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Homosexuality on Pern
Homosexuality and attitudes towards it are one of the main dividing lines between the Weyrs and the rest of Pernese society. Homosexuality is an accepted and, indeed, necessary part of Ninth Pass Weyr life. This is due to green dragons (who form the largest number of dragons, possibility up to half of the population of a Weyr) and the involvement of riders in mating flights, when a male partner of a green dragon would have to play the female role. Thus, there has to be an acceptance of gay men in Weyrs, though some (such as Sh'gall in Moreta, Dragonlady of Pern) may find it personally distasteful, though as he is hold-bred, that could explain his lack of "any compassion or understanding of the green and blue riders and their associations."1 Part of the more general acceptance of homosexuality in the Weyrs stems from a much more relaxed attitude to sexual intercourse generally in the Weyrs, where a rider would be likely to sleep with several other riders throughout his or her time as a rider. This is especially important due to the political system evolved in the Weyrs, whereby the Weyrleader is chosen by the senior queen dragon's mating flight - where the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman may not be weyrmates, or even regular sexual partners.2 In the rest of Pern, however, there has been no need for a development of acceptance towards homosexuals, and even the opposite has been true. Children were needed to expand the land being farmed and to spread a Holding. Thus, men who showed an interest in other men, but were not Searched for the Weyr would have been forced, most likely through general social psychological means, to repress this instinct in themselves. I do not think it likely that there was much explicit force employed in this, but solely large, and likely overwhelming, expectance for a young man to marry and have kids to expand the family Hold. This also undoubtedly comes from the lack of sexual promiscuity in the non-Weyr populace of Pern, where marriage and sexual fidelity are generally expected, though Lord Holders may be encouraged to 'sow wild oats' to ensure at least one male acceptable to the Conclave to succeed him as Lord Holder. Taking as mistress does not seem to be general practice, but not necessarily rare, though social status also make a difference, such as Tolocamp, who was Lord Holder of Fort in the Sixth Pass (Moreta, Dragonlady of Pern and Nerilka's Story) who had a mistress, Anella, and installed her as his wife very soon as his first wife died of the plague at Ruatha Hold.3 Basically, on Pern homosexuality certainly is not desired, but there certainly does not appear to be much overt homophobia, even in the socially hidebound Holds. Though we are given few examples of homosexuality outside of the Weyrs, so these observations are potentially false or misleading.
Notes: 1 Anne McCaffrey, Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (Corgi, 1984) p. 95 2 Roedin of Pern - Weyr Political Structure: http://www.roedinofpern.co.uk/weyrpolstruc.html 3 Anne McCaffrey, Nerilka's Story (Bantam, 1987) pp. 48, 52 and 64
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