#naga lore

Dragon culture has an interesting view of transness in that Dragons put no stock in the idea of gender, viewing it as a strange mortal concept. Male, female, and other all sex Dragons are treated equally based on their power and their power is - almost always - based on their age. Being highly vain creatures Dragons also tend to see themselves as perfect as they are and any perceived imperfections are self-addressed with their own magic.

Appearance wise, Dragons of all sexes look identical in their true Dragon and half-dragon forms - that is to say they have no secondary sex characteristics that are measurable by the humanoid eye. Dragon research does indicate that Dragons report slight color variations, horn length, and scent based on sex when they chose to be fertile. However, it is in their humanoid form that Dragons perhaps demonstrate their disregard for the gender and sex norms of mortals. Dragons can take on a humanoid form of any mortal sex with any combination of secondary sex characteristics. In fact, most Dragons often change what kind of humanoid presentation they take depending on their feelings that day.

As for human transness, Dragons are extremely accepting. Dragons view themselves as perfect but they understand that others are not; so, when trans-people assert their identity a Dragon interprets that as a demonstration of their inner power to know themselves. Dragons have been reported using their magic to change humans’ bodies to the opposite sex as a boon if requested. 

Additionally, Dragons seem to have a great admiration for drag culture as the glittery, colorful, and exaggerated gender presentation of drag royalty is similar to how many Dragons’ humanoid forms appear. After all, if they are going to take on the form of a weak humanoid they might as well look fabulous.

Elves may appear on the side of appearance and presentation towards the feminine by human standards but they do have cultural gender norms and sex differences. Because elves are highly tied to nature their gender norms often reflect the nature around them. However, there are a few consistences that are observable. Elven men, like most males of various species, tend to be more flamboyant and colorful compared to elven women. In elven culture the men are the ones that must dress up in order to attract a partner. Elven women are often the ones that are providers and protectors, being most of the hunters and usually having the more powerful natural magic. 

Now even with these general gender norm differences elven culture is, on the whole, very egalitarian compared to human cultures regarding gender. Trans-elves exist and are a welcome part of elven society, being viewed as just another facet of nature. Often when trans-elves come of age they will officially transition by taking on a new name and undergoing the correct coming of age ceremony in their adult role. When adult elves discover their trans-identity they will undergo a second coming of age ceremony.

When elves live in human societies they tend to take on more of the gender norms of the humans that they live with, viewing human gender performance as a game or type of theatre. However, they are very aware of how seriously humans can take their gender. This unfortunately can lead to elves cursing humans who upset them into forms not aligned with their gender identity. Alternatively, they can reward humans with the boon of a body that matches their gender identity - sometimes this can even be a surprise to the human themselves upon experiencing gender euphoria in their new body. Elves accept trans-humans as easily as they accept trans-elves as being a perfectly normal part of nature.

Naga culture recognizes three different genders: man (cis-gendered), woman (cis-gendered), and dhany or blessed (transgender, non-binary, and intersex). Naga culture is a patriarchal caste system. The strictest division of masculine and feminine gender norms are found in the higher castes, with lower castes being fairly equal between men and women.

The dhany are in a caste by themselves, regardless of their parentage, and considered on par with the clerical caste, one of the highest in rank. Dhany seems to be similar to the concept of hijra in the Hindu religion and are considered sacred among the Naga as they see the world from a perspective no one else can. Due to their sacred status dhany see many privileges in Naga society such as being able to have romantic and sexual relationships with Naga of any caste. Whereas, other Naga can only have romantic and sexual relations with those of their own caste or a caste below. However, most dhany will develop relationships with other dhany due to proximity and shared experiences.

Regarding Naga’s interpretation of human transness. They generally are surprised and confused about how trans-humans are not uplifted in society like the dhany are. Some Naga will even turn hostile towards humans that are disrespectful of trans-humans. However, Naga can have a harder time understanding the differences for humans between being binary transgender, non-binary, and intersex due to their cultural bias of considering all of those identities a singular category.

Thank you for learning about these monsters. Monster species are numerous, and we cannot address all of them in this celebratory post but you can see some other monsters addressed in last year's post. If you have questions about the monsters in your area, please contact the Department of Monster Affairs through our social media, and our representatives will respond as quickly as possible.

Comments and reblogs are appreciated. Asks are always open!

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Starting with red for physical disabilities. The magical realm is very adept at accommodating a variety of body types and needs. While most monsters found living in community with others have a bipedal body type, not all do. Merfolk that cannot transform their tails into legs (about 65% of the population) use wheelchairs to get around on the surface. Just like in the human realm, wheelchairs are a common form of mobility aid, as are canes, walkers, and walking chairs. However, these aids are often enchanted to be self-propelling or have other enhancements. Now, very popular among those using canes in the human realm are canes enchanted to transform the end into a grabbing hand, helping with tasks such as reaching items, putting on shoes, and other similar purposes. Other magical aids have been developed that are similar to those found in our world, but arcane rather than tech; there has been an upsurge in magi-tech combining the two to great results. 

Some monsters have developed their own solutions to accommodate the needs of their physically disabled members. For example, the Orcs, who are skilled biomancers, have used that magic to develop splicing spells that will attach limbs from fallen foes to replace those that may be missing. However, not all Orcs do this as the process is relatively new, and Orc culture does not stigmatize physical differences, merely seeing them as an additional challenge that their brethren are all the stronger for needing to deal with. 

Moving on to the gold stripe for neurodiversity. In the magical realm, little is known about neurodiversity as a framework. While those who are autistic, have ADHD, dyslexia, Down's Syndrome, or other neurodiverse labeling do exist, these individuals are mostly just seen as different, if not a bit strange, yet are mostly unstigmatized. This is a confirmation of what was suspected by many neurodiverse people and neurologists in the human realm - neurodiverse conditions have always existed, but it was the urbanization, industrialization, and technological changes of modern human society that made many these individuals stand out as abnormal with disabilities that needed to be “treated.” 

As researchers have examined monster species, it has also become apparent that some may be neurodiverse from a human perspective, but neurotypical within their society. For example, many elves would be considered on the autism spectrum by human standards, and most minotaurs would qualify as having ADHD. Of course, these labels would be an imposition of human-made social constructs, and it would be very rude and inaccurate to label these species such as a whole.

Because of the large overlap in neurodiversity and emotional and psychiatric disabilities, we will jump ahead to the blue stripe. Just like the human realm, those in the magical realm can experience depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and other mental disorders. Because battles and war are more common in the magical realm than in the human realm, PTSD is fairly common to find - they call PTSD “memory scars.” Explorers, or adventurers, commonly develop PTSD, as do monsters whose lives and culture involve a lot of battle or harsh conditions, such as Orcs, bull minotaurs, and merfolk.

Determining the cause of a mental disorder can be tricky in the magical realm, as curses, demons, and other magical sources can impact mortals in similar ways to mental illness. Is that person truly hearing the voice of a deity, or do they have schizophrenia? Are they cursed not to trust the world around them, or do they have generalized anxiety disorder? This is a similar issue faced by the human realm before the advent of psychology. However, this trouble in determining the cause of mental disorders does not mean that there are no treatments that the magical realm has developed. Soothing magical spells, giving people time to rest, herbs and potions, and accommodations in expectations or labor are all ways in which the magical realm adjusts to aid or make room for those with mental illnesses.

Just like with neurodivergence, there are some monster species who, by a human standard, would qualify as having a psychiatric disability. For example, many centaurs would match the criteria for generalized anxiety disorder in the DSM-VII, and this may be due to their horse halves. Angels are prone to behavior similar to what would fit obsessive-compulsive disorder. Once again, these are human ideas of mental disorder, and an entire species should not be labeled as having a certain disorder; however, this information can be useful in navigating interactions with those species.

Now, for the green stripe, which stands for sensory disorders. Similar to physical disabilities, there are many arcane means that the magical realm uses to help or accommodate those with sensory disorders. Blind individuals may use service summons - similiar to service animals - to help guide them; many of these summons can speak to their summoner telepathically, which allows them to translate writing or describe the world as well. Some monsters have additional abilities that support certain impairments. For instance, Naga that are deaf in their human ears typically find that their sensitivity to vibrations is enhanced, giving them somatic hearing similar to that of snakes. Some monsters are categorically sensory disabled by human standards. For example, Werewolves are all red-green color-blind, even in their human forms, just like real wolves. And the monocular vision of cyclops means they have difficulty with depth perception and are notoriously near-sighted.

Back to the white stripe, for individuals with undiagnosed or invisible disabilities. As implied by the discussions on neurodivergence and emotional and psychiatric disabilities, many individuals in the magical realm are undiagnosed. This can have a negative impact on their lives and lead to misunderstandings with those around them. But knowledge about these disabilities from the human realm is helping to address the needs of these individuals. Invisible disabilities, like chronic pain, in the magical realm were often treated by the symptom, but not the source. Pain medication in the medical realm is far better and less addictive than opioids in the human realm, but without treating the source of the pain, conditions can worsen. This illustrates the significance of knowledge and resource exchange between the magical realm and the human realm.

Finally, the Department of Monster Affairs would like to address the black field of the disability pride flag. The black field is for those who have died of abuse or neglect due to their disabilities. While this article has focused on the positives found in the magical realm around disability, it is ignorant to assume there is not a dark side as well. Misunderstandings about disabilities, inability, or lack of desire to care for those with disabilities have led to abuse and death among the disabled population of the magical realm, just like it still does in the human realm. This is why Disability Pride Month remains important: to highlight the failures of the past and present, and discuss how we, as a society, can do better in the future; while still celebrating those who face additional struggles every day and their valuable place in society as neighbors, coworkers, friends, family, and individuals.

I'll be honest, I'm a bit nervous about publishing this. While I (probably) have undiagnosed ADHD and struggle with my own mental health issues, I am not the most involved with or that informed about disability rights or the correct language to use - something I work to correct, but you know it takes time. I have really tried to be inclusive and non-stigmatizing with my language and ideas here, but if I've made a mistake, please let me know so I can correct it.

Comments and reblogs are appreciated.

Nagas are a fascinating but reclusive species of monster that were once found from Southeast Asia to the Atlantic Ocean, and may have even reached into northern regions; in these other regions, they had different names, such as the Greek Lamias. Given that the majority of Naga today live in the regions of India and Southeast Asia, that is the term that has become commonly used to describe them. With the wide physical range of Naga there is no single cohesive culture that they have developed, let alone queer culture. However, there do appear to be cultural trends that scholars have discovered that we can discuss as a general Naga “queer culture.”

Naga tend to have very few limitations on same-sex sexual relationships. While it is expected that at some point Naga will have at least one child with an opposite sex mate of sufficient status and power, whoever a Naga keeps as a sexual or romantic companion is of no issue, assuming they are of the correct status. It is actually quite common for Naga of the same-sex to pair up outside of breeding rituals to raise children, though these relationships are often platonic.

As implied by the mention of status in the previous paragraph, Naga do have a social caste system based around their magical power. As dragon-kin, the elemental magical powers that Naga possess are important to their society. Similarly to dragons, it is expected that Naga mate and have relations with Naga of their same caste. Therefore, any romantic or procreative relations with those of a different caste would be considered outside of the societal norms and thus queer. Purely sexual relations are perfectly fine so long as it is at the discretion of the higher ranked caste member, the power dynamics important to dragons are just as important in their mortal dragon-kin.

Naga culture also recognizes three different genders: man (cis-gendered), woman (cis-gendered), and dhany or blessed (transgender, non-binary, and intersex). This seems to be similar to the concept of hijra in the Hindu religion. The dhany are considered sacred among the Naga as they see the world from a perspective no one else can. The dhany are in a caste by themselves, regardless of their parentage, and considered on par with the cleric caste, one of the highest in rank. The dhany are the exception to the social norms of not having romantic relationships outside of a Naga’s caste, as dhany can take lovers and mate with any Naga of their choosing, as dictated by their sacred status.

Queer Monster Culture Lore: Cubi Dragons Orcs Werewolves