Lycanthrope Society and Sexuality

[ChaosWolf]

Well, let's see... so far, we've (with admirable maturity, I am proud to say) reached relative agreements about such intimate matters of lycanthropy as breast development, pregnancy, puberty, and even sexual anatomy.

But what about sexuality itself? What roles does it bear in werewolf society?


Would they have an equivalent to marriage? A formal pair-bonding ceremony, perhaps? Or do they just gather as a loose-knit group without any recognized ties to a partner or partners?

Would lycanthropes decide only a single form as 'appropriate' for mating, or would they have no preferences between the forms? Would it be thought of any more or less by a couple to mate in wolf or gestalt form as they would in human form?

Would both partners only assume the same form, or would it be acceptable to have differing forms between them; for example, a human-form male mating with a gestalt or wolf-form female, or any other cross-form combination between lovers?

What about multiple partners? Some true wolves have a single male holding sway over his own 'harem' of females... would werewolf males do likewise? Or perhaps a werewolf female may have her own little 'harem' of males?

And what of gay or lesbian werewolves? Are they merely tolerated, are they accepted as just another packmember, or are they just considered 'strange' just as they are in some human groups?


These, and other questions, are what this topic is for...

[Timber-WoIf]

asumming the lycanthropes are part of human society, marrage wouldn't be uncommon. it would at least exist as cover.

douring intercourse... whatever is a) phisicaly possible and b)most comfortible/enjoyable?

toward gays... determined by the human society they live in, i'd assume...

[ChaosWolf]

I was kinda of referring more to werewolves' own 'society', than the human one they blend into, actually.

You raise good points anyway, though.

[Timber-WoIf]

i guess... if you exclude human society... it would depend on the werewolves on social history and development... which leaves it very open ended....

to guess, i'd say in an exclusive society, much more primitive values. Multipule mates prob wouldn't be an issue, doubt there would be formal marrages too. I could definatly see lifetime partners, but doubt even a simple cerimony would exist to celebrate such things. (cept maybe alpha pairs...)

[Anubis]

Due to how the world is today, most werewolves would be mixed with us in the human world. the werewolf would have similar values in sexuality depending on where in the world they live in.

As packs living in the wild i imagine that the simple act of intercourse would be enough to clame a mate for life. The topic of sex won't be a taboo in werewolf culture. Because they practically live naked in a sense. they see body parts every day that we be lucky to see now and then. Seeing that wolves don't carry loin cloths in their mouths or on the ground when we are near. Although sexual intimacy might be sacred in the werewolves' if any religion.

As choice of mates in the wolf world they would mate for life so they half the same partner until the day they die. So werewolf polygamy doesnt seem likely.

And as for homosexuality, the human race for the most part isn't thrilled about same sex courtship from the very start. Homosexuality has been called a number of very bad things. So for a some what of a primitive society i can see that it would be looked down upon.

If werewolves live in the wild today the would have no material possessions. not even a cloth to hide their "junk", so a wedding like ceramony doesn't seem realistic. so maybe a group howl to celebrate an union between two werewolves. Other wise the act of sexual intimacy is enough to state a couple's union.

as for the "deed" it self. in the wild packs Mix-matching forms during sex doesnt seem likely. (i don't know why i just don't see it) but the werewolves in the packs that live in human civilizations might do that (Caution the stuff in the spoiler maybe a little much) [spoiler]to put excitement back in the bedroom. like we do it in creative places to put the spark back in, they play a kinky game of werewolf attack to put the spark back in their relationships[/spoiler] if it's possible, that is.

If the stuff in the spoiler is a bit much, I'll be happy to erase it

[Ink]

I agree with Anibus on this one.

It really would have to come from the setting of life prior to the shift. What's good, what's bad. Being werewolf is secondary compared to that, at least for awhile.

As the growth as a Werewolf turns into being werewolf, accepting that, then you get the Werewolf society.

Now, stepping back from someone just introduced you may get bloodline packs that raise their children in this environment of shape-shifter. This will follow from pack law for generations.

I believe generations would pull together sacred acts. They are, in a way, proof to the world of things beyond occuring so they pray to those forces and work with them.

Some sort of ritual magic wouldn't be out of question but it would depend on the "Pack" they originate from (since these wouldn't be clans).

Each one could have it's own taboos. I doubt few groups want loitering homosexuals or harems. However, scattered groups could form with odd-ball members. In modern times there's nothing to stop it.

In fact, it could become some sick game. Sexuality is a powerful-powerful thing and it could result in catastrophic underground issues in a fetish world of werewolves.

These would vary on situation, group, group history, lack of group, members of group, laws of group, religion of group, power of group, power of religion over group, laws of religion, and a variety of other things that would stem to over-all governing of activity, sexual behavior, mannerisms, and attributes.

It'd be a long-long-long-long day before you could get all of it hammered out. Variety would be plenty though.

Just think of it like trying to define all of the Native American Indian tribes in North America and explain each of their religions, languages, habits, and such.

An anthropologist would laugh.... Google it and you'll see why.

[Aki]

Alot of it depends on setting really.

Assuming they're Werewolves blending into modern Society, they're likely to hold alot of the values held by humans in that area, and packs are going to have differing pratices by area, unless theres some sort of World Wide Net exclusive to Werewolves.. (WWWWW? )

But in general I think there would be a form of marriage of some sort. Even if something simple. Something to say "Joe and Jane are together" or whatever.

Mating....ehm, free for all I guess.

Gestalt form may be discouraged in anyplace that isn't very hidden from human eyes, though. Not only would they see werewolves, but mating werewolves...

Multiple partners..well...humans sometimes do it. So it could happen. Other might not like it though. If a female gets her own little harem of males the other females might get pissed at her for hogging all the men.

As for Gay/Lesbian Werewolves. Depends on pack I guess. You could have situations were its accepted, and such or the opposite or something inbetween.

[Anubis]

or there're could be gay packs

[ChaosWolf]

Alot of it depends on setting really.

Assuming they're Werewolves blending into modern Society, they're likely to hold alot of the values held by humans in that area, and packs are going to have differing pratices by area, unless theres some sort of World Wide Net exclusive to Werewolves.. (WWWWW? )

But in general I think there would be a form of marriage of some sort. Even if something simple. Something to say "Joe and Jane are together" or whatever.

Mating....ehm, free for all I guess.

Gestalt form may be discouraged in anyplace that isn't very hidden from human eyes, though. Not only would they see werewolves, but mating werewolves...

Multiple partners..well...humans sometimes do it. So it could happen. Other might not like it though. If a female gets her own little harem of males the other females might get pissed at her for hogging all the men.

As for Gay/Lesbian Werewolves. Depends on pack I guess. You could have situations were its accepted, and such or the opposite or something inbetween.

This is just my opinion talking, but to me, this one makes the most sense.

[PariahPoet]

All I have to say is I'm tired of wolf-whores. Wolves are monogamous, they keep their mate for life, and when they lose their mate, they usually die of grief within a few months.
Honestly, I would think that a werewolf couple would have a stronger relationship than most normal humans.
As for sex...well, I'll leave that to the more experienced packmates. *grin*
I'll just sit this one out at the kiddie table. ;)

[garouda]

It strikes me that many of the attributes discussed so far would all tend to come into play.

Over time, the members of any given pack would have a strong likelyhood of becoming a rather cohesive unit, considering their shared challenges of living in an otherwise hostile world. 'Us against the world', so to speak. The melding however of human and wolf inclinations, otherwise known as instincts, and the baggage of the existing human socialization, would probably prove to be interesting as individuals struggle to reconcile their WW present with their personal pasts.

I am wondering what might govern the statistical liklihood of any given pack to have a balance among its members in terms of gender. If inductions of new members to the Pack by infection are planned for balance by intention, then I guess this would be more likely to be the case. But what if the pack suffers from situations which imbalance the mix ?

As for the practices between consenting WWs, I would anticipate that unless there are taboos or other normative pressures within the Pack to restrain individual choices, then almost anything is possible.

Still there is this. Becoming a WW has to be a shock to the system. Even for one who desires this to happen to them. I can visualize at least two responses to this.

1. a sense of shedding past paradigms with almost anything being suddently on the table.

and conversely

2. a sense of dislocation so threatening, that some might cling to their prior paradigms so rigidly that any threat to those habitual beliefs might even be considered cause and jusification for violence.

[Renorei]

Personally, I don't think that werewolves would have their own society, I think they would be a small, secretive, subculture of our society and they would consider themselves as part of humanity and abide by human traditions. So, IMO, werewolves have formal marriages, are mainly monogamous (especially if they're married), aren't sexual deviants (well...most of them anyway), and wouldn't mate with each of them in different forms (a werewolf is first and foremost human, and a human would consider this too close to beastiality).

However, if werewolves did have their own feral society, totally separate from human culture, I think it would be a lot like the culture of a primitive tribe...so sexuality would be kinda like that of tribes.

[Set]

All I have to say is I'm tired of wolf-whores. Wolves are monogamous, they keep their mate for life, and when they lose their mate, they usually die of grief within a few months.
Honestly, I would think that a werewolf couple would have a stronger relationship than most normal humans.

Ha...stronger maybe, but you're forgetting... HUMANS ARE NOT MONOGAMOUS. It's something forced on us by society not a natural tendancy. The werewolf is primarily human, not wolf.

I could see a werewolf having multiple partners. Two, maybe three at the most. They would feel very close to one another and as long as it was agreed upon there would be no problems.

However as human society dictates we only have one partner...if the were in question was a bitten one and not born, they would most likely only have one mate. If they see the change as freedom to live their lives the way they choose previous habits may be thrown out the window in favor of actually getting to live life instead of having someone else directing their every action. Cue Pinnochio singing about no strings.

I don't think they would need a marrage ceremony but they may like one for sentimental reasons. It would be simple, like a special chorus howl with the rest of the pack.

Mixing and matching forms during mating brings up issues about bestiality (which some people have absolutely no problems with). At most the majority of werewolves would probably mate human and gestalt only, as gestalt is not a form found in nature and is relatively close to human. This depends on the individual, as so many things do.

Gay/bi/lesbian werewolves would be more or less accepted depending on where the pack stands on that particular issue. Few people have the exact same views on the matter but the majority would rule on this. Even if it didn't, certain key members can hold alot of sway on the issue. We step into the realm of pack politics with this.

Over all I don't think werewolves would be quite so prudish about the whole matter. Sexuality is a natural thing. Werewolves are humans that are more connected to nature. It's only a big deal if you make it into one, which I don't think they would.

[Lyco]

Personally, I don't think that werewolves would have their own society, I think they would be a small, secretive, subculture of our society and they would consider themselves as part of humanity and abide by human traditions. So, IMO, werewolves have formal marriages, are mainly monogamous (especially if they're married), aren't sexual deviants (well...most of them anyway), and wouldn't mate with each of them in different forms (a werewolf is first and foremost human, and a human would consider this too close to beastiality).

However, if werewolves did have their own feral society, totally separate from human culture, I think it would be a lot like the culture of a primitive tribe...so sexuality would be kinda like that of tribes.

I don't perticularily see why their can't be some of both.

Some werewolves that stay within human socities and therefor follow most (or at least some) of humanitie's common maratial and sexual behaviours and taboos.

And werewolves that have broken away from human culture and formed their own socity, which i imagine would function more along the lines of an animalistic pack hierarchy, with alphas and mating rights, so on and so forth.

I mean... after someone becomes a werewolf, they will prohably deal with it in diffrent ways. Some might atempt to stay within human culture and become one of the former, or run off into the wilderness and become one of the latter.

[Stone Wolf]

I'm more in favor of WWs being monogamous... wolves only have one mate for life like Renorei said... and a lot of humans only perfer one mate as well.. so to say that a lot of WWs would have multiple partners wouldn't be totally accurate.. It would mainly depend on the individual.

For marriage.. if the person was turned they would probably go through the ceremony.. if not for tradition and such.. but to also keep up the appearence of normality... However if you base a "wild" pack off of any "primitive" tribe or clan then they would probably (depending on the development of the pack) have some sort of ceremony to at least celebrate their union..

As for the different forms during sex.. I don't want to get too into that.. so I would just say it would probably depend on the couple and what they think of different forms during mating...

Concerning gay/lesbian WW: I don't think that it would too much of a big deal.. depending on how accepting the pack is.. it could be just another "oh really? okay that's cool.. whatever.. to each his/her own.." and is some it could spark violence while others a small uproar.. like I said earlier.. depends on how accepting the pack is.

[Vuldari]

To sum up my entire opinion on the matter...

I don't think that humans that become werewolves would suddenly throw away all of their human values, culture and believes upon becomming a werewolf.
They would just have to make a few adjustments.

Cultural things such as marrage, I think, would be almost identical to that of whatever human culture they were raised in.

...as for which forms are appropriate for intercourse...I think that would be a subject that not all werewolves agree upon. I could definately see some werewolves frowning upon having intercourse in Gestalt or Wolf form (depending on which forms they are capable of taking), while other werewolves would prefer this option and look upon the others as "Prudish".

It would vary upon location and existing culture...just like normal humans.

[Terastas]

*deep breath*

But what about sexuality itself? What roles does it bear in werewolf society?

Probably not a very big one. They don't need to encourage mating among werewolves since they can maintain their numbers by infecting others, so it'd probably be something they'd enjoy the idea of, but would not consider a necessity. The big no-no, of course, would be having sex with a non-werewolf, so while they would likely respect any couples within the pack, they'd have some pretty harsh warnings about falling in love.

Would they have an equivalent to marriage? A formal pair-bonding ceremony, perhaps? Or do they just gather as a loose-knit group without any recognized ties to a partner or partners?

Probably just a modest wedding. If they could assure their privacy, they might make it more like a wiccan bonding ceremony or whatever, but nothing flashy.

Would lycanthropes decide only a single form as 'appropriate' for mating, or would they have no preferences between the forms? Would it be thought of any more or less by a couple to mate in wolf or gestalt form as they would in human form?

Probably their human form since that's the one their most accustomed to, although I imagine if a werewolf couple wanted to try something new, any werewolves that didn't approve would just look the other way.

Would both partners only assume the same form, or would it be acceptable to have differing forms between them; for example, a human-form male mating with a gestalt or wolf-form female, or any other cross-form combination between lovers?

Again, most wouldn't think very highly of it, but if a werewolf couple wanted to try something kinky like that, that's their business as long as they don't hear about it.

What about multiple partners? Some true wolves have a single male holding sway over his own 'harem' of females... would werewolf males do likewise? Or perhaps a werewolf female may have her own little 'harem' of males?

And what of gay or lesbian werewolves? Are they merely tolerated, are they accepted as just another packmember, or are they just considered 'strange' just as they are in some human groups?


These, and other questions, are what this topic is for...

Again: That's their business. Werewolves can't really afford to descriminate against each other.

[Scott Gardener]

Human cultures and subculture movements run the whole gauntlet between promiscuity and dying out due to complete taboos against reproduction. Wolves tend to mate in a heirarchal manner, with the alpha pair doing the main breeding, but with the others mating with each other at their designated levels.

Note that social status in wolf packs is fluid--an omega can court or become a beta or alpha with effort. Same with some human societies. In both cases, it takes lots of work, and it involves dealing with force of personality. (Among humans, alphas are politicians, lawyers, and the like. We may gripe about them, but ultimately, we collectively agree to put them in charge.)

But, I digress. Back to the fun stuff.

Mating serves several purposes. Many people think first of reproduction, but it's also a social pairing motivator. Lot's of people marry without having children, myself included. It's also used in popular culture as a way of forming shorter-lived attachments. This has been criticized by other elements of our culture, designating it as an immoral taboo. Moral assumptions aside, it is biologically hazardous, as it can spread diseases such as hepatitis. (I need not remind anyone about HIV and AIDS. Prior to the antibiotic era, syphilis was a serious killer, too. It still can be.)

Lycanthropy throws in several wrenches, depending on your personal interpretation of the thing.

If lycanthropy itself can be spread by intercourse, that can affect internal lycanthropic community methodology. Since the majority of werewolves are probably not interested in converting the world (otherwise they would have already done so by now), it might be considered immoral, taboo, or just plain wrong for a lycanthrope and a plain human to mate. Or, werewolves could have a stricter standard about intercourse in general, or at least with outsiders. They could believe in free love among the converted, but reserve the act only for the most deep commitments with outsiders, since it makes them no longer outsiders.

If lycanthropy is hereditary, then there could be a push to pair people together in arranged marriages, to keep the line going. Or, there could be specific rules about who shouldn't get together. (In the game Werewolf: the Apocalypse, werewolves were not supposed to mate with each other, as the progeny had disfigurements and had to spend its childhood in the form of a monster.)

If it's spread by bite but not intercourse, then the rules could be looser.

As far as the act itself, there's a lot that I'll avoid going into. But, there are many possibilities that come to mind when you mix and match partners in various forms.

As for the gay and lesbian issue, I would expect werewolves to be forced to be a little more open-minded and tolerant, simply by virtue of having one's own weirdness about one's self. Then again, if werewolves are part human, the human capacity for hypocracy is boundless. There could still be werewolves who hate gays.

[garouda]

Your mention of intercourse as a vector brought to mind an unlikely situation.

The price a rapist just might pay.

Not, the direct revenge of the female.

But the natural consequence of picking the wrong victim who does NOT reveal who and what they are during the unpleasantness.

[ChaosWolf]

Your mention of intercourse as a vector brought to mind an unlikely situation.

The price a rapist just might pay.

Not, the direct revenge of the female.

But the natural consequence of picking the wrong victim who does NOT reveal who and what they are during the unpleasantness.

I think Scott Gardner had a similar short-story... a guy contracted lycanthropy from dirty silverware in a diner... he gave it to his wife and a hooker... and the hooker ended up spreading it to several other guys.

[garouda]

Your mention of intercourse as a vector brought to mind an unlikely situation.

The price a rapist just might pay.

Not, the direct revenge of the female.

But the natural consequence of picking the wrong victim who does NOT reveal who and what they are during the unpleasantness.

I think Scott Gardner had a similar short-story... a guy contracted lycanthropy from dirty silverware in a diner... he gave it to his wife and a hooker... and the hooker ended up spreading it to several other guys.

I have not read that story.

Sounds like, with a vectoring mechanism as quick as that, it would become a pandemic deliriously quickly ... and in fairly short order, end up endemic. I.E. everyone would be a werewolf.

[Renorei]

Your mention of intercourse as a vector brought to mind an unlikely situation.

The price a rapist just might pay.

Not, the direct revenge of the female.

But the natural consequence of picking the wrong victim who does NOT reveal who and what they are during the unpleasantness.

Well, a werewolf female (even in her human form) should be strong enough to defeat a rapist. So really, the only kind of female werewolf that could successfully be raped would be one that wanted to be raped.

Either that, or if he had a gun to her head.

[Set]

Well, a werewolf female (even in her human form) should be strong enough to defeat a rapist.

It isn't all about strength. You could be the strongest person in the world and still get your a** handed to you on a platter. There are other factors like speed, terrain, amount of light, pressure points, fear, the addition or lack of a weapon...and just plain skill.

Another thing is a factor as well. Most females, or people in general for that matter, won't fight back. They just plain won't. The most the average person does is squirm a bit and say "Let go of me!" with no conviction whatsoever. They let themselves become victims and then whine because some bad person did something to them. Something that could've easily been prevented.

Then there's the problem of human laws. You hit someone, you get arrested. You can claim self defense but it comes down to whether or not they believe you. The guy could claim the woman assaulted him and file charges if he has any bruises to show for it. Lovely world isn't it? Some worthless slimeball tries to rape you and you're the one who ends up in jail.

[Renorei]

Well, a werewolf female (even in her human form) should be strong enough to defeat a rapist.

It isn't all about strength. You could be the strongest person in the world and still get your a** handed to you on a platter. There are other factors like speed, terrain, amount of light, pressure points, fear, the addition or lack of a weapon...and just plain skill.

Another thing is a factor as well. Most females, or people in general for that matter, won't fight back. They just plain won't. The most the average person does is squirm a bit and say "Let go of me!" with no conviction whatsoever. They let themselves become victims and then whine because some bad person did something to them. Something that could've easily been prevented.

Then there's the problem of human laws. You hit someone, you get arrested. You can claim self defense but it comes down to whether or not they believe you. The guy could claim the woman assaulted him and file charges if he has any bruises to show for it. Lovely world isn't it? Some worthless slimeball tries to rape you and you're the one who ends up in jail.

The points you raise are all valid. But when I said 'strong enough' I wasn't referring merely to strength by itself, I was using it to encompass overall fighting ability. I probably should have been more thorough.

[Set]

But when I said 'strong enough' I wasn't referring merely to strength by itself, I was using it to encompass overall fighting ability. I probably should have been more thorough.

Perhaps a better word would've been tough. When someone mentions strength or being strong I usually think of how much weight one can lift depending on the subject.