>> > Oh, and I'd stick to Sparta as inspiration on the Sundomers, not
>> > muslims. All the solar cultures tend to be prudish and chaste
>> > (repressed) anyway....
>
>> So the pure spartan model doesn't quite fit
>> the yelmalion culture. A spartan/muslim hybrid fits better
>> what we know of the sun domers, I think.
>
>We seem to be drifting towards the idea that Sun County is an extreme of
>repressing women. Take another look. Women are "expected" to do things
>like wearing veils - they don't get stoned to death for not doing so,
>just frowned on. There may be prejudice against having them in the army,
>but it happens. Yelorans, even female Yelmalians. Look at what really
>happens, compare with what really happens in the RW, you'll find Sun
>County is less repressive than 1990s Britain. (I'm not sure if women are
>currently allowed to be front-line troops here, but if we are, it's a
>recent change).
I think this is just an aspect of the trend to describe Gloranthan cultures in a shorthand which reflects modern western sterotypes of various RW cultures. They aren't even directly comparable to RW cultures because they've been affected by different factors of which magic is probably the most significant. Prior to the late 20th Century RW infant mortality meant that to sustain the population the average woman had to spend a substantial part of her adult life reproducing. That forced women out of activities which were incompatible with being pregnant. Now that situation doesn't apply in Glorantha, women can and often do control their fertility without having a problem with a diminishing population which indicates infant mortality is much lower than historically the case in the RW. It follows therefore that Gloranthan cultures will allow women a greater choice in activities although a majority will still choose to spend several years in bearing and raising children. Equally these are mostly rural cultures and there will be some activities which are just too physically demanding for women.
Let's try to describe Gloranthan cultures as we see them rather than arguing about RW analogues when we don't necessarily agree on the precise nature of those RW societies.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/ --__--__-- End of Glorantha Digest
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