Sociological Notes on Perdita
Feb. 23rd, 2010 10:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
labingiSociological notes to self on Perditan society, gleaned from my recent reread/re-edit of the novel...
Perdita is secretive and hermeneutic: its meanings are hidden. Its history has been formed by a couple of thousand years of two opposing sides disguising knowledge, one side trying to destroy it, the other hiding it so it won't be destroyed.
Examples:
* the planet itself is shielded
* jae knowledge/shield knowledge is restricted
* many records were purged (including fusion power)
* the Borderals wish to keep Perdita from contacting other planets
* the media is fairly tightly controlled
* free speech is somewhat restricted (not brutally but lacking protections like a First Amendment)
From this:
* Art is more hidden than performative. Books/libraries are substantial; drama is rare. Cinema is rare and TV non-existent. Songs and dances are communal more than oriented around showcasing performers. Radio is the main source of news, letters the main means of communication.
Perdita is a social-democratic capitalist state: It must have fairly high taxes, which (by and large) the people don't object to. Taxes support fully socialized health care and education, infrastructure, prisons (substantial but not a huge industry) and a large, persistent military (and the monarchy - a relatively small expense). It likely lacks an equivalent to social security/welfare (or such programs a pittance). The need for such programs, designed to help those who can't make money to live, would be largely supplied by a culture of hospitality, "taking people in."
Examples:
* Rajaneen and Shoshec's family took in Sherayna, Leric, Sylan, Jasen.
* The people of Raratin take in the Meenan refugees.
* Zerin takes in Nevan and Miri, also takes in not only its recruits but a companion for each. (Zerin must be tax-supported too.)
* Ethan's tenant's boyfriend moves into Ethan's house with no evidence of a lease/sub-let/legal arrangement. Ethan (who is rather rigid) readily excepts that this person was taken in.
This hospitality may be related to polyamory. Family groups can be large and loose and easily incorporate new (and fluid) members.
Corporate power is oppressive without being tyrannical. Consortia use their weight to make the rules for how industries such as agriculture will be regulated (but they have not put people out of business to the point of hunger, homelessness, unemployment, etc. on any large scale). Corporate power in Parliament seems significant but not dominant. This lack of dominance is probably due to a) the power vested in the King, b) the behind-scenes power of Zerin, c) lack of TV/advertising as control of electorates decisions (though the radio is propagandistic).
Promiscuity is complicated: Most people are socially permitted to have consensual sex with each other on Perdita. Exceptions are close relatives, adults and children, and young children. How people use this permissiveness varies greatly according to the person.
Common patterns include:
* A core partnership (often a reproductive dyad) with outlying sexual friendships
* Several sexual friendships among unpartnered people
* "Same time next year" relationships
* Polyamory? (I would assume this is so though the book is oddly lacking in examples.)
* Sex as a political tool, wherein it can be seen as damagingly rude to refuse an offer
This type of society is hard on people who are naturally strongly monogamous, asexual, or just sexually reserved, viz, Ethan and Sherayna (and in the later stuff, Elleen). They are always being pathologized in a low-grade way and, necessarily, will grow up to see themselves as mildly pathological unless they are very, very self-assured.
Perdita is heteronormative. Why? Homosexuality is not taboo, but it is relatively uncommon as a partner/family structure. There is a strong social emphasis on male/female reproductive pairings. Why? Infant mortality is not high, so population replacement is not a reason.
Possible reasons:
* Sama roots: strong emphasis on family, population expansion, gender roles
* Sama vs. Kiri views of homosexuality: acceptable in both cultures but in Sama culture it was more adult/junior, dominant/subordinate, and considered separate from marriage/family. In Kiri society, homosexuality has a tradition of being favored as an egalitarian type of pairing and one praised for being non-reproductive. The Sama view may have discomfited the Kiri view, resulting in an association between homosexuality and inequality. (Note, too, that pedophilia is not acceptable on Perdita, much more acceptable in traditional Sama society. Here the Kiri discomfort with pedophilia might have impacted both pedophilia per se and homosexual relationships in the Sama model.)
* Celebration of sexual equality. Samas are traditionally patriarchal. Kiris are traditionally matriarchal. Perdita shows more roots of patriarchy than matriarchy but is fairly strongly degendered in day-to-day life. An emphasis on egalitarian male/female pairings could be a compromise between these two cultural influences.
* [Edit 12/11/11: Reproduction in a society that largely lacks adoption. Orphaned children are taken in by family or neighbors almost always and orphans, in general, are rare. This provides little opportunity for gay male couples to raise kids--though they could in a polyamorous structure with a female partner involved. This pushes the family unit toward heteronormative: there's an assumption that Mom and Dad raise kids, and this nuclear family is core structure around which a network of broader social and sexual relationships can form.]
Some Tech Notes: Perdita's technological structures are skewed by continual fighting over tech policy. Some observations on day-to-day tech:
* Fission power but no fusion (fusion lost in a tech purge). Fission used but not dominant source of power.
* Hydrogen cells and solar power, sea power in fairly wide use. Wind?
* Ground cars well designed and efficient.
* No phones. Radios for official communications. Letters in general.
* Space technology approximately 1970s.
* Computer technology approximately 1980s, home computers present but rare. Word processors common.
* Med tech is pre-genetic mapping. Lots of pharmaceuticals. Chemical contraception only for women (but effective).
* Pesticides in wide use. (Problems with pests linked to the shield's adverse impact on plant life, making it more vulnerable to attack?)
That's all for now.
Perdita is secretive and hermeneutic: its meanings are hidden. Its history has been formed by a couple of thousand years of two opposing sides disguising knowledge, one side trying to destroy it, the other hiding it so it won't be destroyed.
Examples:
* the planet itself is shielded
* jae knowledge/shield knowledge is restricted
* many records were purged (including fusion power)
* the Borderals wish to keep Perdita from contacting other planets
* the media is fairly tightly controlled
* free speech is somewhat restricted (not brutally but lacking protections like a First Amendment)
From this:
* Art is more hidden than performative. Books/libraries are substantial; drama is rare. Cinema is rare and TV non-existent. Songs and dances are communal more than oriented around showcasing performers. Radio is the main source of news, letters the main means of communication.
Perdita is a social-democratic capitalist state: It must have fairly high taxes, which (by and large) the people don't object to. Taxes support fully socialized health care and education, infrastructure, prisons (substantial but not a huge industry) and a large, persistent military (and the monarchy - a relatively small expense). It likely lacks an equivalent to social security/welfare (or such programs a pittance). The need for such programs, designed to help those who can't make money to live, would be largely supplied by a culture of hospitality, "taking people in."
Examples:
* Rajaneen and Shoshec's family took in Sherayna, Leric, Sylan, Jasen.
* The people of Raratin take in the Meenan refugees.
* Zerin takes in Nevan and Miri, also takes in not only its recruits but a companion for each. (Zerin must be tax-supported too.)
* Ethan's tenant's boyfriend moves into Ethan's house with no evidence of a lease/sub-let/legal arrangement. Ethan (who is rather rigid) readily excepts that this person was taken in.
This hospitality may be related to polyamory. Family groups can be large and loose and easily incorporate new (and fluid) members.
Corporate power is oppressive without being tyrannical. Consortia use their weight to make the rules for how industries such as agriculture will be regulated (but they have not put people out of business to the point of hunger, homelessness, unemployment, etc. on any large scale). Corporate power in Parliament seems significant but not dominant. This lack of dominance is probably due to a) the power vested in the King, b) the behind-scenes power of Zerin, c) lack of TV/advertising as control of electorates decisions (though the radio is propagandistic).
Promiscuity is complicated: Most people are socially permitted to have consensual sex with each other on Perdita. Exceptions are close relatives, adults and children, and young children. How people use this permissiveness varies greatly according to the person.
Common patterns include:
* A core partnership (often a reproductive dyad) with outlying sexual friendships
* Several sexual friendships among unpartnered people
* "Same time next year" relationships
* Polyamory? (I would assume this is so though the book is oddly lacking in examples.)
* Sex as a political tool, wherein it can be seen as damagingly rude to refuse an offer
This type of society is hard on people who are naturally strongly monogamous, asexual, or just sexually reserved, viz, Ethan and Sherayna (and in the later stuff, Elleen). They are always being pathologized in a low-grade way and, necessarily, will grow up to see themselves as mildly pathological unless they are very, very self-assured.
Perdita is heteronormative. Why? Homosexuality is not taboo, but it is relatively uncommon as a partner/family structure. There is a strong social emphasis on male/female reproductive pairings. Why? Infant mortality is not high, so population replacement is not a reason.
Possible reasons:
* Sama roots: strong emphasis on family, population expansion, gender roles
* Sama vs. Kiri views of homosexuality: acceptable in both cultures but in Sama culture it was more adult/junior, dominant/subordinate, and considered separate from marriage/family. In Kiri society, homosexuality has a tradition of being favored as an egalitarian type of pairing and one praised for being non-reproductive. The Sama view may have discomfited the Kiri view, resulting in an association between homosexuality and inequality. (Note, too, that pedophilia is not acceptable on Perdita, much more acceptable in traditional Sama society. Here the Kiri discomfort with pedophilia might have impacted both pedophilia per se and homosexual relationships in the Sama model.)
* Celebration of sexual equality. Samas are traditionally patriarchal. Kiris are traditionally matriarchal. Perdita shows more roots of patriarchy than matriarchy but is fairly strongly degendered in day-to-day life. An emphasis on egalitarian male/female pairings could be a compromise between these two cultural influences.
* [Edit 12/11/11: Reproduction in a society that largely lacks adoption. Orphaned children are taken in by family or neighbors almost always and orphans, in general, are rare. This provides little opportunity for gay male couples to raise kids--though they could in a polyamorous structure with a female partner involved. This pushes the family unit toward heteronormative: there's an assumption that Mom and Dad raise kids, and this nuclear family is core structure around which a network of broader social and sexual relationships can form.]
Some Tech Notes: Perdita's technological structures are skewed by continual fighting over tech policy. Some observations on day-to-day tech:
* Fission power but no fusion (fusion lost in a tech purge). Fission used but not dominant source of power.
* Hydrogen cells and solar power, sea power in fairly wide use. Wind?
* Ground cars well designed and efficient.
* No phones. Radios for official communications. Letters in general.
* Space technology approximately 1970s.
* Computer technology approximately 1980s, home computers present but rare. Word processors common.
* Med tech is pre-genetic mapping. Lots of pharmaceuticals. Chemical contraception only for women (but effective).
* Pesticides in wide use. (Problems with pests linked to the shield's adverse impact on plant life, making it more vulnerable to attack?)
That's all for now.
