[Ansteorra] Royalty - Same Sex Consorts‏

[Dragonetti]

I saw a post on the Grand Council list (by Steffan ap Kennydd of the East) regarding this issue that I found interesting. It began with a description of an SCA event witnessed by a member of a modern-day Royal family, who saw his "real" heraldry in use by an SCA participant, but who was NOT offended because he (as does most of the mundane world) viewed our activities as "play-acting".

A considerably edited (for length) version follows:

<Begin Quote>
The same-sex issue isn't about LGBT rights. It's about *casting*.

The question isn't "Are we discriminating against LGBT members, and do we want to be more tolerant?". The question is "Do we want to change our casting rules?".

Do we discriminate against LGBT members? No, we don't. In fact, we're one of the most LGBT-friendly organizations I can imagine. But we have this *casting* rule: the king and queen have to play a *king* and a *queen*.

Can the king be played by a (biological) female? Yup. Can the queen be played by a (biological) male? Yup. 

Are gays discriminated against in the SCA? I hardly think so. No more than 63-year old former fighters are. *I* can never be king *at all*, with a man *or* a woman as my consort, because I don't fight anymore.
(Oh yeah, I could find a kick-ass lady fighter, but...really?) Does the fact that we don't have same-sex-(role) rulers discriminate against gays? Hardly. No more than a director discriminates when he insists that he will direct Romeo and Juliet, not Romeo and Ralph.

So let's get a reality-check here. This isn't about anyone's rights.
There is no chance we are in violation of any laws in this regard, American or Canadian or Australian or anything else. This is about the
*CAST* of our little *PLAY*. That's how the real-world would *certainly* see it. The question is: do we want to allow that sort of change to the Dramatis Personae? Argue *THAT* to your heart's content, because that's what this is really about.

And that's *ALL* it's about.

Steffan ap Kennydd
East
<End Quote>

shared by Armand Dragonetti
(retired GC member)