[Ansteorra] Same-Gender Consort Proposal

[beorhtlic at yahoo.com]

Gunnvor. Vivat, Beorhtlic
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

-----Original Message-----
From: Christie Ward <val_org at hotmail.com>
Sender: ansteorra-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:40:14 
To: <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Reply-To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: [Ansteorra] Same-Gender Consort Proposal


Greetings to my Ansteorran countrymen and friends.

There was a time when I believed those two terms were synonymous, but the whole bilious discussion of inspirational equality has shown me just how incredibly wrong I was.

I have been a member of the SCA since 1979 when I attended my first event. I have held offices, been recognized as a peer. I try and solve problems as I can, in my oh-so-charming confrontational way. I have fought in Crown Tournament, and I have had fighters honor me by asking me to be their consort when they fought in Crown Tournament. I have also had the experience of asking a Crown to be allowed to fight in Crown Tournament for the one who is, above all else, the source of my inspiration, the person whose regard drives me to want to be a better person and a better peer.  The Crown, with sincere regret, was forced to disallow my choice because of Corpora, because I wished to fight for my lady Damaris, who has been my touchstone for all that is good and beautiful and right with the world for going on 18 years now.

I am gay, as are many other respected peers and nobles in the Society. Who I sleep with never made a difference in my teaching ability, my arts, or my ability to lead others. Nor has it had any impact that I can discern on whether or not I was granted awards and honors within our Society.

With the discussion of same-gender consorts, I have seen some truly unexpected ugliness laid bare in some of you.

First you claimed that it was unhistorical to have same-sex rulers. People dug and researched and proved this to be untrue.

Then you claimed the world would end if they had no Queen to be their inspiration. Yet we have had cases in the SCA in which one member of a ruling couple was unable to serve due to death or other reasons, and the Kingdom and the Society did not come to a crashing halt. People managed to hold events and have fun that six months despite such tragedy.  One would think that a man could not serve as a source of inspiration, an example of chivalry, courtesy, and noblesse when the wails of "but there would be no Queen!" rise up. I must counter that if the object of your inspiration has to have a vagina, then what precisely about such a woman is inspiring you that a worthy gentleman could not provide?

The next excuse was that it would somehow be unfair to women fighters, because *surely* the alpha males of our chivalric fighting community would pair up and fight for one another in Crown, locking everyone else out of the running. Puh-leese! As if these people had no egos, no existing consorts who might object to such a scheme, and unlimited funds to fuel back-to-back-to-back reigns!

The point is, these are ALL silly excuses for discrimination. Each time one is overcome, someone pops up to throw another ridiculous argument in the way. Any two people who are capable of Giving Good Court and serving in an office that is one of our most challenging and time consuming unpaid positions should be eligible to serve. I have lived through six months of crappy rule by a crowned couple that 
had no business taking that job. We ALL have (though of course, everyone
 has their own, different opinion about who the skunks were). Frankly, 
I'd take a pair of mountain gorillas as Crown if they could do the job 
well. We all manage to live through the occasional reign of people whose
 policies or persons we dislike. Get over it. Six months and there will 
be someone new to gripe about. Same sex couples as Crown won't be any different.

The way people carry on, you'd think that they believed that suddenly ten thousand flaming queens would show up and win every Crown Tournament. Pish and tosh! You'll note that ten thousand lesbians aren't winning Crown Tournament already based on the number of women fighting at that level of skill. We have few lady knights, and only one woman has ever sat as Queen Regnant. And so far as I am aware, all those women have been straight.

Simply having the ability to fight in Crown in honor of my lady would provide me, and many like me, with a lot of happiness. The cost? Once in a blue moon there MIGHT be a same sex couple Crowned. The world would not end, the Dream would not melt away, nor the Society go down in flames. The SCA should be allowing same-gender consorts in the same spirit we do many other things: inclusiveness, fairness, and honor.

::GUNNVOR::

Lion, Laurel


 		 	   		  
_______________________________________________
Ansteorra mailing list
Ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org
In order to make changes and manage your account please go to:
http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/ansteorra-ansteorra.org