So I'm working on some dialogue and a lower city is referring to an androgyne. Reading the lines back to myself I find that neither "trannie" nor "teegee" really seem to flow. Both are short for transgender, of course, but that might be a bit over this character's head. What actually seems to flow the most naturally is "angy". I'm curious if that would be acceptable.
Sure, I could see that. Or s/he might call them something simple and direct, like "switchers." There's room for some variability as long as we don't go too crazy with redundant terms.
How about just Benders (i.e. Gender Benders), as a perjorative.
Normal folks just call them gendermorphs, tee-gees, or transgenders.
Then there are the Kiddies or teenies referring to age morphs, typically as a perjorative. Sometimes they're just called Fakers since they're not as young as they look but like to play the part… to the discomforture of everyone and the ever-lasting dread (or glee) of pedophiles.
We all know the perjoratives that the animorphs will recieve… the glossary of those terms is too long to enumerate here. :)
Benders could work as a slang term, sure. "Fakers" is plausible, but also pretty general — lots of people fake lots of different things at different times. I could see it as a possible term within the illicit sex trade, though. (Pedomorphs are barred from working as licensed Sensualists, for obvious reasons.)
Pedomorphs should not be barred from becoming licenced sensualists, for obvious reasons.
A: There are citizens of Metamor who are pedomorphs and they should have similar types available to them within the sensualist guilds. Granted, pedomorphs do not have the physiological perogatives to seek out sex, but their mental perogatives remain.
B: Trained sensualists of that age-type can be immeasurabe aids to finding and capturing criminals who exploit children (not only through the sex trade) as a good bit of the training is very close, harsh, and effective personal protective martial arts. They can also serve as therapists working with exploited children.
They are not, however, typically allowed in guilds outside of Metamor. Within Metamor agemorphs are strictly regulated in 'adult' industries.
Also, pedomorphs make excellent undercover law enforcement in all aspects of society.
I'm with you on the use of pedomorphs as undercover agents and sting experts. I'm very uncomfortable, though, with the idea of portraying anything that might smack of pedophilia in a value-neutral way. As a high school teacher, I have to take certain steps to avoid the appearance of impropriety; while my school principal will back me up on positive portrayals of the gay, bi, and poly communities, the pedomorph issue is one that I don't want him to have to justify to anyone.
I certainly didn't espouse that we should actually write about it… *egh* I'm as twitchy about the use of Pedomorphs as you are, just realistic in that 30% of the population (that's been cursed, or whatever term is used for those who have allowed themselves to be cursed) is a pedomorph. Thus there would be services, in all sectors, that cater to them.
Malger would understand the necessity of controlling the services of the Sensates guild to prevent undue exploitation of the hole that would exist if that sector of the population was not given the same services as everyone else (after all, consider that the animorphs have Sensate guild members… which itself smacks of zoophilia).
Ergo, while represented and accepted as members of the various guilds (legal and not), their visual use need only be touched upon in surface context. One of the things I greatly enjoy about Metamor is it's overall PG to mild R rating, so I would not expect any manner of outright pornographic material being generated by the many, many writers that have come to the World concerning any aspect of the Curse.
I'm as twitchy about the use of Pedomorphs as you are, just realistic in that 30% of the population (that's been cursed, or whatever term is used for those who have allowed themselves to be cursed) is a pedomorph.
Actually, that's not the case anymore. Kyia has gained the ability to control which form of the Curse people receive, so the pedomorph variant is almost extinct. Only about 2% of Metamorians still choose it.
Malger would understand the necessity of controlling the services of the Sensates guild to prevent undue exploitation of the hole that would exist if that sector of the population was not given the same services as everyone else (after all, consider that the animorphs have Sensate guild members… which itself smacks of zoophilia).
Perhaps, but animal-people have a longstanding heritage in fantasy and SF. I'm really not too worried about people accusing me of bestiality because I have cat-people and wolf-people in my stories.
I could see ARs being licensed to serve other ARs exclusively, but I don't think the Guild would stick its neck out any further than that. Way too much risk of somebody getting hurt with AR/adult pairings, especially if you throw fangs and claws into the mix.
One of the things I greatly enjoy about Metamor is it's overall PG to mild R rating, so I would not expect any manner of outright pornographic material being generated by the many, many writers that have come to the World concerning any aspect of the Curse.
Best not listen to the podcast, then. ;-) Not pornographic, but we've definitely had some erotic episodes…
Actually, that's not the case anymore. Kyia has gained the ability to control which form of the
Curse people receive, so the pedomorph variant is almost extinct. Only about 2% of Metamorians
still choose it.
I didn't know this… I knew that magic had been developed to hold the Curse at bay, but no way to directly control its manifestation.
Best not listen to the podcast, then. ;-) Not pornographic, but we've definitely had some erotic
episodes…
Erotic is creative license… Vivid descriptions of acts an anatomy is pornography, and it can be found pretty much any and everywhere. That's why I have always pushed to keep it out of Metamor. As I am only peripherally associated with MK2K I really don't have a lot of room to lay that law on this Realm.





