LGBTQ+++ & ++?

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LGBTQ+++ & ++?

Margaret Towers, personal aid to and long time friend of the President was as always shewn in to his office without him being warned she was coming. The President's bodyguards didn’t like it, but it was on his orders, and the only person who’d made her wait had been fired on the spot.

“You look worried if not to say frightened, Margaret. Have a drink, relax. I’ve sent for some lunch. I’ll tell them it's for two. Then tell me all about it. I take it that your concerns are about the Tamerle. It makes you see things differently when you realise that we are not the only life in the universe and definitely not the most scientifically and technologically advanced doesn’t it? It’s only been two months, though it seems like that space craft has been orbiting us a lot longer than that.” He pointed to the row of bottles and lifted his eyebrows in question.

“Irish please, Jameson. I’ll start talking now if you don’t mind, Prakesh. Whilst we wait for the food.” Taking his silence as agreement she started. “I’ve been receiving some strange mail recently. All of it from the Tamerle. Most of it I can’t make head nor tail of, but yesterday I received another complaint from Darl, the captain of the Tamerle ship. It was a long and detailed document, but I’ll read you the most significant elements of it.” She produced a single sheet of paper with small type on both sides, took the proferred glass with a nod of thanks and began.

~o~O~o~

“We do not appreciate your prying and speculation concerning our reproductive mechanisms. When we invited human representatives to guest with us aboard our vessel for what remains of our time here before we must leave this sector of space, we did so in order for us both to obtain a better understanding of each other. We expected an ambassadorial team and not, using your terminology, a voyeuristic group of perverts. I understand they referred to themselves as anthropologists.

“We are not specimens to be studied like animals, and have no desire at all to watch or discuss your reproductive activities. We are especially offended by your inexplicable, to us, need to pin one of your labels of sexuality or gender on us. Why you need such individual labels in the first place baffles us. In our society however an individual or grouping chooses to conduct themselves regarding their identity, affections and family life is a matter only of concern to themselves. I do not apologise for talking to you as I would to a pre-adolescent for it is clearly appropriate.

“So let’s get this straight, and I intend no pun or offence, for once and for all. I’m not lesbian, I’m not gay, I’m not bi and I’m not trans, nor indeed are any of your other minority labels appropriate. I am the intellectual in my threel, and my reproductive life is none of your business. Meia my intuital would be most offended were I to inform her of the disgusting nature of the questions your officials have been asking about her, although ‘her’ is not an appropriate term.

“I was appalled that your officials considered it acceptable to harass my generational who was nurturing our first set of triplets. They had been doing well and he was expecting them to mature and be seeking their own threel partners within two rotations of your planet about its primary. Again ‘he’ is no more an appropriate term for Podd than is ‘it’ when applied to me. It was expected that our offspring would be a highly intelligent intellectual like myself, an exquisitely sensitive intuital like Meia and a dedicated and caring generational like Podd.

“Podd was so upset at such a critical time in our offspring's gestation that they were reabsorbed and he needed many of your days of intensive therapy with Meia before he was be able to generate again. It was only with great difficulty that I convinced Meia that it would not be appropriate to vaporise your entire planet. The only way I could persuade her was by ordering a galactic embargo on all contact with Earth for the next millennium, which has been agreed with by all on the strict understanding that none may give any more details concerning the matter.

“As to whether I am typical of us, it would be disgraceful of me to even comment on the matter. I have no problem talking about ourself, but do not have the right to discuss any other. We are now readying our vessel for departure in a matter of hours. We will return your officials to Earth safely and I suggest you spend the millennium in acquiring diplomatic skills rather than anything else. We Tamerle are far more forgiving than any other race you may encounter.

“I must terminate this transmission because Meia tells me Podd is ready to generate and I have had to tell your officials they certainly may not watch. Meia has decided that it will not now happen till your officials are safely off our vessel, and I need to give that my attention.”

~o~O~o~

“I’ve spoken to all twelve members of the team, Prakesh, and they have no idea what it was they were accused of. Their body video recorders shew that the only time they witnessed Darl, Meia and Podd together they were just sitting around a small coffee table holding hands. The team had virtually no interaction or conversation with Meia and Podd. In fact none with Meia and the only interaction with Podd was when John asked him what had been happening round the coffee table. The only thing of any note was that Darl had expressly told our people to ignore Meia and Podd and never address them. They were supposed to limit all their interactions to Darl. They never had sight of any other crew who they were told were aboard the vessel in the aft section which for their comfort was maintained with a heavier gravity and had a Tamerle atmosphere. ”

His Excellency Prakesh Ling the President of all Earth looked quizzically at his old friend and said, “Well, Margaret, John damn nearly wiped out Earth for us. I had a private communication from Darl in the middle of last night. It was directed right into my mind and I could feel the presence of Meia and Podd too. They are telepathic and that’s how they do everything including reproduce. John observed them having sex, and although that would not have bothered them, for it is normal for them to ignore the presence of others it is mandatory for others to ignore them and never on pain of death refer to what they have seen. Darl, Meia and Podd share a single consciousness, and they are effectively the emperor of an intergalactic empire that we are now excluded from learning from for a thousand years.”

“God almighty. How the hell were we supposed to know that?”

“We weren’t. It was a test of our intelligence and sensitivity.”

“I take it we failed?”

“No. We never even got to receive the test paper, never mind answer the questions.”

“So what was all that about sexuality and gender identity? Did you find out anything about that?”

“Yes. Darl told you the truth. They are incapable of lying when communicating telepathically. It just didn’t tell you all of the truth. It’s not lesbian. It’s not gay. It’s not bi and it’s not trans, nor indeed are any of our other labels appropriate. That’s because they, Darl, Meia and Podd are lesbian, gay, bi and trans simultaneously and all of our other minority labels too along with a whole lot of others that I couldn’t even envisage because we have no concept of them. Our only labels that don’t apply to any of them are cis and straight.

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Comments

Strictly cereberal!

Yep! I get that.

Makes perfect sense to me!

bev_1.jpg

What if?

I wanted something a little lighter in tone, something I could laugh at. Something obviously ridiculous. So I started from the end. What if 'normal' or what most consider so were the odd, unnatural or freaky. What if it were rare or unknown, Then having put that together I needed a situation where that could be. I'm not always easy with labels. It all came together quite easily in the end and it did make me laugh. Punishment for presumption was just a little decorative icing on an otherwise rather plain LGBT+ cake. But as I've remarked before it doesn't take much to make me laugh, but the bleaker the better. I presume it to be a flaw in my character because I can't see how that could happen as a result of life. Love the hair!
Regards,
Eolwaen

Eolwaen

Cake

Or should that be
Punishment for presumption was just a little decorative icing on an otherwise rather plain LGBT+ cupcake?
Regards,
Eolwaen

Eolwaen

I think I see it rather

I think I see it rather differently. The Tamerle remind me of the soft people of Asimov's The Gods Themselves. Depending how intellectual, intuitional and generational are chosen or determined, I might say that there are three sexes and we just can't tell them apart. With that hypothesis I can't rule out that they may be straight.

What happens to an intellectual with intuition or a generational that can feel or think? Maybe humans are the ones who are not just one thing or another, but a mixture ? Aren't the Tamerle the ones with rigid roles ? Only the intellectual may speak with the aliens (us) and generationals appear to have only a single function. I do note that they are not "parentals" like Asimov's equivalent, so perhaps being a generational is a short term role that anyone can become, and everyone raises the younglings ?

A valid set of view points

I just saw it as an amusing tale that provided a vehicle for exposing some of the hidden assumptions that often lie behind gender and sexuality labelling. From my point of view, in Darl's eyes Darl, Meia and Podd is (is not are) 'straight' i.e. statistically 'normal'. For the non statisticians read 'like the majority' instead of normal, for there is no judgement associated with the statistical use of the word. Doubtless Estwald is laughing at both our musings, for neither of us considered the rôle played by the coffee table in their dalliance!
Thanks for your thoughts.
Regards,
Eolwaen

Eolwaen

At least Earth has been saved

Albeit only for another millenium.
Thanks for another amusing tale. Your comment about statistically normal etc. starts getting over my head although I do indeed get it. Why all the ruckus about labels? I want to wear what feels comfortable, or suits my feelings of the moment. Live and let live, if it could be applied worldwide, would bring world peace.

>>> Kay

Tolerance

I have a friend who thinks I'm wonderful. I suppose I'm entitled to at least one person who thinks so. She says my tolerance levels are amazing. I've never disillusioned her. The truth is most people's antics, bigotry and preocupation with the irrelavant (irrelevant to me I admit) bores me to tears and I just can't be bothered with them. I have far better things to do, which is not quite the same thing as live and let live, but in practice it is difficult to tell the two apart. I read once that the powers that be must be truly stupid because they go to war and then in the end it is settled over the conference table, but somehow it never occurs to them to have the conference before all the ordinary folk have died! I do however totally agree with Erin concerning politeness. If one is polite, especially to folk one can't abide, one can interact and do business with them without elevating one's blood pressure which makes life a good deal easier. Thank you for your time.
Regards,
Eolwaen

Eolwaen

Everything, everyone must be labeled

Jamie Lee's picture

It would seem humans have a propensity to put a label on everything and everyone, whether or not the label is correct.

Why? When it comes to items, labels make it easier for everyone to know what the next person is talking about, needs to do a job, etc.

But when it comes to people, labels identify what group a person belongs too, what they believe, if their married or single or neither one. Even in school labels identify those who seem to always make good grades, who picks on those weaker than themselves, who plays sports, etc.

All humans were once part of a tribe, as some still are today. And while many more no longer ascribe to being part of a tribe, they still desire to belong to some degree.

Humans are biologically female or male, which is most often the easiest trait to recognize. So when new people are encountered, or race of beings as in this story, the first thing humans would want to know would be the gender of the new beings. And unless told otherwise, force of habit would compel the pursuit of that information.

It's hard not to presume something when it's been the norm for countless years and become accepted practice. How can a race that is biologically of two genders not believe such things will always be the case?

Or, not find it necessary to label something that's not possible to label? Maybe because humans find it hard to accept anything which isn't labeled?

Others have feelings too.