> In message
> <194044.13415.qm_at_5lJZckSAMKKxwYTZ2B0yWBdB_FPZFxmffZyz_oxGdFBtH7n4Q5dESlktAqB77IYVK0rzL1XIHMLq3lbRBtMtkmp3A21l0MJGZ5pKACoI4rG9Mym7fA.yahoo.invalid> Jane
> Williams writes:
>
> >So you subscribe to the "men are too incompetent to
> >talk and act at the same time" theory?
> It's more the fact that the work men do tends to
> make
> talking at the same time impractical. Particularly
> the
> group discussions which decide things.
That's the other way round: sure, typical male work excludes talking. But it was being suggested that at the times men *are* sitting around talking, they are incapable of doing anything constructive at the same time. And that falls into a popular modern theory about men being incompetent (only women can do more than one thing at once, apparently), which still seems to be to be unfair to men.
> >> I think that Nandan would be perfect to
> >> provide a needed outlet for males who wish to
> become healers in the society
> >
> >Yes, that sounds good. Though also stopping them
> from
> >being husbands and fathers sounds pretty silly.
>
> Cultural practices often seem silly to outsiders.
This isn't a cultural practice: it's whether you've got the body parts or not, and of what type.
> For a man to get access to those secrets
> he has to persuade the goddess that he's a woman in
> a man's body.
Yes - in a man's body.
> Just as a Vingan has to persuade Orlanth
> that she's a man in a woman's body.
Still in a woman's body.
And since the body is what matters once you're in bed, getting a Nandan to give birth is going to require a few more steps.
I can see a possibility that Nandan might lose the ability to father children, though no reason for it. Vinga losing the ability to become pregnant is practical: you're not an effective warrior when you're waddling. But fathering a child wouldn't affect the Nandan's ability to carry out his purpose. The loss would be for stylistic reasons, not practical.
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