Winterthorn
Monster Manager
Vartan said:
Crowrows? Oh gawd! That's soooo gay!
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Homosexuality in the Forgotten Realms
- Thread starter jhkim
- Start date
Crowrows? Oh gawd! That's soooo gay!
HeapThaumaturgist
First Post
My wife would have a field day with this thread.
We both had a lot of gay/lesbian theory during our stint in The Ivory Tower.
We were discussing this thread in the car after dinner, and I'll try to summarize some of her comments:
To a predominance of bi/lesbian female characters over bi/homosexual male characters, she thinks it is, in some ways, related to pandering somewhat to the male buying public, but also that female homosexuality is generally "less threatening" (in no small part that many men find it so ... interesting) so if an author wants to portray homosexuality in a positive/neutral light, the easiest way is through female characters, which are less likely to cause strong reactions in the greater population of the readership WHILE presenting same-sex couples in a positive light. Females are less likely to react negatively to homosexuality across the board (and are even more less likely to react negatively to female homosexuality, for ill-understood reasons, which is to say women react more negatively to male homosexuality than female for some reason).
To a preponderance of bisexual females in positions of power or prestige, she doesn't find that out of the ordinary either. For one, the female form is objectified sexually and possession of the female is somewhat written into power-concerns in Western culture. I.E. the possession and consolidation of power is in some ways connected to the possession of the female as an intimate partner. Another point is that some research has suggested that the occurance of bisexuality and lesbianism tends to increase somewhat with socioeconomic position and, especially, education (there's something to the old yarn about college roommates, perhaps) so that, yes, women found in positions of power or WITH great power may, in fact, be more commonly bisexual or lesbian than the baseline average across population would suggest, both as the trappings of power and based on educational and socioeconomic positioning concerns.
What does this mean to Elminster? Probably not much.
--fje
We both had a lot of gay/lesbian theory during our stint in The Ivory Tower.
We were discussing this thread in the car after dinner, and I'll try to summarize some of her comments:
To a predominance of bi/lesbian female characters over bi/homosexual male characters, she thinks it is, in some ways, related to pandering somewhat to the male buying public, but also that female homosexuality is generally "less threatening" (in no small part that many men find it so ... interesting) so if an author wants to portray homosexuality in a positive/neutral light, the easiest way is through female characters, which are less likely to cause strong reactions in the greater population of the readership WHILE presenting same-sex couples in a positive light. Females are less likely to react negatively to homosexuality across the board (and are even more less likely to react negatively to female homosexuality, for ill-understood reasons, which is to say women react more negatively to male homosexuality than female for some reason).
To a preponderance of bisexual females in positions of power or prestige, she doesn't find that out of the ordinary either. For one, the female form is objectified sexually and possession of the female is somewhat written into power-concerns in Western culture. I.E. the possession and consolidation of power is in some ways connected to the possession of the female as an intimate partner. Another point is that some research has suggested that the occurance of bisexuality and lesbianism tends to increase somewhat with socioeconomic position and, especially, education (there's something to the old yarn about college roommates, perhaps) so that, yes, women found in positions of power or WITH great power may, in fact, be more commonly bisexual or lesbian than the baseline average across population would suggest, both as the trappings of power and based on educational and socioeconomic positioning concerns.
What does this mean to Elminster? Probably not much.
--fje
Those are actual terminology, yes, but you got it wrong I'm sorry to say. Elves are not at all like otters. They are, instead, like Twinks. I am, myself, an otter, so I know what I'm talking about- an otter is defined as a hairy guy who happens to be thin (as opposed to a dwarflike stoutness- dwarves are indeed Bears in the gay-culture sense). No subrace of elves features any body hair or facial hair, except Drow- and Drow males can only grow mustaches. Thus, elves cannot be otters, because they only have hair on top of their heads. Now, twinks are defined generally as thin men, particularly thin guys who don't work out much and therefore have a somewhat "soft" or "boyish" appearance. That, to me, screams elf. Very few elves have a robust frame or serious muscular definition.dragonlordofpoondari said:
But as for elves being gay, I'd say the majority would actually be bisexual in behavior- regardless of orientation. With lives that long, even the "straightest arrows" among the elves would get bored and experiment eventually. It just plain makes too much sense for it not to happen. Plus, elves are Chaotic in their average racial alignment, and that means they have a tendency to try new things. Seems to me that would mean swinging both ways at least occasionally.
Kae'Yoss
First Post
paradox42 said:
Wouldn't agree to that. There are high-str fighters, and while an elf will, on average, have 2 less points of con than a human in the same role, that doesn't mean that they can't be tough - they're just slightly less tough than a human. Still, a fighter can easily start with 14 con.
And if you have a wood elf, then they're actually stronger than a human in that role.
Not all elves get weapon finesse.
I'm not so sure of that. If they are averse to homosexuality, centuries won't necessarily change that.
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