>
And men have been imaginative enough to get around this problem for a very long time. :)
> So while they may be able (socially and religiously) to marry men,
> their options for mates are going to be comparitively limited. And I
expect that
> the notoriously open-minded and tolerant Heortling society[*] is going
> to wonder just a little bit about the guy who decides to marry a
> Nandan instead of, say, a Bevaran...
Very possibly so, on all counts. Indeed, this is pointed out in the Storm Tribe writeup. But the fact remains that the mythic/social institution is there, regardless of whether everyone likes it or not.
I think it's exactly analogous to the fact that people think that Vingans are "odd". I find it interesting, though, that everyone (and I'm talking about players here, not Gloranthans) seems able to accept Vingans who act like men without batting an eyelid, but the converse - Nandani men who act like women - is seen as incredibly weird and mind-boggling. Something of a double-standard, no?
I still remember the offensive comments that were made when Nandan came up on the Glorantha Digest a couple of years ago, and I wonder if we're seeing a less... vehement... manifestation of the same attitudes.
I hesitate to use the word "homophobic", but given the negative reaction I got from my gaming group when I mused about the possibility of playing a Nandan worshipper, I do wonder.
Regards,
Bruce
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