Mundus Liber Questionnaire #1 (LGBT Rights)

[Mauridiviah]

Hello Europa! Mundus Liber is up and at it again; now focusing on a specific area: LGBT Rights. Below is a questionnaire that's quick and simple. I'll take answers by posting here, DMing me on Discord or the Forums, Answer and tag me on the discord (where I will also be posting this) or just somehow get them to me. Please take just ten minutes out of your day to answer this, data such as this will be a valuable tool for us to understand how our world compares to the real one and how each of us compare to each other. Without further ado, here's the questions:

 

Mundus Liber LGBT Rights Questionnaire:

 

1.       What is your country’s general views on homosexuality?

 

2.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against homosexuals? Please explain how.

 

3.       What is your country’s general views on bisexual individuals?

 

4.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against bisexual individuals? Please explain how.

 

5.       What is your country’s general views on transgender individuals?

 

6.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against transgender individuals? Please explain how.

 

7.       Why does your country take these stances on LGBT individuals? Please explain thoroughly.

 

8.       Any more notes on the way the LGBT community is treated in your country?

 

[Orioni]

(OOC: I had started answering each question, but it turns out most of my answers were always the same.)

1+3+5+7. What is your country’s general views on homosexuality, bisexual individuals, transgender individuals, and LGBT individuals?

Sexual preference is not a subject of debate. Much like with religion, asking about or suggesting someone's sexual preference is frowned upon. There is a much clearer distinction between native and foreigner, based on where people are coming from.

2+4+6+8. Do your laws protect or discriminate against these groups? Please explain how.

What you would consider being "anti-discrimination laws" apply to the differences in clan lineage, age, the order of birth, and religious devotion. Also protected by not explicitly mentioned are taboo topics such as: gender, sexuality, income, political preference. There does still exist a large undertone of discrimination against men who seek positions of power, notably in politics.

In the past, there have been some minor conflicts with the Tacolic Church not permitting women in their leadership, but these affairs have been resolved now. This exclusion of women was perceived as a clear affront to traditional matriarchy in Orioni.

[Sunset Sea Islands]

Answered through the poll you posted earlier on Discord.

11 hours ago, Orioni said:

(OOC: I had started answering each question, but it turns out most of my answers were always the same.)

Same brother, same.

[Seylos]

1.       What is your country’s general views on homosexuality?

A natural part of life that nobody thinks about as it has been apart of society for a long time.

2.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against homosexuals? Please explain how.

The only laws on the book are older religious based laws surrounding the exception to homosexuality being deviant.

3.       What is your country’s general views on bisexual individuals?

The same as homosexuals.

4.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against bisexual individuals? Please explain how.

The same older laws apply.

5.       What is your country’s general views on transgender individuals?

Seylos didn't have these laws or views prepared like the older ones surrounding homosexuality so the progress was a bit more difficult, however it has been generally accepted by the populace.

6.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against transgender individuals? Please explain how.

Recent laws have come in to play attempting to hinder discrimination.

7.       Why does your country take these stances on LGBT individuals? Please explain thoroughly.

A short history revolves around the original king of Seylos. The king had been known in the home country for some time to be a "deviant" in social circles. However it had mostly been kept under wraps until a pretender crisis in which he was involved. One of the general charges against the then prince was his homosexuality on top of the higher charge of being a rebellious pretender to the throne. However regardless of this he managed to gain  a great number of supporters in his campaigns, and since being exposed all ready chose not to hide it. Eventually it was decided that he and his numerous supporters would leave their land and make way to where modern Seylos is now. After arriving and experiencing large growth in the colony, religious leaders decided that in order to strengthen the throne and win the new king's favor that homosexuality would be allowed under their modified religious beliefs. Their plan worked somewhat and played a role in fortifying their positions in the Seylosian government for some time. As a result with the decree attacks against homosexuals decreased massively, however the discomfort took many decades to fade away from there. 

8.       Any more notes on the way the LGBT community is treated in your country?

Prince Aidan is gay, and is most likely going to become the next king, so all in all they are doin pretty well.

[Derthalen]

1.       What is your country’s general views on homosexuality?

We do not talk about it.

 

2.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against homosexuals? Please explain how.

They are first subjected to evaluation and reeducation, if they are deemed beyond saving the females are render unable to derive pleasure from beastly acts and sold off as concubines while the men are gelded and sold off as slaves for their transgressions against the Emperor. If they prove unruly, they are subjected to conditioning and pacification surgeries to make them more amicable to their new lots in life.

 

3.       What is your country’s general views on bisexual individuals?

We do not talk about it.

 

4.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against bisexual individuals? Please explain how.

Please refer to the second answer.

 

5.       What is your country’s general views on transgender individuals?

These do not exist.

 

6.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against transgender individuals? Please explain how.

If it is just some girl pretending to be a boy, we generally ignore them and let them go their merry way so that their husband or father can sort them out. If they carry out unnatural acts though or if they cause trouble by refusing to marry and/or do their Emperor given duties, we carry out two rounds of psychiatric treatment. Failing this reeducation and conditioning is attempted, before we finally move onto surgical procedures.

 

7.       Why does your country take these stances on LGBT individuals? Please explain thoroughly.

They are unnatural and need to be treated. Men need to father children so that they might be replaced in time, women need to carry these children and rear them so that they might live, and until an economical solution can be found which renders childbirth an inefficient means of reproduction and troop replenishment, we will continue to carry out our methods of treatment. Lives are the Emperor's currency, spend them well.

 

8.       Any more notes on the way the LGBT community is treated in your country?

Getting up on a stage in a dress and some make up does not make a man a woman or in any way, shape, or form lead to punishment or medical attention unless done so in inappropriate settings and times. Having some stupid fun like that because the prettiest thing around is the ass about to be butchered for your week's food is considered normal and healthy behaviour, and it is also not uncommon for men to play female roles as there has been a sharp decline in actresses since more conservative elements have started calling for the outlawing of prostitution in most places.

[Monvisret]

1.       What is your country’s general views on homosexuality?

Homosexuality is viewed by most as a sexual perversion and social ill. Some of the younger generation and the elites view homosexuality in a less negative light, but these views are not widespread. Homosexuality is represented by the powerful Church and moralistic State as a destabilising force within society. Homosexual individuals who are not successful in hiding or do not wish to hide their sexuality are often shunned to the margins of society. Conversion therapy is legal and, while not funded by the State, is often promoted by municipal governments and churches. There have been cases where conversion therapy has been administered in lieu of imprisonment for homosexual acts, but celibacy is officially seen as the way for homosexual individuals to lead a law-abiding life.

2.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against homosexuals? Please explain how.

Homosexual acts, defined under the Law of Social Decency as ranging from hand-holding to sexual intercourse, are illegal and criminalised. It carries a maximum penalty of a 5-year prison sentence, although in practice this is usually only used on political dissidents where an allegation of homosexuality provides a convenient excuse for imprisonment. A bill is being debated in the Consejo which would reduce the maximum punishment to 24 hours in jail, but this is facing fierce opposition from more conservative Deputies, and is generally unpopular within the populace. There exists no legislation prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination, and in practice LGBT people encounter many barriers to employment and accommodation. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships, and certainly no gay adoption.

There are no laws against homosexuality itself, and a celibate homosexual person is technically within the law, although will likely still encounter societal discrimination.

3.       What is your country’s general views on bisexual individuals?

The same as with homosexuals, although the element of sexual perversion is amplified even further. Bisexuality is synonymous with sexual debauchery and polygamy, which is also illegal. Due to this, a bisexual individual not in a heterosexual relationship is likely doing so out of open defiance to the State and wider society.

4.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against bisexual individuals? Please explain how.

As above, the law criminalises homosexual acts, but not the identity itself. There is no anti-discrimination legislation for bisexual people.

5.       What is your country’s general views on transgender individuals?

Transgender people are set apart from gays and bisexuals. Not only are they seen as sexually perverted, but also as mentally ill, with many in society holding the belief that their delusion is an act against God. However, public awareness of transgender people is not high, due mostly to the fact they either live in complete secrecy or risk being detained indefinitely in an Institution for the Insane (such as the 520-bed Instituto Correctivo de Turienos, reported to house more than 100 transgender individuals). Cross-dressing is certainly stigmatised, but not to the level of transgender identity, and thus cross-dressing is something some transgender people do practice in privacy.

6.       Do your laws protect or discriminate against transgender individuals? Please explain how.

Transgender identity itself is explicitly illegal (also under the Law of Social Decency) and can be grounds for indefinite detention in an Institute for the Insane. There is no legislation prohibiting discrimination against transgender people. Transgender people who are open and visible about their identity will, at best, be confined to the margins of society, often only able to practice their identity and find employment in the underground LGBT scene.

7.       Why does your country take these stances on LGBT individuals? Please explain thoroughly.

Homo/bisexuality and transgender identities are seen by much of the population as a sexual perversion, an act against God and the natural world, and are seen by the State at least as a de-stabilising force in society. Because the only openly-LGBT people are either prosecuted or shunned to the edges of society, LGBT identities have also become synonymous with political extremism and dissidence, and LGBT people are therefore seen by the State as a threat. The Tacolic Church in Monvisret is significantly more conservative than the Tacolic Church in the wider world, and since it has been given a prominent position in society by the State, this also greatly influences the views of society.

8.       Any more notes on the way the LGBT community is treated in your country?

Despite these significant legal and societal barriers, an underground LGBT scene has grown within Monvisret. This has meant that, in practice, most LGBT people are able to live out their identities so long as they only do so within this environment. In particular, the Navaerrean city of Donostia is known for being quite liberal and accomodating to this LGBT scene, although it is also the centre of political dissidence and Navarrean separatism leading to increasing police raids and heavy-handed law enforcement in recent years, putting the LGBT scene in this city within the firing line. Emigration to the more liberal countries in the region is also an option many LGBT Monvis have historically taken.

[Greater Serbia]

1. Homos are commonly beaten up and abused.

2. They discriminate.

3. They think that they are confused.

4. Discriminate less, but still largely discriminated.

5. They think they're freaks of society.

6. Discriminated fiercely.

7. They are people against the traditional family, and are largely liberal.

8. nope

[Tagmatium Rules]

1. What is your country’s general views on homosexuality?

Generally, Tagmatium is relatively split on its perception of homosexuality. On the one hand, it is a Christian nation ruled over by an autocratic monarch who is held to be the representative of God on Eurth. As such, homosexuality, at least open displays of it, are frowned upon. If same-sex couples were to have open displays of affection in restaurants or other public places, there is the likelihood that they may be asked to leave the premises, especially if the other clientele were of the older generations.

Acculturation from other nations, as much as the Megas Agios Basileia Arhomanion tends to look down on other cultures, has meant that younger generations are becoming a lot more familiar with the idea of same-sex relationships being allowed to be more open that they have in the past.

As explained below, there may be a level of ostracisation if someone within certain professions were to come out – if they were a teacher, for example, parents may ask for their children to be removed from their classes.

2. Do your laws protect or discriminate against homosexuals? Please explain how.

In the main, laws do not protect homosexuals – it was mainly decriminalised and there is certainly an atmosphere of “don't ask, don't tell” amongst the wider population. A homosexual couple would not get arrested in public for holding hands, and they are unlikely to be physically assaulted, apart from the more backwoods areas of the countryside.

There are anti-discrimination laws against that, but it would very much depend on the locality. Some parts of the country are significantly more progressive than others, especially the big cities, such as Tagmatika, Petrion or Prousa. There, people would likely not comment much on it.

3. What is your country's general views on bisexual individuals?

They are considered to be an oddity – neither fish nor fowl. To a greater or lesser extent, especially amongst younger people, there is the perception that it is people “experimenting”, but there can be a lot of pressure to conform to the ideal of the Tagmatine – church-going, patriotic and family-oriented.

4. Do your laws protect or discriminate against bisexual individuals? Please explain how.

Again, there is no real discrimination – there is just no real protection, either. It often depends on the area of the country that one is in.

5. What is your country's general views on transexual individuals?

It isn't a thing that is recognised officially within the Megas Agios Basileia Arhomanion, but that is likely changing. Due to the increasing wealth of published medical material on the subject, this is perhaps the area of LGBT that is changing the quickest, with perhaps surprisingly little opposition from the Church. The Agios Basilikon Kounsistorion is even considering changing the law to make it easier for individuals to alter their birth certificates to reflect their true genders, once they have undergone both medical and psychological examinations.

The average member of the public might greet this topic with some confusion, however.

6. Do your laws protect or discriminate against transexual individuals? Please explain how.

Laws, as they stand, do not allow someone to change their gender legally. At all. But this actually might be changing.

7. Why does your country take these stances on LGBT individuals? Please explain thoroughly.

The 20th Century was a remarkably turbulent period for Tagmatium. A generation-long war led to the first real democracy that the Megas Agios Basileia Arhomanion ever had, started by a coup of officers and soldiers from said war. This led to a liberalisation of the culture of the country, which led to a left-wing Holy Emperor being elected. This period saw many of the laws of a discriminatory nature being struck off the books, a move that was supported by the Patriarch of Tagmatika, who was known for progressive views. This, however, didn't last long – in the early 1970s this regime was overthrown by a conservative faction from the aristocracy, led in part by a cabal of military officers. This saw a much more traditionalist view of gender relations put back in place.

However, the 1990s saw another coup, this time by the son of the more left-wing emperor. Once again, a wave of liberalisation happened, and progressive laws were enacted. That is, progressive for a devoutly Christian nation, one that has a strong influence from a politically-powerful state religion. Whilst Kommodos III has shown no personal inclinations to buckle to the occasional pressure from the church to enact harsher laws, neither has he tried to open the Megas Agios Basileia Arhomanion up to more equal rights for minority sexualities.

Any foreigner is actually more likely to be given leeway than a native-born Tagmatine – they're all barbaroi, after all.

8. Any more notes on the way the LGBT community is treated in your country.

Nope, I think I've covered it.

(Don't hit me again, @Mauridiviah! Please!)

[Mauridiviah]

This survey is now closed. Currently compiling the results.