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Chapter 1: Race and Gender
Most cultures are patriarchal and the prevalent
belief regarding gender is that females are inferior
to males physically, intellectually, morally, and
emotionally. For example, menstruation may be understood
as punishment by the gods. Further, the
natural role of women regarding childbirth, and subsequently
motherhood, has impacted the societal
role of women, such that they are deemed better
suited to stay at home, cook, clean, and care for their
husband and children. Prior to marriage, maidens
are expected to be chaste, though few fulfill this expectation.
Once married, a wife is expected to be
submissive to her husband, who owns her.
Conversely, in most patriarchal cultures,
males are considered superior to females physically,
intellectually, morally, and emotionally. For example,
since emotions are often understood as the antithesis
of reason, and since females seem more influenced
by their emotions, males value the ability to
suppress emotions. The role of a husband is to
work outside the home and thereby provide for his
wife and children. Within a family structure, the
husband is considered dominant and the final arbiter,
though some males are passive or soft-spoken.
In most patriarchal societies, a husband owns his
wife and children and may sell them into slavery if
necessary to pay a debt.
It is unwise to violate cultural norms. The
more that males or females deviate from the cultural
norms of their gender, the more disapprobation,
and possibly punishment, they receive.
Despite the presence of gender norms, it is
unwise to consider either gender, overall, to be superior
to the other. Males and females are different,
and merely better suited for different things.
Males are clearly better suited for violence. Since
violence is the primary cause of shifts in power, and
because males are larger than females, it is
unsurprising, in fact to be expected, that males have
emerged as the dominant gender across the available
races. Females are better suited for interper-
3. The shift in range represents masses of characters better than extreme instances. For instance, the highest measured
intelligence is that of a female, though by large numbers females tend to score slightly lower than males in overall intelligence.
Shifting the range lower for females prevents the possibility of a female possessing the highest Intelligence, except when
considering Persistent Exercise (see Chapter 3: Abilities). As a contrast, males have lower Intuition than females, in which case
Persistent Exercise cannot help. A gender difference exists in distributions, such that males have a lower central tendency than
females, and hence have wider distributions; the most intuitive male should exceed the most intuitive female. Therefore, if the
gender modifiers are accurate for this game, then they are more biased against males than females.
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sonal and familial relationships, where their Bodily
Attractiveness, Language, Intuition, and Reflection
are most influential, and dominant over that of
males. Males and females are far from equal.