Re: So-called Alternative Lifestyles (was Unconventional pronoun systemsshow us yours!)

On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 06:37, Scotto Hlad wrote:
> This gay conlanger took no offence :-)
>
> However, it once again piqued my curiosity. While I eschew political
> correctness, I'm curious how conlangers have handled the emergence of
> so-called alternative lifestyles. In working with my two conlangs, my
> romance conlang, Rumansa I want to follow the evoluation of such things
> using forms and ideas that are of the same mindset as general usage in the
> world.
>
> That being said, I want to have a broader world view with my a-priori
> conlang, Vystoulor. I know that so many cultures have the 'us' & 'them'
> ideas. (Greek/Barbari; Hebrew/Goyische etc) I want the vystoulorian
> community to not only be inclusive of so-called 'alternative lifestyles' I
> want to show that they are inherent to their community.
There's a book by Tobias Schneebaum, "Where the Spirits Dwell: An Odyssey in
 the New Guinea Jungle", which describes a tribe in West Papua:
http://www.powells.com/subsection/AnthropologyAustralia.4.html
"Publisher Comments
 Tobias Schneebaum here tells the remarkable story of his four years among the
Asmat of New Guinea, a jungle-dwelling people rumored to have killed Michael
Rockefeller. Instead of ferocious cannibals, Schneebaum found a regal, gentle
people who freely accepted him and initiated him into a way of life no
outsider had ever seen before."

Their definition of masculinity included a lover-relationship between two
adult males together with the sharing of their wives on occasion - I presume
ritual occasion.

I read it in 1990 and used it in The House of the Gods:
http://masalai.free.fr/hsegods.1.html
where the Ancient Athenians (adult male homosexual lover relationships) met
with the Ancient Hebrews (levirate marriage as a way of social welfare for
widows) via the current Asmat (wife-sharing as a part of male
lover-relationships as part and parcel of maintaining the social fabric) and
you're welcome to make of it what you will!

>
> I am looking for any ideas to embrace this mindset, including places in the
> world where we have always been accepted, not as outcasts (I believe that
> there are a few cultures where this has been the case).
>
> I'm looking not only for vocabulary, but also for general ideas and views
> that would support/accept/include such societal norms.
>
> I may even elect to include such norms into Romansa as the cultures do
> co-exist.
>
> Any help would be great appreciated!
>
> Scotto
>
> ------------------------------------
> La lur�da susese lu fef�ru.
> Success follows failure.
> scotto@accesideal.com
>
> > > My stupidity, sorry. No, of course you don't use |das| with
> > > people's names, except when you're 13 or so and want annoy
> > > a classmate: "Das <insert a boy's name here> ist schwu-hul,
> > > waahaha!". Boys at the beginning of their puberty usually
> > > think this would be funny :-/ Please, dear gays, don't feel
> > > offended!
> >
> > In high school we had a teacher whose family name was "Eber"; we
> > sometimes called him "das Eber". Not to suggest homosexuality, however,
> > but inanimacy.
> >
> >                                                               Andreas
--
Wesley Parish
* * *
Clinersterton beademung - in all of love.  RIP James Blish
* * *
Mau e ki, "He aha te mea nui?"
You ask, "What is the most important thing?"
Maku e ki, "He tangata, he tangata, he tangata."
I reply, "It is people, it is people, it is people."