The release of the Murderbot series on Apple TV+ is establishing itself as the new sci-fi phenomenon of this May. After Silo and Severance, the platform is hitting hard with the adaptation of the literary saga Diary of an AssaSynth, by Martha Wells. Faithful to the humor and irreverence of the novels, the 10 episodes of this first season offer a brilliant glimpse into the life of a renegade android, between his close protection missions and watching his favorite sitcoms.
In episode 1, while the main character is being repaired, both Mensah and the viewers discover, not without a certain astonishment, that the SecUnits have no genitals. Instead of their penises, we find... nothing at all.
In Murderbot, we find several character types. Between humans and robots, we find augmented humans (humans, therefore, but who have chosen to have technological elements implanted to increase their abilities), and androids, made from cloned human tissue and mechanical components, intended to serve a specific purpose. SecUnits are half-human, half-machine hybrids, designed to ensure the safety of their clients in hostile environments. Based on this principle, they are explicitly devoid of any sexual characteristics, whether penis, vagina, or secondary attributes. Similarly, they are theoretically incapable of feeling attraction or romantic feelings.
This design choice follows a functional logic: SecUnits are not created for pleasure or reproduction, but for safety and protection. This lack of genital characteristics is also a reflection of their agender and asexual identity. A neutrality that is found throughout Martha Wells's novels. In a future where artificial intelligence and hybrids are commonplace, gender becomes a matter of functionality and social perception, rather than a biological or obligatory given.
And sexbots?
De-eroticizing SecUnits, even in their absence of genitals, allows for a clear distinction between roles and avoids the projection of human fantasies onto entities that share neither their needs nor their desires. The hero himself expresses a deep discomfort with sexualization, finding sex scenes in series boring.
This distinction does not exclude robots from human fantasy, quite the contrary. In the universe of Murderbot, only sexbots are equipped with sexual organs, because their function requires it. For a SecUnit, the presence of a penis would not only be useless, but also a source of potential complications, whether technical (maintenance, physical vulnerability) or social (perception, sexualization).
Underlyingly, the author also questions the human tendency to sexualize robots and artificial intelligence. On a narrative level, the absence of penises in SecUnits is interesting. This choice by the Company, both pragmatic and philosophical, allows it to explore deep themes about the nature of sexual identity. The fact remains that the main character's favorite series are all about transgression. In Sanctuary Moon, the human captain has an affair with an android.
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