Re: New Arvorec words

En réponse à jesse stephen bangs <jaspax@...>:

>
> This is true, and doubtlessly there were homosexuals among the
> Yivríndi,
> and probably in about the same proportions.  (BTW, does anyone know if
> the
> percentages of homosexuals is different in tolerant and non-tolerant
> cultures?)
Well, even in "tolerant" cultures it's quite difficult to get a grasp on the
real proportion of homosexuals, so as for finding it in non-tolerant
societies...

If by homosexuals you mean "active" homosexuals, who really meet and have
homosexual intercourses, I guess there are more in tolerant cultures than in
non-tolerant ones, due to the difficulty of meeting other gay people. But if by
homosexuals you mean people who "feel" homosexual, but sometimes contrive
themselves into a heterosexual lifestyle, even if it doesn't fit them, then I
don't see why there should be a cultural difference. Being gay is like being
left-handed: you don't choose it, it's there from your birth. AFAIK, the
proportion of left-handed people is the same in all cultures of the world (more
or less 15% as I recall). Some cultures find it abnormal and force people to
write with their right hand (like it was done in Western societies, and
sometimes still is), but the people don't become right-handed this way. They
still use their left hand because it's the most habile one, even if they write
with their right hand. IMO (and I have quite an insight, being both gay and
left-handed :) ), homosexuality works the same way. You can force a homosexual
person to have heterosexual relationships, but that won't make this person
straight. Thus by taking the comparison until the end, there's no reason why
there should be a cultural variation in the proportion of gay people.

[snip interesting concultural stuff]

Just a question: since marriage is supposed to produce children, are people who
are discovered to be infertile banned from marriage, and can a marriage be
cancelled for sterility reasons?

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

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