That's interesting! We've had some other child comparisons already -- Bren in bed, sick, while the "adults" talk around him is explicitly compared to childhood; and I got a rather childlike mental image when he first met Ilisidi and was sitting on the chair tucked up -- that's not an adult posture, that's how little kids sit.

I did get some femaleness-feelings from bits of the chapter, though: notably, Bren's little "think of the children!" appeal; that both the people he thinks of calling are female ("Barb, or even, God help him, Hanks") and he likes Jago because she's "shy" and younger than Banichi; his private concern over hygiene/sweating perceptibly; the dithering and pondering and self-reproach over the emotional expectations and feelings of those around him.

Some of which is also child-connotative, admittedly; but then, women are often infantilised by society, too, so there's overlap there, as when Bren is told to not "worry" about things, to go away and leave them to do their job uninterrupted; or when his concerns are considered irrelevant to those around him...

I'm totally going to start counting the child-inferences from now, on, too, not just the female ones. :D

TSTL, much?

Is that "Too Stupid To Live"?

I suspect for Bren that might stand for "Too Scared To Lie" by this point! Banichi's basically said that Cenedi's not out to kill him, with strong evidence; maybe any Security willing to talk to him looks like a good thing to be close to? *grin*