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From Ancient Ways
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Ad Concordiam II
Personal correspondence, 19 Iun 2005
Callide Sedile (The hot seat)
It was excruciating to have to come to terms with something like that in full view of a highly-critical community whose opinions, unfortunately, meant a great deal to me at the time. These were all the fellow-Romans I'd ever known, except for my young disciples, and I wanted them to think of me as Roman first; second, a Roman of the Legions; Storyteller, Roleplayer, Wanderer (etc.) all tied for third; Historical Cultural Anthropologist fourth...and a Citizen of whatever gender I was last, if at all.
Didn't happen. As you noted, society--especially that society--is none too fond of betwixt-and-betweens. Especially people who didn't know they were 'trans' when they joined, the realization of that status having taken a good couple of years to fully dawn. One does not suddenly jump out of bed and yell, "Hey, I'm feeling transgendered today! Wait'll the RIM hears about this!!" But in fact the OP behaved as if they thought I had done exactly that. Turned their whole little world on its ear on a whim. Shaken them out of their comfortable little categories. And then wanted special consideration for it! How dare I!! To be fair, one or two enterprising Cives did do some historical research in the hope of finding guidance from our spiritual ancestors; all they turned up was an apparently ambiguous attitude on the Romans' part regarding cross-gender issues. The ancients did not reject such things out-of-hand, unless you were an Emperor and/or making a spectacle of yourself; but it wasn't exactly condoned either...That didn't help.
What the huh??
> ...is your experience pretty standard for transgendered people?
The initial "You have got... to be kidding...!" is pretty much industry-standard, all over the world. (I did a mess of legal research for Censor Sulla on where trans people stand in the modern world; turns out two cases involving us were brought before the World Court several years ago. In the more recent case, it was confirmed that anti-sex-discrimination laws in Europe do in fact apply to persons undergoing sexual reassignment.)
The next phase, if you will, has everyone protesting that you can't just up and declare yourself a Member of the Opposite Sex. NR did this part a little too well; we had a Founder putting his foot down lest other Cives catch this 'infection' and start calling themselves aliens, Presidents, or Great Grey Kangaroos and demanding to be addressed accordingly.
After that, it depends on where you go with it. (By now you have no normal friends, so you can go anywhere you like....)
Mari's approach, cont'd
My sense of maleness is quite independent of my physical being. I'm not seeking a sex-change operation; I do not feel the need. In Roman terms, I got born with a genius instead of a iuno. Since it's a soul-thing, what would meddling with the body achieve? That's all just going to be food for worms in another fifty years anyway...
In daily life I strive to be as gender-neutral as possible. I wear t-shirts or polos and jeans, neither close-fitting; nothing accentuates my shape. My hair is shoulder-length and wavy; there's just enough of it to put in a biker's ponytail if I need to keep it out of the way--I am often on or under some piece of machinery, after all! And I get away with it because I'm 5'4" and 180 lbs., most of it thanks to warehouse work, long walks (20mi./day, same as the Legions), aircraft maintenance, and all the other 'husky' stuff I like to do. I walk like the ex-Drill Sergeant/Desert Storm veteran that I am. And so I am quite likely to be mistaken for a short, stocky fella at a distance or from behind. (You tell me: My SVR Avatar is actually me in my Legionary armor. Pretty good, hm?)
If people address me as male, I let 'em. If they address me as female, I let 'em...I just don't do anything to highlight the fact. And so it is that I've got most of "Real Life" doing exactly what I want it to: thinking of me as a person in a function first, and as a member of one sex or another wa-a-a-y last, if at all.
That's all I wanted out of the OP. Why it became the grotesque, apoplectic gandy-dance that it did, I will never understand--not even if I live long enough to help the archaeologists excavate my own house in another millennium or two.
The Real Issue
(from Ad Concordiam, 20 Iun 2005)
That Roman Internet Micronation is a really cool idea. It only has one real problem: It had to start out with human beings. And those human beings brought with them their preconceptions, their prejudices, their notions of how Rome worked and how far it should be adapted to the very-late 20th Century. This is still the overarching topic of debate, and the fiercest Listwars start with this: Is NR a re-creation, a reconstruction, a revival...and what do each of these terms mean as far as what aspects of ancient life get discarded, modified, or brought over intact?
Every faction within the OP has its own take on this matter, and each one gets decried vigorously by the others. Almost all the serious issues can be explained in terms of this fundamental disagreement. My situation was seen as an intrusion of the worst kind of modernity ('rights' and special favors for every one- or two-member minority that squawks for attention), and my supporters drew accusations of being 'fluffy-bunny PC' and worse. Of course, Ancient Rome has got to be the most politically-incorrect civilization on the face of the Earth. We had slaves, fer cryin' out loud. We went around conquering people. And that bit of carpentry-work in Jerusalem...? --We are not popular people in a Christian church the week before Easter. I tried it. You won't dig it.
And people want to preserve that moxie. I want to preserve it, and not in some watered-down theme-park edition either. Rome would not be Rome without the hard-core attitude, the willingness and readiness to run a road right through something if it gets in the way. But at the same time, any Roman organization has to be accessible to and workable for the people who are going to be in it. NR is gradually finding its way to a compromise; the SVR seems to have already found one. I can blame neither group for its shortcomings; they are simply a function of the way each society began.
NR Eagle, Issue IV, 2000
Salvete readers. This issue of The Eagle has been long in coming. I have been plagued with computer problems since the Spring which has brought production of The Eagle to a crawl. You will notice a new format and a much shorter issue (still, a small issue is better than no issue). I encourage you to contribute to this publication for it can only be as good as its writers.
In the past it has been suggested that The Eagle should be bi-monthly. I was wondering what you think. In effect, that is what it has been this year due to circumstances. Let me assure all subscribers that you will get the issues you paid for. Your subscriptions have been extended appropriately and will be handed on as such to my successor.
Decius Iunius Palladius Invictus, Editor
From the Rostra: Political News and Views of Nova Roma
Decius Iunius Palladius Invictus
One of the computer problems I was plagued with over the last few months--or at least during a large portion of that time--was lack of access to the internet. As such, I have been out of contact with the political goings on in Nova Roma and will be unable to comment on them in this issue. I am so behind in what is going on politically in Nova Roma that it is doubtful I will be able to produce meaningful commentary for awhile. Rather than drop the column entirely, I will do it next issue in collaboration with Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, who will provide up to date insight on the political goings on in Nova Roma. Election time is upon us in Nova Roma--time to concentrate on electoral issues other than the American presidential race, which has understandably taken the attention of many world observers recently.
In the last issue of the Eagle, I mentioned that this column would describe the actions that led to the edict being issued by Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix regarding the "gender" edict. Circumstances and time have largely made that issue a thing of the past, of little current interest. However, I will still briefly discuss those events as a prelude to Sulla Felix's article in this issue.
Last year, while censors, Flavius Vedius Germanicus and I were approached by a citizen who desired a name change inconsistent with that citizen's physical gender. We were given a large amount of information to consider, both of a personal nature and information about names themselves. It was a busy time in Nova Roma, right after the end of the dictatorship. However, we gave the request speedy attention. After individually reviewing the information, Germanicus and I spoke on the phone and agreed to deny the name change. Our reason was simple: such name changes (inconsistent with one's physical gender) too closely resemble gaming personas. Nova Roma is not a role playing game, contrary to what some might believe. If we have pretensions to being a real nation we should act like one. As such, we must act according to physical reality, namely in this case one's physical [configuration] or gender. That is all we can judge. We are not in a position to judge how one feels internally.
Not long after, the citizen in question appealed to us to review her petition in a "live" setting. At the citizen's request we heard the appeal in the forum chatroom. We three chatted for about an hour. The citizen presented information, we listened and asked questions and answered questions in turn. After conferring privately, we decided to let the ruling stand upon the original reasons given. I admit that this was a difficult case and one I never anticipated. However, as a nation, within the realm of law we must deal with tangible facts and physical reality. This did not affect nicknames or chatroom personas. People use those all the time online and that is fine. We were dealing with physical identity within the nation itself. That is what one's official name is based on.
Let me state that I stand by Censor Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix's actions regarding this case and the gender edict. He has received a great deal of unfair criticism for doing an exceptional job in the office. He has dealt with difficult circumstances and has always put the good of Nova Roma first.
The Gender Edictum
by LUCIUS CORNELIUS SULLA FELIX
Given the debates that continue to rage on in Nova Roma, I have decided to write an article for the Eagle specifically to explain why I published the Edictum. I have been Censor for about 10 months, and I believe there are more important issues in Nova Roma other than this Edictum that need attention. However, given the volume of discussion, arguments, and knock-down drag out fights I want to spell out to each citizen what brought this issue on and why I felt a need to publish this Edictum in the first place.
Prior to being elected as Censor of Nova Roma, a particular citizen--at the time a close friend--and I discussed this issue. I told her personally I didn't have a problem with her name change, due to the fact that since I first met her, I always referred to her by her masculine chatroom persona. Once elected Censor, I had a phone conversation with my colleague, Flavius Vedius Germancius [sic]. I broached the subject with him and he informed me that he would not favor the change and explained to me his reasoning. I therefore informed my friend that it would not be done during the Censorship of Germancius [sic] and she would have to wait. Well, on March 1, my colleague resigned his position. That very day, I received an e-mail from my friend asking for her name change. Once I received that e-mail I took it as her petition and immediately began investigating the possibility.
During a two to three week period, I investigated numerous websites, went to the Los Angeles County Law Library and investigated 4 other macronational countries for their dealings with transgendered issues and their internal procedures. While I was investigating these sources I also contacted the previous Censor Decius Iunius Palladius Invictus. As a result of my ongoing investigation to this, I uncovered that Transgendered individuals are not a protected class in the United States, therefore they had no special protections under Civil Rights Legislation (1964 or 1991 or under Title VII or IX) or under the American Disabilities Act. The other nations that I investigated had similar policies, or more precisely, a similar lack of policies. While there are currently efforts to try to make "alternative genders" a protected group, to date that has [not?] been accomplished. Given the results of my research I upheld the ruling of the previous Censors. During my conversation with Decius Iunius Palladius Invictus, I discovered that the previous Censors of Nova Roma were originally petitioned by the aforementioned citizen. They rejected her request, thereby setting a magisterial precedent.
Via e-mail, I informed Lucia Maria Fimbria and once I did that, I felt a bit insecure about my ruling. Not so much because of the decision I made, but because I had no colleague to assist me in such a ruling. Because of that reason, I notified the Senate of Nova Roma, giving them a copy of my e-mail to the citizen and the justification for my ruling. By notifying the Senate, I created a controversy that I did not really expect. I was questioned as to procedure, the validation of my ruling, and the fact that I had no colleague. As a result of seeing Marcus Iulianus Cassius's [sic] point of view regarding a lack of procedure I passed an Edictum establishing procedures for future petitions. However, I stood by my ruling. And, it was during this time that the citizen tried to petition the Praetors for a lawsuit against me for a personal injury. By this time the friendship I had with her was gone. This was very painful to me because I have been friends with her since she became a citizen and we actually met! As each day passed with the result of the ruling and the ongoing Senatorial Debate the strain on our friendship reached and even surpassed the breaking point.
As this issue continued within the Senate I began to get the idea that maybe an Edictum might be the best way to solve this issue in the future. Many of the criticisms that I heard dealt with mainly procedural issues, therefore I began creating procedure with a series of edicta. I had already published several edicta and heard only praise with each edicta I published. I believed the best course would be to publish an Edictum create procedure, and the issue would fade away.
Prior to publishing the Edictum I went to my core group of citizens whom I trust and informed them of my intentions regarding the "Gender Edictum." I explained to them the fact that up to that time I only published three Edicta and it was suggested to me by Senator Equitius that I should not publish any more Edictas until I had a colleague. I also explained to them some of the other Edictas I wanted to publish and from these individuals I heard nothing but praise for the work I was doing for Nova Roma and the office of Censor and was told to go ahead and publish them, it wasn't my fault that I had no colleague. So, within 2 days I published 7 more Edictas. One of the last ones was the "Gender Edictum."
My own personal thoughts when I published my Edicta's was that they weren't at all controversial. The one I thought that would get discussion was the honesty Edictum, due to the harsh penalties I imposed for prospective citizens who lied on their application. Never did I dream that the Gender Edictum would be the controversial one. In my mind it was common sense. Two Genders: Male and Female. Both based on physical appearance. Well, we know how that turned out. And, I will be completely honest, I have learned quite a bit during these discussions. I learned that it isn't just a matter of physical appearance alone. However, my own personal view has not been changed but the frame of reference for this view has. My personal view is one thing, enacting law and following and establishing magisterial precedent is another thing entirely.
