>The issue is that we have a defined cult of Vinga which allows
>for considerable variation and is now being narrowed down by
>restrictions. Not just "Clan X Vingans are only allowed to have
>sexual relations with other women." but "Vingans in Sartar are
>only allowed to have sexual relations with other women".
But nobody's said that. Some people are suggesting that they can't or shouldn't get *pregnant*, but that's a different matter.
Yes, it's been said that philosophically, Vingans are 'men in women's bodies'. They're attracted to professions, activities and attitudes that Heortlings believe are masculine, so - to the Heortling mindset - of course they must really be men. That doesn't mean they can't still have sex with men... there's nothing to say that men in women's bodies can't be *gay* (or bisexual) men in women's bodies, after all. :) (Even assuming that Heortlings have such a binary view of sexuality in the first place, which isn't by any means a given.)
I think a lot of the problem is that this posited Heortling attitude to gender roles clashes with modern 21st century Western ideas of gender identity, and some people don't want to have to deal with the difference in *their* Glorantha. Hence Jane's feminist Vinga - as goddess of women who can do anything men can, but are proud of still being women - is in conflict with Greg's transsexual Vinga as goddess of women who are really men. Since YGWV is a cardinal principle, I fail to see why people should be getting so upset about it... just use the version you prefer in your games.
Besides, as I implied in my story about the weaver-men, I think that such matters don't really arise for 85% of Gloranthans. Few people get so deeply into the mysteries and magic of their god that philosophical questions about identity really arise. They never rise above initiate (in most cultures few even reach that level); they rarely concentrate their magic; most of the cult's restrictions and taboos are at the level of "we'd rather you behaved this way, if you want to appear pious" rather than "spirits of reprisal will strike you down if you don't behave this way".
It's only the tiny minority who become devotees or disciples (or Rune level, if you're playing RQ) who identify so closely with their god that it affects even the categories of people they're sexually attracted to...
Stephen
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