of them for being lesbians, and assaults him. As Cal flees the attack, she is greeted by a tractor and finds herself in an emergency situation. bedroom. It is there that Cal first learns that she is intersex and contains both male and female sexual organs in her body. Even though Cal knew she was different from other girls, she might never have found out why if she hadn't been raised as a woman and this incident had happened. Additionally, Cal eventually becomes a man, and this seems to be the best representation of Cal's personal gender identity. If Cal had been socialized this way, it might have been easier for him to feel comfortable in his body. However, I believe he might have faced other issues being raised as a man. Inbreeding played a major role in Desdemona's psychological development, as we touched on earlier when talking about the role of gender in Desdemona's life and the fears she had when she was raised. her children followed suit, falling in love with each other. As an immigrant fleeing war, Desdemona's relationship with Lefty, her brother, is one of the few things she is able to hold on to, and it's no wonder they fall in love. one from the other. However, Desdemona is not without guilt for having a sexual and romantic relationship with someone so close to her genetically, and this guilt is why she eventually withdraws and lives her life whatever...