| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Horatio |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 15:20:41
Hi!
I'm looking for information regarding the position of women in Faerūn. It's obviously not the same as it was in medieval times, but I'm looking to have a deeper insight about it.. can't any of the sages, or anyone familiar with that knowledge, provide me with the information, please?
Would be very appreciated,
-Horatio |
| 26 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Sian |
Posted - 08 Aug 2007 : 09:33:45
didn't say that i've read many novels *grins* |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 08 Aug 2007 : 02:18:31
quote:
Originally posted by Sian
well ... i know dwarves have complete Gender equallity ... though i've yet to see a novel where one of the importent characters are a female dwarf
Have you not read Elfsong, where one of Danilo's companions is a female dwarf called Morgala the Mirthful? |
| scererar |
Posted - 08 Aug 2007 : 01:37:16
my games always show equality in sexes |
| Sian |
Posted - 08 Aug 2007 : 00:38:43
well ... i know dwarves have complete Gender equallity ... though i've yet to see a novel where one of the importent characters are a female dwarf |
| Delzounblood |
Posted - 07 Aug 2007 : 22:27:53
I've always looked at it this way, as this very question has been raised in my own rp group.
The Axe blade will slash or kill you, The wielder could be Male or Female or Other!, the only thing that matters is WHY!!!!
You respect anyone when your the wrong end of a sword, regardless of sex......
Though knowing some of the scribes in the keep, Thats just how they like it!
I don't judge
Much
Delz
|
| Lady Kazandra |
Posted - 07 Aug 2007 : 17:05:19
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Oddly enough, when the words "women" and "position" are mentioned within the halls of Candlekeep, THO immediately springs to mind.
Perhaps not so strangely, I had the same thought. |
| Iliana N-letur |
Posted - 03 Aug 2007 : 12:50:48
quote:
Originally posted by Horatio
Hi!
I'm looking for information regarding the position of women in Faerūn. It's obviously not the same as it was in medieval times, but I'm looking to have a deeper insight about it.. can't any of the sages, or anyone familiar with that knowledge, provide me with the information, please?
Would be very appreciated,
-Horatio
Thing is, in (European) medieval times women did have a fairly good position. Perhaps not totally equal to men, but clearly not subservient. They owned property, often ran the household (did the finances), etcetera. It was only during the Renaissance that position of the females worsened and it was the description of the ages before, written then, which portraited women as lesser.
History is funny that way. |
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 22 Feb 2006 : 00:40:32
quote:
Originally posted by Winterfox
If it were like the middle ages, why, half the peasants would die well before they reach fifty, and there'd be excrement littering every street.
There isn't excrement littering every street?  
Ah, forgot about the dungsweepers 
quote:
The fact that magic's so common in the setting probably helps: the infant mortality rate is much lower (yay, clerics' healing magic), so there's less pressure on women to churn out little brats and stay barefoot in the kitchen. And if you're a woman who's not inclined toward the martial, there's always the options of priesthood of some sort or arcane magic.
Yes, magic is common, and priestly help available - but only to those who can afford them (and very few do). So, I think that equal rights for both sexes has nothing to do with divine magic
Otherwise, I agree with the posts here - most of the Realms offer equal opportunities (and rights) to both sexes. I like it that way, too (then again, my girlfriend would beat me to death, if I didn't ). Wooly said it well: there is a lot more of a "best person for the job" attitude than a "best man for the job" attitude.
As for Women in Power - the Seven Sisters? |
| The Sage |
Posted - 21 Feb 2006 : 01:53:07
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
And as for MY position, to answer the comments made off the top of this thread: any position I want, of course.
Oh, my Lady... such information .
Regardless, I knew it was either going to be Wooly or yourself who seized upon the title of this scroll  .
|
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 21 Feb 2006 : 01:48:03
I recall Salvatore's novels said something to that effect, too--woman in the Uthgart(sp?) culture generally take care of home and hearth.
I have created a wandering, battle-loving female barbarian though. :) |
| Dargoth |
Posted - 21 Feb 2006 : 01:38:12
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Males and females are equals in Ed's Realms, except in specific cities and local cultures where laws and customs of inheritance and tribal behaviour have things otherwise.
With the exception of the Drow of cause (where shoes on the other foot)
I just finished reading Sons of Thunder and got the impression the Uthgart barbarians believed a emlaes place was in the home (in their case the tent)
I remember in the novel Finders Bane the Male Banelich looked down on the female cleric of Bane and in the end even said she was unworthy to be Banes High Priest because she was female |
| The Hooded One |
Posted - 21 Feb 2006 : 01:27:00
Agreed. The Realms I adventure in (with Ed as the DM) is far different from the Holloywood-medieval-with-patriarchal-attitude Realms I see in some Realms novels by other writers. Elaine Cunningham seems to "think Realms" very much as Ed does, but some writers come at it from widely different POVs.
Faraer is right (as usual): the "real" Realms is NOT a thinly-disguised view of our medieval real world. Ed did indeed come at it "from the other end," so to speak.
Males and females are equals in Ed's Realms, except in specific cities and local cultures where laws and customs of inheritance and tribal behaviour have things otherwise.
And as for MY position, to answer the comments made off the top of this thread: any position I want, of course.
love,
THO |
| The Sage |
Posted - 21 Feb 2006 : 01:21:30
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Shrug,
FR has always had woman in power long before 3e. Ed designed the setting that way and there's hundreds of woman that have power, depending on how you want to define power and or position.
Indeed. A quick run-down through your FR NPC file makes this more than apparent, especially in 1e/2e.
|
| Arivia |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 20:05:28
quote:
Originally posted by Winterfox
FR's a very airbrushed version of medieval times, really, so you can't compare. If it were like the middle ages, why, half the peasants would die well before they reach fifty, and there'd be excrement littering every street.
The fact that magic's so common in the setting probably helps: the infant mortality rate is much lower (yay, clerics' healing magic), so there's less pressure on women to churn out little brats and stay barefoot in the kitchen. And if you're a woman who's not inclined toward the martial, there's always the options of priesthood of some sort or arcane magic.
I think you're correct; I often see a great dichotomy in Realms novels and other D&D fiction where the adventuring party/main characters/whatever are freed from gender boundaries, while the commoners/non-adventuring folk are presented in near-stereotypical gender-based roles. For every Myrmeen Lhal, there's a Lucia Thione ---it just goes to show how hard it is to separate our own views from those of the worlds we create. |
| Faraer |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 19:02:05
Back to the old Earth-analogues discussion! I see how they might look that way, but nowhere in the core Realms is a version, airbrushed or not, of anywhere on Earth, because for every point of resemblance there are several of departure. That's just how Ed designed the place, to stop readers and players complacently thinking they knew details they had yet to truly explore. Ed didn't start with a historical recreation and change it to his liking, he started, as I understand it, with a heavily literarily derived emotional environment and filled it out with detail -- some of it derived directly or indirectly from our past world -- to suit. |
| Winterfox |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 18:30:47
quote:
Originally posted by Faraer
The Realms looks superficially medieval (and European), but only via the genre of sword and sorcery: it isn't a recreation (however torqued) of medieval Europe and only resembles it in specific, limited ways.
I amend: certain parts of the Realms are an airbrushed version of medieval Europe. Sembia, for instance, comes across as more Renaissance-era, and of course, there're all those not-European at all places like Calimshan, &c, &c. |
| Faraer |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 17:53:27
The Realms looks superficially medieval (and European), but only via the genre of sword and sorcery: it isn't a recreation (however torqued) of medieval Europe and only resembles it in specific, limited ways. |
| Winterfox |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 17:47:41
FR's a very airbrushed version of medieval times, really, so you can't compare. If it were like the middle ages, why, half the peasants would die well before they reach fifty, and there'd be excrement littering every street.
The fact that magic's so common in the setting probably helps: the infant mortality rate is much lower (yay, clerics' healing magic), so there's less pressure on women to churn out little brats and stay barefoot in the kitchen. And if you're a woman who's not inclined toward the martial, there's always the options of priesthood of some sort or arcane magic. |
| Horatio |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 17:16:14
Haha.
Well thanks for the input everyone, certainly helped me to understand better |
| Feanor |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 17:11:07
quote:
Originally posted by Horatio
Thanks for the feedback!
Well, heh, it is interesting to me since I play a lot of female characters, particularly warriors. I'd like to know if there are a lot of female fighters in Faerūn's history? or are they majorly bards/mages?
See, when I trace back medieval history - and maybe it's because of my scarce knowledge in history - I can only think of "Joan of Arc" when it comes to female warriors, whether she was a mentally-disturbed nutbag or a hero.
FR is a feminist world.  |
| Kuje |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 17:08:19
Shrug,
FR has always had woman in power long before 3e. Ed designed the setting that way and there's hundreds of woman that have power, depending on how you want to define power and or position. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 17:05:17
At least in the Heartlands, there is little sexism. Cormyr has at least a couple of female Lords (Tessaril Winter and Myrmeen Lhal) and is currently ruled by a female Regent, at least a couple of Waterdeep's Hidden Lords are women, Rashemen is ruled by the Witches, and the nation of Aglarond is ruled by a woman... For the Heartlands, there is a lot more of a "best person for the job" attitude than a "best man for the job" attitude. There's still a lot of men in leadership positions, but it's not as from much overt sexism as was known in the real world. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 16:17:59
Different societies have different customs, however in general there is full equality between males and females.
Some religions are female dominated if not totally female for example.
They can aspire to become anything they wish, including Queen, Archmage, etc. In some societies and cultures they though also might be slaves with little rights in male dominated societies, of course some female dominated societies males are little better then slaves.
About the only simalarity between medieval times and FR is most likely is that femalesgive birth and tend to spend more time raising their children then the fathers do. |
| Horatio |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 16:01:47
Thanks for the feedback!
Well, heh, it is interesting to me since I play a lot of female characters, particularly warriors. I'd like to know if there are a lot of female fighters in Faerūn's history? or are they majorly bards/mages?
See, when I trace back medieval history - and maybe it's because of my scarce knowledge in history - I can only think of "Joan of Arc" when it comes to female warriors, whether she was a mentally-disturbed nutbag or a hero. |
| Beirnadri Magranth |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 15:37:46
hahaha what a provacative topic subject!
i think women have a more respected position here than in medieval times. This is because d&d 3.0 & 3.5 has taken the stance that sexism in the campaign setting is unattractive and should be discouraged. This is evident in FR with the amount of female rulers and heroes and npc's of note. |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 20 Feb 2006 : 15:30:09
Oddly enough, when the words "women" and "position" are mentioned within the halls of Candlekeep, THO immediately springs to mind. |
|
|
