Burmese zodiac zodiac employs eight signs in a seven-day week, with each sign representing its own day, cardinal direction, planet (celestial body) and animal; it is known as the "Mahabote zodiac". The zodiacs, with slight variations, are also found in Sri Lanka and Thailand. While the eight signs are the most prevalent in modern Burmese zodiac, the zodiac officially also recognizes a ninth sign called Ketu ( ), which rules over all of the signs. The same sign also appears in Sri Lanka and Thailand under the same name. Ketu's sign is a mythical Animal of Five Beauties called pyinsarupa ( )
Halfway Human of gender and sexuality, and particularly her attempt to create a character that exhibits neither male nor female characteristics, to Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. Wheeler mentions that many criticized Le Guin for ultimately failing to create characters that did not exhibit gendered traits, and suggests that this failure could possibly be evident in Halfway Human as well, depending on how the reader chooses to imagine Tedla. Wheeler wonders "Is it possible to see it [Tedla] as completely without gender attributes?" Wheeler remarks on Gilman's use of the juxtaposition of Capellan and Gammadian societies in her story