Sexuality in the Kryfona Kingdom

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Sexuality in the Kryfona Kingdom (and more broadly the social norm surrounding sexuality in the Kingdom) is fairly complicated relative to the surrounding nations that make up parts of the Old and New worlds. Although sexuality and sexual norms in the Kingdom have their social and cultural origins in the Equo-Kryfonic and Kryfonic-Drakonic societies that preceded modern societies, the sexuality norms of the Kryfona Kingdom mark a significant deviation from these origins. Broadly speaking, sexuality is more open of a subject within Kryfona societies than neighboring societies, although the particular reasons for this are not well studied. Various theories–usually pertaining to the lack of religious influence within the Kingdom–have been posited throughout the 1900s and 2000s to explain this, but the lack of research into the issue leaves no conclusive explanation thus far.

Sexual norms in the Kryfona Kingdom are in many respects a mixture of the old and the new. While Kryfona society is today readily accepting of what was historically considered sexually "abnormal", this has been a fairly recent development. Until the passing of the Marriage Amendment, homosexuality and bisexuality were largely taboo among Kryfona, although still practiced among some portions of the population. In a similar vein, less prevalent but nonetheless extant sexual practices such as asexuality have come to be more socially acceptable throughout the mid-1900s and early 2000s. Nevertheless, Kryfona living in the Kryfona Kingdom tend to be very rigid in regards to relationships; monogamy is overwhelmingly the norm and polygamy, while not criminalized, is heavily stigmatized. This strict adherence to monogamy has its roots in the culture of pre-Kingdom societies (where loyalty in all forms was heavily emphasized) and has essentially not changed since the founding of the Kingdom.

Despite this decided lack of promiscuity, Kryfona society is relatively open about sexuality and its exploration, and has been since the end of the 1800s. The rise in the 1900s of erotic art and the erotic arts more or less corresponds with this shift in openness. In particular the loosening of moral codes in the fields of literature and the gradual acceptance of sexuality-related content in the field of art during the 1800s and 1900s led to significant strides in expression of sexuality for Kryfona. The Kryfona Kingdom as a whole is generally considered to be the center of the erotic arts in the Old World as such.

Overview

The norms of Kryfona sexuality are–as is true of many things in Kryfona society–largely defined by an emphasis on loyalty. This has been the case for much of the extant history of the Kryfona Kingdom, and to a lesser extent is true of the pre-Kingdom societies of Kryfona that existed.

Romantic relationships

Romantic relationships in Kryfona societies tend to differ heavily from the traditions of most Old World societies. Beginning around 1350 a shift in how love was viewed in Kryfona society took place; by around 1500, love had gone from the Old World norm of being something that could be expressly shared with many people while still being deeply meaningful to something that was to be spent only on those who could reciprocate equally. The reasons for this shift are unclear, although the emphasis on loyalty in Kryfona society likely played a role. Some theories posit that this change was an extension of the growing rivalry between Kryfona and their neighbors in the Arieles, who were and remain a largely polygamy-practicing species. Others explain away the shift as simply a product of more "conservative" times–that is to say, love became a part of family values and this subsequently made it less acceptable to practice polygamy, as it was considered "unclean." Whatever the reason, the shift had all but completed by 1550, and the norms of Kryfona relationships have remained mostly the same since this event.

Among Kryfona, love is considered to be a very deep and meaningful emotion that can only be "truly" felt toward a select few people, and thus there is a heavy emphasis on ensuring that this love is not spent on an incapable or unwilling partner. Consequently, romantic relationships are, to Kryfona, meant to be deeply intimate, and there is an expectation that both sides of a relationship are capable of reciprocating or at least appreciating the love they are given by their partner. Committing to a love that is hopeless or unrequited beyond the formative years of childhood is seen as an oddity by most Kryfona, and is seen as being wasteful of love. While Kryfona do not see love as something that is explicitly finite, most Kryfona nonetheless believe that feeling love for someone who cannot or will not reciprocate is a pointless endeavor and that such feelings are best spent elsewhere. In a similar vein, knowingly becoming someone's lover when you are incapable of reciprocating or appreciating their love for you is something of a social taboo among Kryfona, and is often seen as a malicious act against someone. The concept of being "enamored" with someone is quite rare in Kryfona societies, at least in the early stages of a romantic relationship. This is because of the social standards expected of such relationships: in general, most are not particularly serious or formal until it becomes clear that the feelings of love are both serious and mutual.

Because the expectation of love in a Kryfona relationship is essentially unrequited love, and the norm is to either be capable or reciprocating or appreciating someone else's love in that relationship, there is less of an emphasis on finding love early within Kryfona societies. This was not always true–prior to around 1700, early love was a more significant priority because of life expectancy. However, Kryfona life expectancy has gone up significantly since the 1700s, and by 1805 a Kryfona's life expectancy sat at 70 years–today, a typical Kryfona usually lives to be around 80 years of age. This fact, coupled with the fact that age at which reproduction ceases to be likely is quite late compared to other species, means that Kryfona typically have plenty of time to find someone who fits the barometer of these expectations, and the social norms of early love have relaxed considerably. Dating many prospective lovers is considered normal among Kryfona, and it is not unusual for those who date to befriend each other before they date. Failure in dating is for the most part not seen as a bad thing among Kryfona–it is actually in many cases seen as a mark of respect for someone to have dated many times, for it means they are experienced and continue to actively search for love.

Although dating many people is the norm, Kryfona usually enter into only one or perhaps two serious, long term romantic relationships during their lifetime. This is largely the product of the emphasis on loyalty in Kryfona society, although it is also a product of the standards of Kryfona society in finding love in the first place. Because one is expected to find someone who can love them unconditionally, the Kryfona divorce rate is the lowest in the Old World. Divorces are not quite unheard of, but are something of an abnormality. In Kryfona societies most divorces come from relationships that are actively abusive or harmful to one or more participants. Only a small portion (between 5 and 13 percent) of all relationships in the Kingdom that end in divorce do so because of incompatibilities. Since at least 1925, the most common cause of a relationship's end among Kryfona is in fact death–many Kryfona partners stay partners until one partner dies.