Western civilization got stuck with men being the tough, in-charge defenders of the family/city/country/world and women being the gentle, nurturing protectors of hearth and family. Thus when someone perceives themselves as something different than their gender-determined role, it’s not surprising that they choose some other path when possible. I wonder if, in cultures where women had a larger role in things, those who didn’t want to be forced into a particular type fared any better.
It seems the women, at least, fared better in Matriarchal societies, like the Nubians who rivaled Egypt for advanced civilizations. They even had a female god, Isis. No word on same-sex relationships or longing to swap genders. When looking at the Trobrian women of Papua New Guinea, an early anthropologist missed the clues about how much power women held there. Due to his seeing things through western civilization mores, he lost the opportunity to proclaim the unique qualities of this society. That was left for Annette Weiner in 1976. More about these people and other similar cultures in the Philippines, India, and China can be found here.
This article spotlights additional matrilineal cultures, only overlapping one from above. Looking deeper, I find that female-led societies experience more sex, less stigma from having more than one lover or children by many different men, and much less domestic violence. In fact, crime overall is lower. So I would like to presume that homosexuality is not treated as an offense and children perhaps grow up able to be the person they want to be.
More fascinating than helpful in my search, the Aka and Ngandu tribes of central Africa have a high rate of sex per night with the same partner, and have no word and barely a concept of homosexuality. The same is true for masturbation. They focus on bringing children into the world, trying to stack the deck against a high infant mortality rate. The two practices are not bad, just beyond their understanding, like being able to fly.
Homosexuality has been present in most cultures over centuries. I do not doubt men have fallen in love with men and women with women in nearly every ancient county. Being able to take on the gender you wish to have has only been possible during recent times. The book Myra Breckinridge by Gore Vidal was, in 1968, seen as a joke and pornographic. It wasn’t the best showing of a trans person, but at least it put the idea out there, into the minds of the general public. Don’t waste time with the movie, it was a flop.
Sex between men, even of legal age and in private, was a crime in England until 1967. Scotland did not decriminalize the act until 1980. Those facts show how much people struggle against equality in so many ways. And Wikipedia’s timeline shows how heartbreaking the laws have been. Side note: Alan Turing, a saint in my mind for those struggling with that whole life, committed suicide the year I was born.
I have not found the answer to my puzzle about matriarchal societies and their attitudes toward gay and lesbian relationships or transgender thoughts. There may not be any evidence one way or the other. But I have discovered a lot to think about and a few ideas about heroes and heroines in future Romance novels. Side Note 2: For a very special depiction of a trans person in a relationship, the webcomic Questionable Content is doing a wonderful job of it.
Thanks for reading, I’ll be back on Sunday.
Romance-ology 