You're Giving me Cramps !

From: Paul2.Harmaty <Paul2.Harmaty_at_aig.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 13:44:11 -0400


Greeting.

I've watched the discussion on women's monthly period and reproduction issues and felt it was time to add my 2 cents.

My position on this matter revolves around the power of myth in Glorantha. Can we agree that myths in Glorantha are actually by-and-large truths? Myths support the world view of the people on Glorantha in a way they have not on our Earth for thousands of years.

So, where am I going?
Does anyone remember why Earth women are suppose to suffer during child birth? That's right! The God of the Judeo-Christian "Bible" cursed women to bring forth children through pain as a penalty for disobedience. Without this "curse", would women find child birth painful? Let's just say no! So now, we'd need to find theGloranthan myth that validates painful child birth? I believe that without a Gloranthan myth that supports painful child birth, there should be no actual pain during child birth.

I'm not saying it can't be uncomfortable, the physics of the thing require some discomfort, but the "labor" of our Earth need not be duplicated on a fantasy world. I've seen documentaries where a horse, deer or other large animal gives birth and they don't seem to suffer as much as my wife did bringing our son into the world. Would it be too much of a stretch in a fantasy world to believe that women find birthing no more painful than a cow? I would argue that this makes more sense than to believe that women are singled out to suffer MORE than any other animal when they bring forth offspring. Doesn't it sound "wrong" to you when you think about it? What monstrous God would have conceived of such a curse?

I think that in pursuit of "realism" a wrong turn has been made in this area.

Have I missed something? Does anyone see a problem with my thinking on this matter?

Paul Harmaty


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