Gender & Sexuality
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What follows is something of a scholarly discussion of the nature of gender and sexuality within the context of a particular fantasy world. Natural and cultural factors in the mundane world are reconsidered within a somewhat different context - an alternative history of sexuality if you will. As such this chapter will be of most interest to those role-players who are also students of human nature.
Stratification & Specialisation
Will the natural differences between the genders result in differences of stratification (power) or specialisation (role) within society for the men and women of a fantasy setting? In the Lands the answer will be yes only to a limited extent and only in specific contexts.
The only natural gender differences that manifest in the D&D game mechanics utilised in The Lands are those of size and longevity: Average size is greater for men than women while average life expectancy is greater for women than men. One may expect these differences to also produce cultural differences but they are usually of a very limited nature.
A male warrior who assumes he is better than a female warrior simply by virtue of size soon discovers his mistake if she has as much talent with a sword as he. Furthermore the barbaric heritage of many cultures persists in the notion that if one can fight one should be prepared to do just that. At most the greater average mass of men may direct more of them into the lifting and carrying work of a labourer, but this specialisation would hardly convey greater status to men.
A woman will only have greater life experience than a man in her very old age, still this may be a sufficient difference for some cultures to accord to women a greater role in the transmission of oral traditions, but this will only convey to women a small status advantage, if at all. The small practical differences described may be exaggerated in some cultures and in one in particular they have been turned into a strict rule of life...
The Cavar and Magøsha of Rovnara
In the distant past of the nation-state of Rovnara there was a king and queen whose actions granted fame and prosperity to the Rovnarans. The king happened to be a master horse-riding warrior while his partner the queen happened to be a mistress of the magical arts. Together they forged a nation and routed its opponents. They became role-models for the Rovnaran nobility and over time this model came to be a rigidly enforced set of gender roles. Now any self-respecting Rovnaran man wishes to be a Cavar while and self-respecting Rovnaran woman wishes to be one of the Magøsha. Cavar must cultivate standard warrior skills including that of riding. Magøsha must cultivate standard mage talents and also perfect the brewing of the famed Red Rum of Rovnara. If spouses wish to rule a clan they must conform to these roles. Any woman wishing to be a warrior is ostracised. Likewise any man who aspires to be a mage is ostracised.
Why bother to be something if you can be better at another thing? Why defy the traditions that have served your nation so well? The closest any woman comes to becoming a warrior in Rovnaran society is as a priestess of Teloch the God of War. The closest any man comes to becoming a mage in Rovnaran society is as a Bard (since they have some arcane spell-casting ability). Such persons are rare. Those who object to these limitations tend to migrate to other nations.
While size and longevity are the only gender differences explicitly expressed in game mechanics, others will be relevant to game play. Males may tend to aggression moreso than women but cannot be assured of besting a calm and calculating opponent. Many women will spend some time in pregnancy and this will limit mobility. The life of a woman is likely to be more sedentary than that of a man. However, this only affects particular women at particular times, and in those cultures that are moreorless sedentary the difference will be hardly worth noting. Still, culture can exaggerate nature, and in one case this distinction between mobile and sedentary has been locked into cultural life...
Attack and Defence roles within the Dwarven Military
It is interesting that the race with the lowest fertility rates would be the one to most insist on the sedentary home-oriented role of women. In Dwarven culture women are associated with the defence and preservation of the home, while men are associated with the forward defence of the nation as a whole. In other words, among Dwarven warriors, men take on offensive roles while women take on defensive roles. Troops of male dwarves will rush into the fray with battle axes or swords slashing while female dwarves stand on the fortress walls hurling throwing axes or firing crossbows. Dwarven culture and institutions direct men and women into these kinds of roles and they develop particular skills accordingly.
The tendency for men to be more energetic and for women to be more enduring has become a self-evident truth among Dwarves: Only women are trusted to command a home-base and only men are trusted with leading an assault on an enemy stronghold. These traditions have had an interesting affect on the overall power-status of men and women in Dwaven society: Among the Mountain Dwarves, who live a secure life in the well-defended Iron Mountains, women are more important in military command structures, while among the Hill Dwarves, whose long-term mission is to retake the Seven Hills from its Hill Giant captors, men play a greater role in the network of exiles.
So far differences that derive from natural facts, even if they are then exaggerated by culture, have been discussed, but what of those gender differences that are wholly cultural in nature? One key concept that has some impact on the way that men and women behave and relate is the gendered identity of particular Divine personages. The characteristics of particular gods and goddesses are assumed by many to reflect the fundamental nature of the genders. So, all sorts of assumptions and characterisations are made of men and women, based on the 'portfolios' of the different gods and goddesses. A quick look at the roles and character of the gods and goddesses as described will show the numerous flaws in such assumptions. However those assumptions exist, and are prevalent in many cultures. These assumptions are regularly challenged, but those who challenge them may find themselves the subject of humour or dismissal. They will then have to make more of an effort to succeed in whatever walk-of-life or pasttime they have chosen to undertake. As such, gender differences 'derived' from Divinity are far from absolute, and while they may affect specialisation, they tend not to affect stratification, except in particular institutions...
The 'Glass Dome' within the Churches
The differences between the genders assumed to be characterised by the gods and goddesses are taken for granted within the churches themselves. A cleric must aspire to be as like the god or goddess they follow as they possibly can be and it is assumed that they will do this better if they are of the same gender. A cleric of Olorin will be assumed to have more of the characteristics of Olorin if they are male while a cleric of Urala will be assumed to have more of the characteristics of Urala if they are female. As a result of this assumption it is much more likely that the church of a god will be presided over by a patriarch while the church of a goddess will be presided over by a matriarch. There are never any rules to insist on this but there is firm prejudice within churches on this issue. In only two churches is there a lack of such discrimination: The Druidic Movement (which follow Garlomen and Marumi both) and the Church of the Deliverer (who has both masculine and feminine aspects). None of the prejudices existing in the rest of the churches have any particular affect on lay worshippers, only on clerics themselves.
So, nature plays a part in gender difference as well as culturally constructed phenomena. In the discussion just passed we can see that there is gender discrimination in The Lands, but that it is relative rather than absolute, and tends to affect specialisation moreso than stratification. In this sense, different aspects of power are vested to a greater or lesser extent in persons of particular gender, rather than having a world in which one gender is always and in all spheres the dominant one.
Sexual Orientation
In a world of some millions all manner of inclinations and practices will exist and saying there is only one 'natural' way is a bold statement indeed. However there will be practices that are deemed the norm due to the combined factors of economics and culture.
Gender Preferences
The economics of much of The Lands is one of subsistence. One of the key bulwarks standing between a village and its destitution is population. There is a strong imperative to reproduce therefore that is emphasised by traditional culture and is regarded as a vital contribution to the community. Infertility is a subject of pity but those who actively neglect the duty to reproduce well into adulthood are looked on with growing suspicion. Homosexuals must be very discrete lest they be exiled from the community. Those so exiled (sometimes thrashed and stripped of all possessions in the process) tend to move to larger population centres in which to start a new life.
In a city homophobia still exists but in the form of slurs and sneers. In a prosperous population centre only some ever need to reproduce and as a result the old punishments due to homosexuals lie dormant in the statute books. Someone at risk in a village can blend into the crowd and be relatively safety in a city. Furthermore they can find small pockets of society in which they are accepted - mages tend to be more accepting than most of different forms of sexuality (since ultimately they regard all sexuality as a mere frivolity compared with the exhilaration and fulfillment of magic).
Nonetheless heterosexuality is the majority inclination. The assumption of the normality of heterosexuality is also bolstered somewhat by religion. None of the churches condone homosexuality and one church - that of Nitara the Goddess of Fertility - actively promotes the virtue and joy of heterosexuality (even to the extent that some of its holy songs are practically bawdy tavern fare). They have an interesting solution to homosexuality however - such persons can be accepted into society if and only if they take on a profession that actively promotes fertility (such as animal-husbandry and midwifery).
Elvish culture is different however in its full recognition of sexuality as having a recreational and bond-forming aspect. The default among Elves is a form of bisexuality. Any human culture that has been affected by Elvish culture (specifically the Sea Cities) will likewise have taken on some of this perspective.
Dwarvish libido is so scant that it always needs some external factor to promote action of an amorous kind. Dwarvish culture emphasises the need to continue the family line or to promote alliances between clans. As such only heterosexuality ever gets that extra 'push' it needs and homosexuality stays dormant. One Dwarvish smith has commented that "sure men are cuter than women, but a well-forged sword is even cuter".
Full-blooded Orcs are only interested in sex during Springtime. The focus of sexuality is on reproduction so the other gender is always the target of attraction. However young Orcs will sometimes 'practice' with same-sex peers within the clan.
Monogamy or Polyamory
The same reproductive imperative that promotes heterosexuality also tends to support monogamy but only for the purposes of having children. It is deemed prudent to only have children with one partner even if one may have had other partners in life. It is normal for marriage to follow intercourse rather than the other way around. Still the desire to have one partner at a time is culturally entrenched (even if it is frequently altered to having only one public partner at a time). Open polyamory is rare except in the case (once more) of cultures affected by contact with Elvish society.
The clerics of the Deliverer are among the most stringent advocates of the incest taboo and adherence to monogamy. Critics joke that this is because they want to simplify the job of the genealogist (a role which many such clerics fulfill). Nonetheless this stance has an impact on culture and as such morality in many villages is particularly traditional and it is the local cleric of the Deliverer who is behind most 'bow-and-arrow marriages'.
Celibacy
Celibacy of a voluntary kind is regarded as peculiar in adults. Even among clerics it is unusual. Only in the church of Urala is it presented as a worthy life path for those who have been sufficiently injured by the torments of passionate love. Still there will be those who are so focused on a particular vocation or life-work that they eschew sexuality entirely. Some mages focus so much on magic as to find any other kind of activity utterly mundane. Likewise many Dwarvish artisans find that the fascinations of craft far exceed those of the limited Dwarvish libido.
What follows is something of a scholarly discussion of the nature of gender and sexuality within the context of a particular fantasy world. Natural and cultural factors in the mundane world are reconsidered within a somewhat different context - an alternative history of sexuality if you will. As such this chapter will be of most interest to those role-players who are also students of human nature.
Stratification & Specialisation
Will the natural differences between the genders result in differences of stratification (power) or specialisation (role) within society for the men and women of a fantasy setting? In the Lands the answer will be yes only to a limited extent and only in specific contexts.
The only natural gender differences that manifest in the D&D game mechanics utilised in The Lands are those of size and longevity: Average size is greater for men than women while average life expectancy is greater for women than men. One may expect these differences to also produce cultural differences but they are usually of a very limited nature.
A male warrior who assumes he is better than a female warrior simply by virtue of size soon discovers his mistake if she has as much talent with a sword as he. Furthermore the barbaric heritage of many cultures persists in the notion that if one can fight one should be prepared to do just that. At most the greater average mass of men may direct more of them into the lifting and carrying work of a labourer, but this specialisation would hardly convey greater status to men.
A woman will only have greater life experience than a man in her very old age, still this may be a sufficient difference for some cultures to accord to women a greater role in the transmission of oral traditions, but this will only convey to women a small status advantage, if at all. The small practical differences described may be exaggerated in some cultures and in one in particular they have been turned into a strict rule of life...
The Cavar and Magøsha of Rovnara
In the distant past of the nation-state of Rovnara there was a king and queen whose actions granted fame and prosperity to the Rovnarans. The king happened to be a master horse-riding warrior while his partner the queen happened to be a mistress of the magical arts. Together they forged a nation and routed its opponents. They became role-models for the Rovnaran nobility and over time this model came to be a rigidly enforced set of gender roles. Now any self-respecting Rovnaran man wishes to be a Cavar while and self-respecting Rovnaran woman wishes to be one of the Magøsha. Cavar must cultivate standard warrior skills including that of riding. Magøsha must cultivate standard mage talents and also perfect the brewing of the famed Red Rum of Rovnara. If spouses wish to rule a clan they must conform to these roles. Any woman wishing to be a warrior is ostracised. Likewise any man who aspires to be a mage is ostracised.
Why bother to be something if you can be better at another thing? Why defy the traditions that have served your nation so well? The closest any woman comes to becoming a warrior in Rovnaran society is as a priestess of Teloch the God of War. The closest any man comes to becoming a mage in Rovnaran society is as a Bard (since they have some arcane spell-casting ability). Such persons are rare. Those who object to these limitations tend to migrate to other nations.
While size and longevity are the only gender differences explicitly expressed in game mechanics, others will be relevant to game play. Males may tend to aggression moreso than women but cannot be assured of besting a calm and calculating opponent. Many women will spend some time in pregnancy and this will limit mobility. The life of a woman is likely to be more sedentary than that of a man. However, this only affects particular women at particular times, and in those cultures that are moreorless sedentary the difference will be hardly worth noting. Still, culture can exaggerate nature, and in one case this distinction between mobile and sedentary has been locked into cultural life...
Attack and Defence roles within the Dwarven Military
It is interesting that the race with the lowest fertility rates would be the one to most insist on the sedentary home-oriented role of women. In Dwarven culture women are associated with the defence and preservation of the home, while men are associated with the forward defence of the nation as a whole. In other words, among Dwarven warriors, men take on offensive roles while women take on defensive roles. Troops of male dwarves will rush into the fray with battle axes or swords slashing while female dwarves stand on the fortress walls hurling throwing axes or firing crossbows. Dwarven culture and institutions direct men and women into these kinds of roles and they develop particular skills accordingly.
The tendency for men to be more energetic and for women to be more enduring has become a self-evident truth among Dwarves: Only women are trusted to command a home-base and only men are trusted with leading an assault on an enemy stronghold. These traditions have had an interesting affect on the overall power-status of men and women in Dwaven society: Among the Mountain Dwarves, who live a secure life in the well-defended Iron Mountains, women are more important in military command structures, while among the Hill Dwarves, whose long-term mission is to retake the Seven Hills from its Hill Giant captors, men play a greater role in the network of exiles.
So far differences that derive from natural facts, even if they are then exaggerated by culture, have been discussed, but what of those gender differences that are wholly cultural in nature? One key concept that has some impact on the way that men and women behave and relate is the gendered identity of particular Divine personages. The characteristics of particular gods and goddesses are assumed by many to reflect the fundamental nature of the genders. So, all sorts of assumptions and characterisations are made of men and women, based on the 'portfolios' of the different gods and goddesses. A quick look at the roles and character of the gods and goddesses as described will show the numerous flaws in such assumptions. However those assumptions exist, and are prevalent in many cultures. These assumptions are regularly challenged, but those who challenge them may find themselves the subject of humour or dismissal. They will then have to make more of an effort to succeed in whatever walk-of-life or pasttime they have chosen to undertake. As such, gender differences 'derived' from Divinity are far from absolute, and while they may affect specialisation, they tend not to affect stratification, except in particular institutions...
The 'Glass Dome' within the Churches
The differences between the genders assumed to be characterised by the gods and goddesses are taken for granted within the churches themselves. A cleric must aspire to be as like the god or goddess they follow as they possibly can be and it is assumed that they will do this better if they are of the same gender. A cleric of Olorin will be assumed to have more of the characteristics of Olorin if they are male while a cleric of Urala will be assumed to have more of the characteristics of Urala if they are female. As a result of this assumption it is much more likely that the church of a god will be presided over by a patriarch while the church of a goddess will be presided over by a matriarch. There are never any rules to insist on this but there is firm prejudice within churches on this issue. In only two churches is there a lack of such discrimination: The Druidic Movement (which follow Garlomen and Marumi both) and the Church of the Deliverer (who has both masculine and feminine aspects). None of the prejudices existing in the rest of the churches have any particular affect on lay worshippers, only on clerics themselves.
So, nature plays a part in gender difference as well as culturally constructed phenomena. In the discussion just passed we can see that there is gender discrimination in The Lands, but that it is relative rather than absolute, and tends to affect specialisation moreso than stratification. In this sense, different aspects of power are vested to a greater or lesser extent in persons of particular gender, rather than having a world in which one gender is always and in all spheres the dominant one.
Sexual Orientation
In a world of some millions all manner of inclinations and practices will exist and saying there is only one 'natural' way is a bold statement indeed. However there will be practices that are deemed the norm due to the combined factors of economics and culture.
Gender Preferences
The economics of much of The Lands is one of subsistence. One of the key bulwarks standing between a village and its destitution is population. There is a strong imperative to reproduce therefore that is emphasised by traditional culture and is regarded as a vital contribution to the community. Infertility is a subject of pity but those who actively neglect the duty to reproduce well into adulthood are looked on with growing suspicion. Homosexuals must be very discrete lest they be exiled from the community. Those so exiled (sometimes thrashed and stripped of all possessions in the process) tend to move to larger population centres in which to start a new life.
In a city homophobia still exists but in the form of slurs and sneers. In a prosperous population centre only some ever need to reproduce and as a result the old punishments due to homosexuals lie dormant in the statute books. Someone at risk in a village can blend into the crowd and be relatively safety in a city. Furthermore they can find small pockets of society in which they are accepted - mages tend to be more accepting than most of different forms of sexuality (since ultimately they regard all sexuality as a mere frivolity compared with the exhilaration and fulfillment of magic).
Nonetheless heterosexuality is the majority inclination. The assumption of the normality of heterosexuality is also bolstered somewhat by religion. None of the churches condone homosexuality and one church - that of Nitara the Goddess of Fertility - actively promotes the virtue and joy of heterosexuality (even to the extent that some of its holy songs are practically bawdy tavern fare). They have an interesting solution to homosexuality however - such persons can be accepted into society if and only if they take on a profession that actively promotes fertility (such as animal-husbandry and midwifery).
Elvish culture is different however in its full recognition of sexuality as having a recreational and bond-forming aspect. The default among Elves is a form of bisexuality. Any human culture that has been affected by Elvish culture (specifically the Sea Cities) will likewise have taken on some of this perspective.
Dwarvish libido is so scant that it always needs some external factor to promote action of an amorous kind. Dwarvish culture emphasises the need to continue the family line or to promote alliances between clans. As such only heterosexuality ever gets that extra 'push' it needs and homosexuality stays dormant. One Dwarvish smith has commented that "sure men are cuter than women, but a well-forged sword is even cuter".
Full-blooded Orcs are only interested in sex during Springtime. The focus of sexuality is on reproduction so the other gender is always the target of attraction. However young Orcs will sometimes 'practice' with same-sex peers within the clan.
Monogamy or Polyamory
The same reproductive imperative that promotes heterosexuality also tends to support monogamy but only for the purposes of having children. It is deemed prudent to only have children with one partner even if one may have had other partners in life. It is normal for marriage to follow intercourse rather than the other way around. Still the desire to have one partner at a time is culturally entrenched (even if it is frequently altered to having only one public partner at a time). Open polyamory is rare except in the case (once more) of cultures affected by contact with Elvish society.
The clerics of the Deliverer are among the most stringent advocates of the incest taboo and adherence to monogamy. Critics joke that this is because they want to simplify the job of the genealogist (a role which many such clerics fulfill). Nonetheless this stance has an impact on culture and as such morality in many villages is particularly traditional and it is the local cleric of the Deliverer who is behind most 'bow-and-arrow marriages'.
Celibacy
Celibacy of a voluntary kind is regarded as peculiar in adults. Even among clerics it is unusual. Only in the church of Urala is it presented as a worthy life path for those who have been sufficiently injured by the torments of passionate love. Still there will be those who are so focused on a particular vocation or life-work that they eschew sexuality entirely. Some mages focus so much on magic as to find any other kind of activity utterly mundane. Likewise many Dwarvish artisans find that the fascinations of craft far exceed those of the limited Dwarvish libido.
posted by Daniel | 8.5.06
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