How could a same sex couple have children?
In my current work, I want same sex couples to be fully integrated in society. As it is set in a medieval fantasy world, survival of the human species relies on having children, so same sex couples must be able to have children.
How can I explain the ability for same sex couples to have children?
Magic comes with a price and not everybody can afford a wizard so magical creating children is discarded.
So I thought about adoption but what about royal couples? Since royalty revolves on bloodline, they cannot adopt a child.
But, I also wanted to keep gendered pronouns, so a third sex option seems compromised.
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1 answer
Allow bloodline proxies
Adoption is the obvious choice for most male and many female couples. But if bloodline is important in a particular family, allow for a proxy.
For example, if a female couple wishes to have a child, the brother (or nephew or uncle or cousin, if a brother is not available) of the woman who is a member of the royal family provides sperm to use for the royal's wife.
Even in medieval times, this can easily be done without the man and the woman having sex with each other. The man has some "alone time" then presents his sister with a bowl. The sister runs off to her wife and uses her hands (or a needle-less syringe if available with their tech level) to impregnate her.
Make the transfer of the bowl an official act with legal ramifications. Legally it makes any issue the sister's legal child (with all the benefits of her bloodline).
It's a bit more complicated for male couples, as the proxy can't just take 5 minutes then walk away. She would have to carry this child for 9 months for her brother (or other relative). That's a big ask.
You can get around this by allowing the royal half of a male couple to impregnate any willing woman (who can be paid for her labor). A child born out of wedlock is a bastard and, in most royal cultures, bastards do not inherit. But in this case, there can be a legal agreement in place where the male couple raises and legitimizes the child.
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