#fantasy queerness

urukin (gnomes and orcs):

while different sexualities in gnomish society are generally accepted and normalized, genderqueerness has a bit of a different place in their culture. Their deities, the Sun and Mountain, are very binary male/female (and they do expect more hetero coupling among their group leaders, especially the religious leaders). But they also believe the waters are connected to a group of genderless nature spirits. historically, intersex gnomes were the ones most trusted to gather and purify water for their people. Gnomes are largely nomadic, so this is an important job, and the water spirits are believed to be quite fickle so of course you'd want them dealt with by people that might be able to blend in with their genderless nature. But also because of their association with these fickle spirits, gnomes who don't fit the binary are often looked at with some level of suspicion or simply treated as a separate group.

Over time, the intersex gnomes would mark themselves with extra beads on their prayer pendants to represent the waters, and include these spirits in their own worship practices. And then trans and nonbinary gnomes began to do it too. allies of these gnomes might choose to wear one bead, while genderqueer gnomes wear three or more. they often make their prayer altars out of river rocks, and include some manner of water ritual in their worship practices.

Some trans gnomes will refer to an old name as their "drowned name", though this is very dependent on how old they were when they came out. It's already a normal part of gnomish culture to choose a new name as a coming of age practice, so younger trans gnomes don't always consider their previous name "drowned" at all, it's just their childhood name. Likewise, some older genderqueer gnomes will refer to themselves as "claimed by the waters" to describe their relationship with gender and the water spirits, but the younger generations have begun to look for other terms, because they dislike the connection to drowning/being drowned and view themselves in a different way. Polished, like stones in the current, is one example (I am still looking for other interesting water-themed community terms, as the author)

Some more traditionalist gnomes are less accepting of genderqueer identities and don't really understand why the whole water worship thing is practiced by anyone who wasn't born intersex. But it's become less frowned upon in younger generations, especially among the gnomes who have left the nomadic lifestyle and found more permanent homes. As the nomadic tradition was kind of developed as a way to atone for their ancestors' actions against the centaurs, and gnomes who travel less are more likely to revert to having orcish traits over a few generations, their cultures are becoming divided. Intersex gnomes and trans gnomes who have undergone medical transition options are especially likely to gain orcish traits. So the nomadic gnomes who still view orcs negatively will also tend to view these gnomes in a negative light. embracing the orcish traits and erasing the division between orcs and gnomes actually creates a greater culture of gender equality and queer acceptance as well.

my gnomish protagonist Evarin is a trans woman (and has an orcish grandmother) and she's taken years to even figure out what she wants to do with the medical side of her transition because of the cultural awkwardness around it. She's also got beef with a coworker because traditionalist gnomes believe the best vocal magic is done by biological mothers (it's not just gnomes either, this is a common belief for many people) so in spite of her skills, Evarin is still being pushed away from the job she really wants, which is to be the head chorist of a medical choir.

orcs are usually quite flexible about both gender and sexuality, caring more about someone's skills and how well they get along with their community. But when you go higher in their clan hierarchies, you'll find a lot more heteronormativity. Especially among the leaders of clan houses, who will engage in arranged marriages for political reasons and expect these marriages to produce heirs. In some clans, there are large groups of men who have become convinced that orcish women should not be out hunting or becoming warriors, but they are a loud minority. It is also not uncommon for orcs in arranged marriages to have open-secret lovers, viewing their arranged partner as someone they are legally obligated to, someone they ought to have children with, but not someone they love. Younger generations are working on abolishing their clans' inherited power systems, which will open up leadership positions to a greater range of people. This will also make arranged marriages less useful, which will help remove the heteronormative expectations. (this is happening within my main WIP with an aroace orc prince)

Like most other people also, orcs do believe that women are inherently better at vocal magic, so it's very common for orcish women to end up in important magic-related roles. Interestingly, orcish women who have certain genetic hormone conditions are given even greater importance within their religious and magic culture because it causes the growth of extra vestigial breasts, which is viewed as a blessing from their ancestral matriarchs.

Sylvanids: (elves, drow, stroi)

The foundation of the queer community among all the sylvanid people was built by the varlet drow. They are male drow who wander outside the caverns instead of bonding with a Matriarch to become chamberlains. This is an actual biological thing, but they are still treated as outsiders and scoundrels. Their role in the species is to spread their genetics around to avoid bottlenecks, while the chamberlains' role is to protect and care for their bonded partner's family. Varlets are allowed to have their dalliances with the Matriarchs, but they are chased out afterwards.

the varlet drow have embraced their outcast identity. They take pride in it. They have their own culture separate from that of other drow, and this culture is very accepting of any fellow traveler regardless of species or origin. They have their own pronouns (all drow use non-gendered pronouns more tied to their role in the eusocial hierarchy than to any other part of their identity) and they take a lot of odd jobs while traveling around. Entertainment, especially sexual entertainment, is one of the jobs they take most frequently. They've created robust workers' guild systems to help protect themselves and anyone else who works while traveling, or who take jobs in fields that are more prone to exploitation.

Their open pride in their identity and the easy way they welcome fellow travelers and outcasts into their communities has allowed many others to find solidarity and friendship when they thought they were alone. Many elves, stroi, and other drow have begun to use varlet pronouns and consider themselves part of the varlet community. Though being queer as we define it may not be required to join the varlet community, many of them are. The one connecting trait is that all these people have been outcasts in some way. They're as likely to just be neurodivergent as they are to be queer. Many are sex workers. Lots of sylvanid hybrids of different sorts as well.

It's also part of varlet drow culture to choose a new name when leaving the caverns. This new name can take some time to work out, and it's not unusual to change that name again later. It is always based on something in the outside world that brings the individual great joy. Something that embodies hope for their new life, and allows them to take joy in their own identity. Genderqueer elves and stroi, especially those who are trans, have obviously found this tradition quite helpful. Though it's not at all limited to gender transition.

A few examples of varlet names:

Trout (the persistence of fish swimming against the current, the way their scales gleam with color in the sunlight, but somehow they still manage to seem almost invisible in the water) Rain (comfort in the cold, dust washed away, life thriving after a storm even if it caused damage in other ways) Doodle (imperfection without critique, intentional mess, freedom of expression) Campfire (warmth in the darkness, community, conversation and gossip)

Admittedly I haven't spent as much time fleshing out the queer cultures of most of the other people species lol. The genderqueer gnome community and the varlet sylvanid community are the most detailed ones I have right now.

Goblins, pixies, and quetzalin are a few groups that kind of inherently have such different relationships with the concept of gender and sexuality that it's tricky to define what they might consider "queer" because what's normal and common for them might seem very queer to anyone else. Goblins change between egg-layers and egg-fertilizers based entirely on environmental factors around their breeding season, and they just have a big group orgy about it and then care for the eggs and eventual tadpoles as a collective.

Quetzalin are all basically agender and asexual for half the year, and then in their courting season they identify by their preferred role of dancer, watcher, or someone who likes to switch it up. polyamory and seasonal hookups are very common for them, with long term partner bonds being built outside the courting season. It's also normal for them to use surrogates when they want kids, because not every partnership is actually capable of having their own fertilized eggs.

pixies are giant sapient wasp-bees with very ant-like social structures. they do not know what a gender is. sexuality whomst? they are born into a job and they do that job and their minds are all tied together like a giant group chat with the memories of every generation that came before them. I don't know what they would define as "queer" within their culture.

Gnomes

In gnomish culture, gender is treated more strictly than sexuality. They're primarily a nomadic people, and while they do consider heterosexual coupling to be important for certain social roles (such as spiritual leadership) they don't use labels for people who happen to have a preference for multiple genders or their same gender, and polyamory is not uncommon. The young adult gnomes going on a nomadic journey for the first time also frequently use this journey as a chance to experiment with their sexual preferences.

So all the terms the gnomes use to describe queerness in their culture tend to be more focused on gender, as a result.

The gnomish religion follows two central deities: the Sun, which is masculine, and the Mountain, which is feminine, and these two are considered adoptive parents to the gnomes, taking them in back when they were urukai escaping the conflict against the centaurs.

They also belive in some groups of spirit entities which have influence on the world but are not quite deities. These are the moon spirits and the water spirits. While both groups are considered gender neutral, the moons are associated with the realm of the dead, and so they only connect with the living during special rituals. Like their larger kin, the orcs, gnomes have a genderless pronoun for dead people.

The water spirits are also genderless, and at the same time they have every gender. They are tricksters who can travel between the land and the sky, who take different forms from solid to liquid to mist.

Historically, intersex gnomes have been referred to as "children of the waters", because they do not fit into the neat categories of the masculine Sun or the feminine Mountain, so they must instead belong to the waters. As a result, they were often given the task of gathering and purifying water along the nomadic trails. The water spirits are fickle, giving and taking life on a whim, but it was believed that perhaps they would be more likely to allow their own claimed children to gather water without incident, even in more difficult areas.

Over time, gnomes who felt that their gender was not in line with their body would also declare themselves to be children of the water spirits. Another phrase for it was "claimed by the waters", though this one has become outdated because it can equally refer to drowning victims. Some trans gnomes still appreciate the phrase though, because they may feel as if their old self has drowned and they emerged anew and reborn. But others, especially those who have a more fluid gender experience or those who were born intersex, would rather not be labeled in a way that implies they were killed or taken away by the waters.

The more formal term for the water spirits is Arelai. Genderqueer gnomes of all sorts will usually add the Arelai to their worship practices, like placing a bowl of water at their altars or adding glass beads to the religious pendants they wear. Water themed accessories are a common way for them to connect with their community.

There are a great number of metaphors that genderqueer gnomes use to describe their experiences.

Trans feminine gnomes might prefer to think of their gender in terms of ice: water becoming more rock-like and connected to the Mountain, Naorin, especially the glaciers that cover Her resting body.

Trans masculine gnomes might prefer to think of their gender in terms of clouds or fog: water that rises to the sky and becomes filled with the Sun, Shior's, light.

And those who feel more fluid about their gender simply connect with the natural flow of running water, and how it makes its own paths through and around any obstacle it meets.

One might feel they are trapped in an eddy if they can't seem to settle on their gender or how they want to transition, or they might describe the clarity of gender euphoria as "finding their flow".

Unfortunately I have had an incredibly difficult time coming up with an actual community umbrella term for genderqueer gnomes that uses some water related word and still sounds like something a group of people would actually call themselves.

Apologies to all the friends and discord server acquaintances who have offered suggestions only for none of them to stick. Perhaps it is just the nature of water that makes it so hard to find a casual and snappy community label that fits this concept.

I'll show the suggestions anyway, and maybe people can add their ideas in the replies lol.

Elves, stroi and drow:

The sylvanid peoples all share a couple of similar cultural term for queer folks - varlet and castaway. Varlet comes with its own pronouns too, if an individual chooses to use them (ki/kir).

Both if these terms come from the varlet drow. Within the unusual eusocial biology of drow, there exist two different forms of "male". Those inclined to settle in a colony as the permanent companions of a Matriarch are Chamberlains. They are driven by instinct to leave their birthplace, but they do not experience a natural rapid weight gain and the instinct to leave the caverns only lasts long enough to get them to a new colony where they can bond with a Matriarch and/or other chamberlains.

The second type of male, referred to as Varlets, rapidly gain weight and feel the urge to wander so much more, to the point where they may never be able to settle in any sort of permanent home even if they have a bonded companion. All of this is merely the biological origin of the traditional varlet drow, but the word itself bears other cultural connotations and has evolved over time to include a more diverse range of people.

Because varlet drow are so driven to wander, they inevitably become outcasts, or caataways as they prefer to call themselves in private. They do not stay long enough to be part of a drow colony. Drow culture in general has historically viewed them as scoundrels, intruders, or failed chamberlains, though this has not always been the case. They used to be called Wayfarers, and their knowledge of the land as well as their endurance allowed them to help the drow spread around the world when their original caverns became too crowded. Varlet is a more lowly title, putting them below the Chamberlains as servants and escorts. History has been warped agaisnt them, to now treat them as scoundrels rather than respected guides.

Many of them have embraced the scoundrel label as a sort of performance. After all, their primary biological purpose is to keep the gene pool flowing and prevent stagnation. They're basically sex workers. So they play into the whole scoundrel thing and at least make it entertaining. And entertainment has become a primary trait of their own culture as a result. In their travels, they collect and trade stories, music, dances. They frequently travel alone and only settle in shared camps to sleep in groups. They call these "castaway camps" and they’re typically watched over by retired varlets who no longer travel. These camp keepers also carry forward the old wayfarer title and share their true history with the younger varlets so it won't be forgotten.

Varlet drow were among the first people to create anything like workers unions, or guilds. They do odd jobs all the time and a lot of those jobs are easily exploited, like being a sailor on a trade ship or being a sex worker.

Since they have their own culture, varlet drow also have some unique traditions of their own. The most well known is their tradition of picking a new name when they leave the caverns. They find something in the outside world that brings them joy, something that transforms their view of the world and helps them adjust to their new life, as they leave behind their childhood and everyone and everything they once knew.

Knowing all of this, it's easy to see how they became the root of the queer community amongst all the sylvanids. Being outcasts themselves, and often lonely, varlet drow have always been open to other outcasts and travelers. They know the importance of building strong ties even with people they may never see again, because it makes the lonely travel days a little easier. They also understand the pain and relief of shedding an old identity to find a new one.

So over time, "varlet" as a term expanded far beyond "male drow who live outside" and began to include regular drow who took time to live in the outside world, as well as outcast elves and stroi who had no one else to turn to. And then it expanded further and now it has become the umbrella term for queer sylvanids and also a general term for sex workers, as the varlet guilds make sweeping changes to the brothel system everywhere they go, focusing on worker protection in particular. Brothels run by their guilds are usuallh called varlet lounges.