This is an interesting idea for same-sex arranged marriages being a thing in fantasy media. It would be be interesting if gay marriage in “Ye Old Fantasy Land” was a form of soft disinheritance or abdication.
(This site is LGBTQ+ friendly. We will not tolerate any hate speech, discrimination, or bigotry in the comments below. Thank you.)
I’ve actually read a few yaoi Asian web novels that genuinely follow this logic. Wife is First, and The Golden Stage are a couple. In both cases the ruling emperor went arranged it because the people were getting too powerful and cutting of the legitimate lineage like that was better PR that (another) murder attempt.
Historically people, particularly women, would occasionally be forced to join the church for similar reasons, so the logic tracts.
I’m honestly not sure whether this is pro- or anti-LGBTQ+, and I’m fine with not knowing. I do remember hearing a group of friends speculate once as to why those who are against homosexuality don’t just create colonies in which the gays can live, then let said colonies die out for lack of births (there are obvious flaws in logic if you look closely, but it was idle speculation).
Meh. The argument is built on a social norm of total monogamy, a norm which is here used to codify same sex marriage as being second class marriage. Personally, I’m more interested in more complex options where same sex couples can have children. There are countless ways this could be done with magic, and also some simple options for how to do it without magic.
For example, simply switch the Loras-Renley-Margery triangle from Game of Thrones. Instead of prince Renley mattying the woman while dating her brother, have the prince marry the brother while having a child with the woman. Even easier when it is two princesses marrying each other. Just have one of them inseminate the other.
Another example, simply have a culture where lineage is exclusibely on the mother’s side. The princess can marry whoever she wants, regardless of gender. If she gets a husband, then it doesn’t matter whether she has sex with him and/or other men. Her daughter or son will be the heir either way. If she instead gets a wife, it is still her own birth-child who becomes the heir, not whatever child her wife gives birth to.