On Mon, 28 Oct 1996, Richard Lawson wrote:
: Personally, I think Ranma has more of a preference for his female form
: than you give him credit for... witness his/her speech at the pools of
: Jusenkyo in the very last story.
Uh, Richard... That was a joke. The speech was just there to set
up the punch line that his plan to change back was foiled again.
Of course, the *might* be some subconscious acceptance in it,
otherwise he wouldn't have thought of reacting in this "what do I
care" way. But it's not *proof* of his acceptance.
: > Outside looks don't change the inside person. Someone of the same sex
: > liking you/lusting after you won't make you change, either, however
: > nice they are towards you ... It's just not something that happens,
: > in anything that I've encountered or heard of.
:
: Well, how many people do you know have gone through an involuntary sex
: reassignment? :) This is all hypothetical, of course, since this just
: won't ever happen in the real world. Ranma's change just isn't
: physical, it's biochemical, right down to the ability to give birth.
: It's something we can't even begin to imagine.
Ah, but the sexual preference is not biochemically generated. The
hormones do not hold a picture of *what* is desirable, they just
signal arousal *itself*.
You can give a man a female hormone balance and a woman a male one
- the result is that he grows breasts and she a beard. But neither
of them changes sexual preference, since that is a thing of
imprinting and conditioning. It's not something subject to
decision either (unless one goes both ways and just decides to play
only one side at the time).
: I sort of wrote it from my perspective, too. I am heterosexual, very
: much so. Although I have no problems with someone choosing
: homosexuality as a lifestyle, personally it's something I could never do
: myself. However, if I was put in Ranma's situation, I *could* imagine
: myself making the adjustments he did. Maybe I'm a weird hentai. :)
The term "*choosing* a homosexual lifestyle" always angered me. Do
you really think that somebody sits down and says "Oh, from now on
I'll belong to one of the most discriminated minorities there is,
risking bodily harm and prosecution in large parts of the so-called
free world" ? This kind of statement plays *directly* into the
hands of the people who blame homosexuals for their orientation, as
if they were "that way" with evil intention.
: I've always thought of Genma as being quite sexist (Ranma is, too). If
: the heir to the Saotome School were to become a woman full time, I could
: imagine it affecting Genma quite strongly.
:
: Akane would *not* be able to marry a woman. Your points above, about
: changing sexual preferences, apply to Akane. She just wouldn't be able
: to do it, I think, and their relationship would change.
In fact, I think that Akane would be a lot more supportive
*because* they couldn't realistically be expected to marry anymore.
Without the dreaded engagement hanging over their heads, I think
she would more likely turn *towards* Ranma than away (not sexually,
mind).
: Maybe we need to take a poll.
:
: ATTENTION FFML'ers: If you suddenly found yourself turned into the
: opposite sex, down to the level of your chromosones, and such a change
: was IRREVERSIBLE, would you:
:
: A) Keep your body AND your sexual preference;
:
: B) Keep your body and CHANGE your sexual preference;
:
: C) Have surgery to return your body to its former gender;
:
: D) Other (please state);
:
: E) Bap Lawson for asking you such a stupid question?
Hmmm. I guess, A) with some B) thrown in for experimentation.
More B) if I turn out to like it. I somehow doubt that, though,
since I haven't yet been able to bring myself to try B) *now* (Even
though it would certainly increas my chance of a date ;) and I'm
not sure if a changed body would give me the neccessary
encouragement.
I could understand Ranma trying B) for a time, but I can't really
imagine him doing it for an extended time. The most he would
change, in my opinion, is that he would learn to accept his new
body as really being *him* and deal with the fact that it gets him
attention from males.
Sebastian (Oh, Richard? - E), too. *BAP*!!)