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Gender Roles

Unathi society is highly gender-stratified, with very specific gendered divisions of work and societal role. The Unathi understanding of gender has become tied deeply into these roles, which leads to a structure that humans may find unusual. In Unathi society, gender has little to do with assigned sex, rather being almost entirely dependent on the societal role an individual finds themselves in. The Sinta’Unathi words for ‘warrior’ and ‘male’ are the same, but this is not because one is required to be male to be a warrior - rather, the act of being a warrior is what makes one considered male. To Unathi, gender is not something that you are, but something that you do. An Unathi who sought to live as a professional warrior would be considered male by society at large, regardless of their sex at hatching - and regardless of their own thoughts on the matter.

Where this system originates is largely unknown, having existed in some form for most of Unathi recorded history. The earliest known example comes from archaeological discoveries in the Tza Prairie, indicating that ancient Unathi cultures held the Fisher as the feminine role, rather than the Healer - which was reserved for a long-extinct caste of shaman-kings. The gender division in its modern form was likely codified by the early Sk’akh Church or predecessor faiths, though with so much of Moghes’ history now lost to the Wasteland scholars doubt if the origins of such a fundamental part of society will ever be discovered.

The divisions of labor in Unathi society are based on this structure of gender, and it is expressed prominently in religion - the Three Aspects of Sk’akh being the most prevalent examples. The Warrior, Healer, and Fisher are the primary categories into which almost every aspect of Unathi life has been divided for centuries - though as with many Unathi traditions, it is being increasingly challenged in the modern era.

The Warrior

The Warrior is the masculine category, under which roles to do with martial affairs tend to fall. Most military positions are considered male due to this, with some rare exceptions being made for medical and support personnel. Outside of direct combat matters, positions in law enforcement and colonial expansion are also widely considered warriors, as are many roles to do with the direct enforcement of a ruler’s will such as governorship, tax collection and announcement of decrees. Vaurca Warriors outside of those in medical or scientific fields are generally gendered as male by Unathi as a result of this.

The Healer

The Healer is the feminine category, which is broader than its name might indicate. Positions in the medical field are obviously considered healers, but the category also covers most scholarship and keeping of knowledge in general. The Simiite Reliquary in To’ha’dat is staffed exclusively by Priestesses of the Healer, and holds the complete historical record of the Sk’akh Church. While scholarship in general has never been as gendered as some other categories, the vast majority of Unathi scientists, archivists and researchers would be considered female. The sphere of knowledge and learning also covers the business of spycraft, investigation and diplomacy, with the positions of Spymaster and High Speaker being traditionally female ones. Vaurca Gynes, as well as Workers and Warriors in medical or scientific fields, are generally gendered as female by Unathi as a result of this.

The Fisher

The Fisher is the third Unathi gender, without a direct translation in Tau Ceti Basic. Its sphere covers productive work such as fishing, construction and engineering. Many among the Unathi working class are considered to be fishers, and the title of Master of Rivers is one that traditionally is held by a fisher. In Tau Ceti Basic, gender-neutral pronouns are often used to describe fishers, though due to linguistic differences a fisher may often be gendered as male or female by humans. The sphere of the fisher encompasses many positions to do with economic development, ranging from humble miners, ranchers and fishers all the way to colonial administrators. Vaurca Workers outside of medical or scientific fields are generally gendered as fishers by Unathi.

Non-Gendered Roles

The gender stratification of Unathi society is nearly all-encompassing, though there are some rare positions that can be considered as more than one gender. Rulership is the most notable of these, with the gender of a ruler being considered emblematic of their style of rule - male rulers are considered a good omen for military victory, whereas female rulers are considered a blessing for periods of peace and wisdom and fisher rulers are considered to bring periods of great productivity to their demesne. The title of Hegemon is something of an exception, having always had a connotation of military conquest to it. As such, Hegemons throughout the ages have largely been warriors, though with a few notable exceptions. Hegemon Ayzi Sarakus is historically recorded as a fisher, and there have been several recorded healers and fishers to have held the throne throughout the Izweski Hegemony’s history - though greatly outnumbered by the warriors.

One role which falls outside any of the three genders is that of the Guwandi. The reason for this is simple. A Guwandi sheds their gender as they shed their name, and for the same reason - it is a sign of the person they once were, before facing such shame that it was left behind. A Guwandi is only referred to as their prior gender when they are confirmed to have died with honour, and the stain of their disgrace can be erased from their history.

In addition, the introduction of Unathi to the interstellar stage has led to a vast array of new roles, which have yet to be neatly assigned to a gender. While some were able to fit into pre-existing categories, other roles such as interstellar piloting, civilian spaceship command and various roles to do with colonial oversight have yet to be fit into one of Unathi society’s well-defined boxes.

Changing Gender

Most Unathi will live in the gender of their work for their entire lives. However, the nature of Unathi gender roles mean that changing one’s gender is fairly common in Unathi society, especially among nobles who may find themselves in a wide number of roles during their lives. It is not uncommon for rulers identifying as female to present as male during wartime, for instance, or for rulers identifying as male to present as a fisher when investing heavily in developing their lands.

In the modern age this has become more common among non-nobles, as common Unathi find themselves with a greater degree of social mobility. Many who would have lived and died as fishers find themselves seeking out battle and becoming warriors, or enrolling at institutions such as the Skalamar University of Medicine and identifying themselves as healers. The act of changing one’s gender is, in most Unathi societies, a religious one. In the Izweski Heartland and other majority Sk’akh regions, these affairs are handled by the Church, while other faiths have their own approaches to it. For Unathi outside the Hegemony, such as those in Biesel or Dominia, less of a spiritual significance tends to be placed on the transition, being treated as more of a personal and private affair.

Outside the Gender Trinary

In every society, there are those who do not conform to expectations, and the same is true among Unathi. Following the Contact War, many Unathi have challenged the ancient structures of gender that bind their species, seeking to separate their work from their own identification. The first female Kataphract, the Lady H’zala was appointed in 2459, one of the first public examples of a non-warrior permitted in such a strongly gendered role. In the Queendom of Szek-Hakh, the ordinary structures of gender are largely reversed as most of the fighting is done by women - while some present as warriors to the world, most continue to identify themselves as healers. While this is done out of practicality, with most of the realm’s men having perished in the Contact War, it is still viewed as a dramatic aberration from the norm. Abroad, some Unathi have found themselves adopting more human conceptions of gender as something that a person is, rather than something that they do, and choose to present as a gender that does not match their occupation - whether one which matches their sex, or simply based on personal preference.

Many have decried this as alien confusion and an erosion of Sinta tradition, while others welcome or simply do not pay mind to it. Gender is a spiritual matter, after all, and the priests and shamans have yet to come to a definite conclusion about these changing matters. How this will impact Unathi society, built around the strict gender trinary for centuries, remains to be seen.

Gender and Faith

Gender is generally considered a spiritual matter among Unathi, and each of the four major Sinta religions have their own principles and practices regarding gender, roles, and the act of transition.

Sk'akh

In the Izweski Hegemony and other Sk’akh societies, changing of gender is generally a religious matter, overseen by a Sk’akh priest of the relevant Aspect. A three-day ceremony of fasting, meditation and reflection on the threefold nature of the Great Spirit is required, after which the individual in question will be formally declared as their new gender by the grace of Sk’akh. In Church literature, the act of changing gender is referred to as “Transcendence of the Sublime Barrier”, and is believed to bring one closer to understanding of Sk’akh. Often this ritual is practiced in seclusion by Sk’akh priests - for only in understanding the threefold Aspects can one understand Sk’akh in Their entirety. This ritual is required for those wishing to become Priests of the Aspect, to bring the acolyte closer into alignment with their chosen face of Sk'akh. In times past, it was required for a High Priest to spend a period as each gender, in order to truly understand the threefold nature of Sk'akh. This tradition has fallen out of practice during the age of the Izweski Hegemony, however.

Th'akh

In Th’akh societies, the traditions and ritual surrounding gender are as infinitely varied as the religion itself. The followers of the Most Honored in the Broken Coalition often will change their genders to better follow in the footsteps of one of their own ancestral spirits, in a ceremony involving a ritual of communion with their ancestors. Practitioners of Kopesk Th’akh view changing gender as a ceremonial rebirth, with the Sinta in question being bathed in the waters of the Moghresian Sea to be returned in their new role; while Tza Prairie Th’akhists will often view their Lonely Crusades as an act of gender discovery, with some clans not gendering a hatchling until they have completed their trial of adulthood. In general, gender is a much more personal thing in Th'akh than Sk'akh, with religious oversight being often sought-out, but not required as in the Church.

Aut'akh

Aut’akh conceptions of gender are vastly divergent from the ordinary Unathi view, and in many places much more influenced by human understanding than other religions. Most Aut’akh communes hold gender to be a much more individual matter than other faiths do, being a matter of personal choice among the faithful - though one that shamans will offer consultation and guidance in. Some Aut’akh, in particular among the Luthien Pact, have come to view notions of gender as antiquated things of the flesh, and that through their cybernetic upgrades they have become something that is warrior, healer, fisher and something entirely greater than the separate sum of their parts. Generally, the traditional roles and societal structure still hold in communes on Moghes and Ouerea, while those outside Unathi space tend to have adopted more human ideas of gender as something separate from one’s position in society.

Si'akh

Si’akh understanding of gender broadly mirrors Sk’akh, though with less of a focus on meditations of the Great Spirit. Si’akh ceremonies of gender transition focus on cleansing sins of the flesh, and being reborn from the purifying and burning love of the Prophet - though these ceremonies, contrary to popular rumour, do not involve setting anyone on fire. As for the Prophet Si’akh himself, while he generally identifies as a warrior his followers view him as something greater - having transcended mortal concepts of gender by Sk’akh’s divine grace, being all and none at once. In emulation of this, many Fire Priests will burn relics of their former lives in a symbolic incineration of gender, claiming themselves as vessels of the Prophet’s will untouched by mortal constructs. To those outside the faith, this is generally viewed as the typical madness that the radical religion inspires in its devotees.

Gender and Aliens

To many Unathi, human conceptions of gender are confusing, seemingly arbitrary and without reason. While decades of contact between the two species has helped for better understanding of this, both tend to view the other society’s ideas of gender as strange. Unathi, particularly those less-accustomed to working with aliens, will often gender non-Unathi based on their profession rather than any outward signs, and will find being corrected on this matter particularly confusing. For aliens which lack a concept of gender altogether such as Skrell, Vaurcae or Dionae, this is generally less of an issue.

On Ouerea, a general understanding has been reached as to human concepts of gender, with the Unathi population coming to understand their alien neighbors’ views. Some of these views have been adopted among the Unathi population, with Archpriest Azente of the Sk’akh Church holding in the belief that an Unathi can do the work of one gender while identifying as another, which has caused him to be labelled as a radical among his fellows. Generally speaking, Skrell on Ouerea do not seem to have any particular trouble assimilating to Unathi notions of gender, though the reasoning behind it can often be confusing to them.

Some Diona gestalts which have primarily learned from Unathi - such as those living in the Izweski Hegemony, or among the pirates of the Tarwa Conglomerate - have adopted their own interpretation of Unathi gender. Some more organized gestalts tend to gender their individual nymphs based on the role they play in the whole, while others have developed their own codes of behavior similar to those practiced in Unathi society. More information about them can be found here.

Most Dominian Unathi have, at least in practice, adopted the human model. Though most were born and raised on Moghes and held (perhaps still hold) traditional views, most Unathi choose to adapt to the local Imperial culture for similar reasons as converting to the Holy Tribunal - that not respecting the customs and culture of their new home would be dishonorable to those who had welcomed them. Some, particularly among the Han’san and the older Unathi population, do not forget about traditional understandings of gender, still living much as they would on Moghes. To the humans of Dominia, this is largely written off as another alien curiosity of the Unathi, though those who spend more time with them may come to a better understanding of their ways. The newer generations of Unathi born on Imperial soil, however, are generally much more familiar with human ideas of gender than Unathi ones.