SEX, MARRIAGE, GENDER ISSUES
Apr. 19th, 2012 07:11 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
rachel2205.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
konstantoocThis is worth a read because marriage structures in particular are different from what's typical in our own societies!
Christian marriage and sexuality
Both Christian churches (see religion and culture) practice triadic marriage, which means marriage with three people. The marriage must be open to the possibility of conception, so must include at least one man and at least one woman. (Eunuchs are not allowed to marry, see below.) Three is a sacred number, representing the Trinity. All members of the marriage, like the Trinity, are equal and vital, but like God the Father, one partner leads the marriage as head of household and the other two spouses take that partner's surname. Usually this is the most high status spouse.
The canonical age of consent for marriage is 12 for girls and 14 for boys, but this centuries-old standard is seen as rather outdated; it's rare for anyone to be married before the age of 18 and it's rather socially frowned upon to marry off your children before that age. In any case, particularly for high ranking members of the community, forming three way marital ties normally takes a lot of time-consuming negotiating.
The Eastern Church allows divorce, after assessment in a Church court that the marriage is irreparable. The Western Church does not, although it will grant permission for spouses to separate if there are serious grounds (domestic abuse, adultery etc). But they are still legally wed. If one spouse dies, the remaining two spouses are still married. They are permitted to find a third spouse, but of course both spouses must agree to the new match. However, if they prefer not to find a third partner, this is acceptable - the only time when dyadic (two person) marriage is allowed.
Premarital sex is officially forbidden; in reality, people often turn a blind eye to it if it's sexual interaction between two young people of the same sex, as this is generally indulged as a natural part of adolescence. Heterosexual sexual activity between unmarried people does happen but it's more socially taboo, as is sexual activity outside of marriage by people who are no longer teenagers - they should know better.
Pederasty and corerasty (the female equivalent) are officially not permitted. Eastern Christians, who have traditionally had closer links to the Ottomans, are in reality much more relaxed about it. Western Christians, particularly the British, see these relationships as degenerate (part of Orientalist prejudices).
Muslim marriage and sexuality
The Qu'ran says: "then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four"; a man may have up to four wives. The verse goes on to say "if you fear that you will not do justice between them, then marry only one or what your right hands possess," which is interpreted to mean that more than two wives is risky.
There is no set age of consent, and it varies across the Ottoman Empire (partly because of its flexibility in absorbing different cultures). In Kostantiniyee, marriage below the age of 16 is rare and seen as ill-advised.
Pederasty and corerasty are an important part of life, particularly amongst elites. These relationships, usually between teens of 13-18 years old and adults 5-15 years older than them, are seen as important because they help teens learn about sexuality in what's perceived to be a safe, respectable environment (parental/guardian permission must be sought before such a relationship is entered into), and the senior partner is expected to help their teen lover become socially refined and to make advantageous connections. These relationships typically last for a year or so. Homosexual relationships are not permitted between people outside of these formalised structures.
Jewish marriage and sexuality
Because there is no Jewish Empire, and Jewish populations are integrated to greater and lesser degrees within different countries, marriage practice varies. Dyadic marriage is more common in European Jewish communities, but in the Ottoman Empire polygamy has been more common. The Torah permits polygamy but does not particularly encourage it. In Kostantiniyye, where triadic or polygamous marriage are common, Jewish people sometimes feel at a social disadvantage if they have only one spouse. Bar mitzvah provides the minimum age for marriage (13), but again in Konstantiniyee such young marriage is rare.
Attitudes toward homosexual activity also vary. The fledgling Reform Movement, which has emerged in Western Europe, is tolerant of it and permits same sex marriage. This is forbidden for Orthodox Jews. The Jewish community in Kostantiniyye is mixed and so this can be an area of discord.
Eunuchs
Eunuchs have played a significant part in the culture of the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. All priests and monks of the Eastern Church are eunuchs. This is one way they consider themselves superior to the Western Church, because they have made a physical sacrifice to ensure their chastity. (Of course, it's not like castration necessarily ensures that...) In the Ottoman Empire, eunuchs are valued as singers, attendants to the royal family and aristocratic households, and as magicians.
In Kostantiniyye, eunuchs are classified as a separate sex and they are not permitted to marry. They are also not permitted to own land. They do not, however, pay taxes, and often end up acquiring great wealth in terms of wages and gifts. Thus many eunuchs are acquire great influence, even if they technically can't be citizens of the city.
Gendered Power: This is an interesting area for the game, I think. I don't think it's plausible in this set up to entirely eradicate a patriarchal past. BUT in a world where one of the major religions (and its two major institutions) institutionalises bisexuality, I think this adds a complicating element. I think that in this world, social status is much more significant than gender status, but that there is probably a historic bias toward preferring men. Social status is determined by wealth, class, family reputation, and nationality (and of course different groups have different perceptions of what desirable nationalities are...). So this is definitely not an egalitarian society, but inequalities are not focused around gender.
Clerics of the Western Church are male and not allowed to marry - eunuchs are permitted to be clerics but castration is not necessary; in the Eastern Church they are eunuchs; in Islam imams may be male or female (not eunuchs); and hopefully Becky can give me some further thoughts on female rabbis... Outside this, I think that women can take on any role a man can. Eunuchs have a more complex social status, both privileged and constrained.
Christian marriage and sexuality
Both Christian churches (see religion and culture) practice triadic marriage, which means marriage with three people. The marriage must be open to the possibility of conception, so must include at least one man and at least one woman. (Eunuchs are not allowed to marry, see below.) Three is a sacred number, representing the Trinity. All members of the marriage, like the Trinity, are equal and vital, but like God the Father, one partner leads the marriage as head of household and the other two spouses take that partner's surname. Usually this is the most high status spouse.
The canonical age of consent for marriage is 12 for girls and 14 for boys, but this centuries-old standard is seen as rather outdated; it's rare for anyone to be married before the age of 18 and it's rather socially frowned upon to marry off your children before that age. In any case, particularly for high ranking members of the community, forming three way marital ties normally takes a lot of time-consuming negotiating.
The Eastern Church allows divorce, after assessment in a Church court that the marriage is irreparable. The Western Church does not, although it will grant permission for spouses to separate if there are serious grounds (domestic abuse, adultery etc). But they are still legally wed. If one spouse dies, the remaining two spouses are still married. They are permitted to find a third spouse, but of course both spouses must agree to the new match. However, if they prefer not to find a third partner, this is acceptable - the only time when dyadic (two person) marriage is allowed.
Premarital sex is officially forbidden; in reality, people often turn a blind eye to it if it's sexual interaction between two young people of the same sex, as this is generally indulged as a natural part of adolescence. Heterosexual sexual activity between unmarried people does happen but it's more socially taboo, as is sexual activity outside of marriage by people who are no longer teenagers - they should know better.
Pederasty and corerasty (the female equivalent) are officially not permitted. Eastern Christians, who have traditionally had closer links to the Ottomans, are in reality much more relaxed about it. Western Christians, particularly the British, see these relationships as degenerate (part of Orientalist prejudices).
Muslim marriage and sexuality
The Qu'ran says: "then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four"; a man may have up to four wives. The verse goes on to say "if you fear that you will not do justice between them, then marry only one or what your right hands possess," which is interpreted to mean that more than two wives is risky.
There is no set age of consent, and it varies across the Ottoman Empire (partly because of its flexibility in absorbing different cultures). In Kostantiniyee, marriage below the age of 16 is rare and seen as ill-advised.
Pederasty and corerasty are an important part of life, particularly amongst elites. These relationships, usually between teens of 13-18 years old and adults 5-15 years older than them, are seen as important because they help teens learn about sexuality in what's perceived to be a safe, respectable environment (parental/guardian permission must be sought before such a relationship is entered into), and the senior partner is expected to help their teen lover become socially refined and to make advantageous connections. These relationships typically last for a year or so. Homosexual relationships are not permitted between people outside of these formalised structures.
Jewish marriage and sexuality
Because there is no Jewish Empire, and Jewish populations are integrated to greater and lesser degrees within different countries, marriage practice varies. Dyadic marriage is more common in European Jewish communities, but in the Ottoman Empire polygamy has been more common. The Torah permits polygamy but does not particularly encourage it. In Kostantiniyye, where triadic or polygamous marriage are common, Jewish people sometimes feel at a social disadvantage if they have only one spouse. Bar mitzvah provides the minimum age for marriage (13), but again in Konstantiniyee such young marriage is rare.
Attitudes toward homosexual activity also vary. The fledgling Reform Movement, which has emerged in Western Europe, is tolerant of it and permits same sex marriage. This is forbidden for Orthodox Jews. The Jewish community in Kostantiniyye is mixed and so this can be an area of discord.
Eunuchs
Eunuchs have played a significant part in the culture of the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. All priests and monks of the Eastern Church are eunuchs. This is one way they consider themselves superior to the Western Church, because they have made a physical sacrifice to ensure their chastity. (Of course, it's not like castration necessarily ensures that...) In the Ottoman Empire, eunuchs are valued as singers, attendants to the royal family and aristocratic households, and as magicians.
In Kostantiniyye, eunuchs are classified as a separate sex and they are not permitted to marry. They are also not permitted to own land. They do not, however, pay taxes, and often end up acquiring great wealth in terms of wages and gifts. Thus many eunuchs are acquire great influence, even if they technically can't be citizens of the city.
Gendered Power: This is an interesting area for the game, I think. I don't think it's plausible in this set up to entirely eradicate a patriarchal past. BUT in a world where one of the major religions (and its two major institutions) institutionalises bisexuality, I think this adds a complicating element. I think that in this world, social status is much more significant than gender status, but that there is probably a historic bias toward preferring men. Social status is determined by wealth, class, family reputation, and nationality (and of course different groups have different perceptions of what desirable nationalities are...). So this is definitely not an egalitarian society, but inequalities are not focused around gender.
Clerics of the Western Church are male and not allowed to marry - eunuchs are permitted to be clerics but castration is not necessary; in the Eastern Church they are eunuchs; in Islam imams may be male or female (not eunuchs); and hopefully Becky can give me some further thoughts on female rabbis... Outside this, I think that women can take on any role a man can. Eunuchs have a more complex social status, both privileged and constrained.
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no subject
Date: 2012-04-21 02:43 pm (UTC)Also the triadic marriage is very appealing and interesting. I think one of the ways it would raise female status would be that it provided another option for what one did with younger sons, putting all your non heir children on a more equal footing. I suspect that two man marriages were probably preferred by women's fathers because it meant that their daughter's children had to be the one's to inherit, though probably the parents of the partner of highest social status (who would presumeably most often have been a man in the middle ages) preferred their child marry two people of the same sex so their children were the ones to follow them. Or was there a rule placing the children fathered or birthed by the dominant partner as the primary heirs?
Actually is inheritance still patrilinear or does it now fall to the oldest child?
no subject
Date: 2012-04-22 04:47 pm (UTC)The association of the head of household with the Father makes sense; are there any other expectations about the behaviour or roles of other two? (E.g., assuming that the youngest one of the other two symbolizes the Son?) Not thinking it would necessarily be important, just thinking something about as important and/or common as Zodiac predictions are to most people.
I may be bogging down in details, but I wondered.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-22 04:49 pm (UTC)Also, what's the legal status of bastards?
no subject
Date: 2012-04-22 07:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-22 08:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-22 09:27 pm (UTC)I would need to think about your other question but it is a good one.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-22 09:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-23 01:19 am (UTC)Alternately, might be determined by social status (echoes of the family name of the high-status member of the triad being taken by the other two)? Or agreement within the triad?
...I am so tempted to dig up some of the old stuff I had about partible paternity, which is a damn fascinating concept.
---
[1] If a marriage consists of one mother and two (possible) fathers, and the mother dies before the child is of an age to inherit, does the child have a claim on the property of both possible fathers? How do you go about disowning a descendant? Assorted things, which are more in the "individual plot tangles" vein of things, I do admit. The situation of "parent dies, marriage still exists" is one that keeps striking me as potentially very cool.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-23 01:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-23 12:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-26 03:06 pm (UTC)