History in Living Colour - Friday, Period 3 (Week 4)

[veryarthurdent]

"Okay, change of plan." He'd given up working on this week's program in exchange for trying to figure out how exactly he'd become a woman. He got carried away. "Genghis Khan will join us later in the semester. Instead, after yesterday's little oddity, let's talk about that. Pick a historical event that you know of. Doesn't have to be on Earth or

Comments

Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[veryarthurdent]

Pick a historical event (real or fictional, from this universe or your home universe) and explain what you think would have changed (if anything) if the major players were of the opposite gender.

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[notafairmaiden]

"If this had happened back home, I think that it is possible that Nottingham and Prince John could pose even more danger than they usually do to King Phillip."

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[ambassadorinara]

Inara considered the people she knew on Shinon, River, and Principal Winchester, then answered. "I think that the war back in my home galaxy would have been much more brutal, but possibly ended more quickly and with less bloodshed if the women had been generals and planning the strategy."

She didn't know for sure that they weren't, but she'd have to ask Zoe about that to be sure.

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[pyroliz]

"If Rasputin had been a woman, it would be quite possible that my home would be very different and more dangerous," Liz said as she thought about it, she knew some details about the night that Hellboy had been brought into the world and from what she understood of the things that Professor Broom had told her, Rasputin had been a very real threat back then and he seemed to be the major threat to the BPRD back in its early days.

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[darkangelsawyer]

"It's hard to say," Peyton said. "But I think a lot of wars would have been avoided if there had been women in charge."

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[joan_notjane]

"I think if Joan of Arc had been a man, people wouldn't have accused her of witchcraft and burned her at the stake," Joan said. "They would have installed him as the Pope and made him a saint or something."

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[death_of_hope]

Anemone was flat-out confused. "Wait, why does gender matter?" she asked, frowning. "It's the person, not their body that's in-charge."

Koda had lead the Council of Sages, Anemone was the goddess of the Ageha Squad, and Talho now commanded Gekkostate. Her world did not lack for women in-command.

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[peace_n_war]

Warren gave a bit of a nod in agreement to what Anemone said.

"There are just as many female heroes where I'm from as there are male ones. I can see social norms shifting through history if people were different genders, but I can't imagine anyone being less effective at what they do," he added.

He was very talkative today. It was possible he was just very pleased to not be as... supple as he was yesterday.

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[futureclone]

"Alexander the Great would have never become king if he was a woman," Alex said. "The crown would have passed to Philip's only other son, who was mentally disabled, or else to someone else entirely, possibly causing tribal warfare, and Macedonia would have either become completely ineffectual or collapsed like a flan in a cupboard instead of taking over most of the known world."

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[mrodneymckay]

"If Isaac Newton had been a woman, he probably never would have been published in his lifetime and people might not have taken his theories seriously. In fact, his work may have been lost entirely. It would have delayed scientific advancement for ages," Rodney seemed rather distressed by the possibility.

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[psychic_wonder]

"I think more recent, non-warfare historical events wouldn't have changed much if the players were a different gender. Like the moon landing," Sam said. "It just would have been one giant leap for womankind instead."

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[laidanegg]

"If Amelia Earheart were a man, I don't think anyone would care about his disappearance. He would have just been another early aviator. And if the captain of the Titanic were a woman, people who make jokes about women drivers would have had cheap material forever."

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[vkandis_son]

Karal had a very strange look on his face as he spoke. "If Solaris had not been a woman," he said slowly. 'The recent history of Karse would be entirely different."

He was having something in the way of an epiphany. "My country and the church had gone bad, and Vkandis Sunlord Himself acted to change things, removing the old leader and setting Solaris on the throne." The most simplified of explanations, to provide context.

"But," he paused, "but if it hadn't been a woman He chose, Karse would not have been in such immediate danger in the war that followed. And we might not have struck an alliance with our once greatest enemy. We might have struck an alliance against them. Which means that when the next danger threatened, which took people from many different countries to overcome...it might not have happened."

He sat back, slightly stunned, and Altra flowed up into his lap.

Re: Discussion Topic - Gender Changes

[robinthefrog]

"Well if everyone suddenly had their genders switched during a war, they'd probably have been too busy trying to figure out what happened, to fight."