Evagardian Gender Dynamics and how they differ from common Galactic ones

By Tessa Salmagard, 9T

Prior to the Unification, women on Earth almost universally occupied a social position subordinate to men, evidenced in their earning less money, holding fewer positions of power, and overall wielding less influence. That status quo has persisted to some degree to the present day in virtually all Galactic settings. Only the Imperium diverges substantially from systematic patriarchy. When the Empress rose to power just before the Unification, she learned that existing Evagardian legislation stealthily perpetuated this inequality, still favoring men despite Evagard’s ascension having been largely facilitated by women. The Empress, still a teenager, inquired why. She was informed by Tetrarch Hans Liebermann that the rules as they were written were equal. Thus, the Empress made one of her most infamous decrees: that references to gender in the new statutes be inverted immediately and in full. If they were equal, she reasoned, then the change would have no tangible effect.

Now, 56% of the Imperium is female due to a strong preference for daughters, given that women are automatically the Custodians of their Bloodlines, while men must traditionally join other Bloodlines. Women hold more political and economic influence than men in today’s Evagard, yet men find themselves with a powerful new means of influence: their own scarcity.

Marriage is essential in the Imperium due to social and cultural pressures, and also out of necessity: only married parties of two or more may apply for a parenting license. Any married party may apply for a license, regardless of its composition: two or more men, two or more women, or parties including gender-nonconforming members—however, Evagardian culture openly favors families with a woman as Custodian of the Bloodline and one or more men attached to her. The Imperial subject is expected to do three things: Learn, Serve, and Reproduce. Men are not necessary for reproduction due to the majority of all the DNA in the Imperium being made freely available through the Empress’ Garden, and neither are women, due to the ready availability of artificial gestation equipment. However, due to the shortage of men and the competitive art of securing them, the most social capital is attached to the process of Evagardian women acquiring husbands by convincing males to join their Bloodlines.

Thus, while the interactions of the sexes in the major Galactic cultures more or less mirror what they were in pre-Unification times, in Evagard things have evolved differently. More on this in my accompanying essay detailing specific Evagardian Marriage Practices.

Statistics:

51% of Tetrarchs are male.

65% of Senators are female.

55% of all elected officials in the Imperium are female.

53% of the Imperial Service is female.

60% of Senior Officers in the Imperial Service are female.

The High Command is currently composed of two men and one woman.