>Anyway, with magical contraception adjusting cycles, hormonal
>imbalances, pco, and other common gynaecological issues would
>be simple, and probably taught as minor common magics to Ernaldans,
>or under the Ernalda specialised religion keyword?
Probably both, Ernaldans would claim that the Ernaldan magic was better but I'm sure such magic is available across Glorantha unless a particular religious group is supressing it.
>Regardless the planned parenthood allowed by fertility magics would
>significantly increase the social role of women, who strike me a a
>pretty liberated free thinking and powerful lot in Glorantha. And
>sexism would die fast, as those who espouse it get a good kicking
>from justly wrathful Vingans.
Really? Never met any sexist women?
In my experience for every male who thinks that women aren't fit for a responsible job there's a women who thinks that women should make home and family their main priority.
>YGMV, but from my brief glance at Heortling marriage customs, radical
>equality but separate spheres of influence strike me as normative.
>Besides, I see to much sexism and denigration of women in RL, and while
>I might stop short of Dworkin the Babeestor Gor, I can leave gender
>politics to he real world. In my fantasy escapism there is conflict
>between men and women, but it is over things far more subtle and mythic
>than crude sexism.
There's plenty of sexism in Heortling society, it's just not the sexism which developed during the industrial revolution on the basis of Roman Christianity. It's the sexism of tradition based on solutions to practical problems. There's a lot of farm work which requires brute strength and mass. Certainly women can do it but the average woman is less efficent than the average man so it becomes men's work. Equally pregnancy and breast feeding tie women to the stead so they tend to specialise in work that can be done there. And while control of fertility makes a lot of difference Heortling families are bigger than modern western ones. I'd guess at an average of five or six children in the first decade of the marriage and sometimes a few after that.
In addition there are mystical traditions which encourage sexism. Why is pottery a woman's job but carpentry a man's? Why are there two classes of entertainers?
That's before you get to taboos which prevent men or women doing certain jobs.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
Powered by hypermail