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I've been wondering this for a while now, ever since seeing a bunch of Youtubers playing Dark Heresy and they came across what seemed like proof of a homosexual relationship, but nothing was further built upon that specific factor. I'm just very curious, since the Emperor's Imperium has zero tolerance for anything that could be considered heretical or simply out of the norm. I'm just curious as to if they DO consider non-hetero sexualities as something to be frowned upon, even if it would seem like such an irrelevant issue in the larger scheme of things.

And to build on that question, what about transsexuals and genderqueer people?

This is just some of my curiosity, wondering what you guys would think. Thank you for your time.

-

I've seen no indication for the Imperium as a whole caring about such things. The Ecclesiarchy cautions against lusts of the flesh of any kind, but this would include heterosexual acts. There is nothing in the Imperial Creed about homosexuality, and it's not like the Imperium suffers from a lack of population so the Munitorum probably doesn't mind, either.

Problems could arise locally, as the various planets that make up the Imperium all have different societies that propagate different values. You could have one world that burns homosexuals on a pyre, another where it's considered perfectly normal, or perhaps even a world where people only have homosexual relationships and procreation happens in a test tube.

The same applies to skin colours, gender roles, age of consent, etc - all of these would be local matters.
As long as the tithe is paid, the Imperium doesn't care, and nobles do what they want anyways.

Varies by planet. The Imperium, as a whole, has no stance and does not care.

What Psienesis said.

Thank you folks for your thoughts, my curiosity is pretty much sated now.

lots of trans genders in the slanesh clan


as above, varies from planet to planet, even city to city likely, the IOM as a whole is too busy to care I think.

Gothic Space Catholics with gaudy clothes and little churches nailed to all their ordinance? Starships driven by leather clad chain gangs? An entire galaxy that seems stuck in a 1980's heavy metal video?

The Imperium is flaming AC/DC bro.

- J

 necrondog99 wrote:
Gothic Space Catholics with gaudy clothes and little churches nailed to all their ordinance? Starships driven by leather clad chain gangs? An entire galaxy that seems stuck in a 1980's heavy metal video?

The Imperium is flaming AC/DC bro.

- J

You win at everything.

Mind if I use you as the quote thing?

to quote from another sci-fi series. "the more you tighten your grip. the more star systems slip through your fingers" this is a statement the IOM actually pays attention to. generally speaking planets and their cultures are, to a very large degree, given leeway to be however they want. the IOM really only cares about a small handful of things. by and large cultural stuff ends to be allowed to do it's own thing. chances are somewhere in the Imperium there's a world where homosexuality is illegal punishable by death. chances are there is also a world where it's accepted and expected. there might also be a world that is populated entirely by one gender that reproduces with test tube babies. it's a big universe.

now what wouldn't be accepted is Xenophilia.

a man sleeping with a man would be fine to the IoM. the inqusition however would kill you for sleeping with an eldar.

BrianDavion wrote:


a man sleeping with a man would be fine to the IoM. the inqusition however would kill you for sleeping with an eldar.

Actually, I find it even less likely that an Eldar would even want to, than having an Inquisitor approve of it.

And that is saying something.

To add to the above, the Imperial Creed is noted for its adaptability, it's said to be quite easy for the Ecclesiarchy to "apply" it to a wide range of cultures. If I recall correctly, an example given is that the Ecclesiarchy would be fine with a more feral culture where they still do human sacrifice, as long as the sacrificing was done in the Emperor's name. Given this flexibility, I think it's quite plausible that homosexual/trans people can co-exist with the Imperium's religious side.

Don't expect GW to outright say it, mind you. They do tend to stay away from sexual and romantic type stuff, so "it's most likely tolerated or accepted in places" is probably the best answer anyone can give. However, if you don't mind using BL books in your view of the setting, a few examples can be found there. I'm told that an Abnett book (a Gaunt's Ghosts one, I think) had a homosexual male couple which the protagonist doesn't seem phased by, and the Cain books have two lesbian guardswomen. Don't know if trans people have ever been mentioned.

I believe there was a lesbian couple in A Thousand Sons if I remember correctly, and they weren't looked at any differently. Obviously that was M31 so things are different now, but I imagine it's like the users above had said.

 Andilus Greatsword wrote:
I believe there was a lesbian couple in A Thousand Sons if I remember correctly, and they weren't looked at any differently. Obviously that was M31 so things are different now, but I imagine it's like the users above had said.

The lesbian couple in Cain are portrayed well too, and that's in M41. They're both good soldiers, and their relationship even helps them pull through the horrors of a Necron tomb.

But of course, this is assuming a consistency between BL authors, which often isn't true. But I like to think that both examples are valid when put alongside the GW stuff, myself.

 TheLinguist wrote:
I've been wondering this for a while now, ever since seeing a bunch of Youtubers playing Dark Heresy and they came across what seemed like proof of a homosexual relationship, but nothing was further built upon that specific factor. I'm just very curious, since the Emperor's Imperium has zero tolerance for anything that could be considered heretical or simply out of the norm. I'm just curious as to if they DO consider non-hetero sexualities as something to be frowned upon, even if it would seem like such an irrelevant issue in the larger scheme of things.

And to build on that question, what about transsexuals and genderqueer people?

This is just some of my curiosity, wondering what you guys would think. Thank you for your time.

I feel that once you have the option for non human love, the idea of two humans doing pretty much anything would become pretty tame.

Two men getting it on, well at least they are both human.
A man and a tau, the conservtitive right would be all over them. Westboro baptist church would be picketing nonstop

And then you got the pinnacle of homesexual relationship.....space marine. They are quite buff and like to wrestle for hours with their brother . Women dont hold much place in their culturr beside providing futur initiate to induct in their brotherhood . That remind me alot of the ancien greek way of life where your closer to your bro's the to your hoes

What happens in the fortress-monastery, stays in the fortress-monastery. ;p

That's homoerotic, not homosexual....

I think the gay couple Troike mentions is one of the Ravenor books, the Inquisitor is using his prodigious psychic abilities to plumb through the minds of an entire city full of people and comes across a pair of gay lovers. Ravenor comments that they're about to "make love for the first time" and then is on to the next score of minds in the blink of an eye, and makes no further mention or comment.

Short answer: unknown. We don't know much about the Imperial Creed or the Imperial Law. There's nothing to indicate anything about it either way.

 Lynata wrote:
What happens in the fortress-monastery, stays in the fortress-monastery. ;p

Tyraz wrote:
And then you got the pinnacle of homesexual relationship.....space marine. They are quite buff and like to wrestle for hours with their brother . Women dont hold much place in their culturr beside providing futur initiate to induct in their brotherhood . That remind me alot of the ancien greek way of life where your closer to your bro's the to your hoes

That made me laugh.

Thousand Sons, Ravenor and Cain books have homosexuals relationships in them.

Terra is probably fine with it, Ultramar probably loves it, Fenris probably doesn't know what it is and Mars is probably incapable of it (is that a mechadentrite in your pocket or are you just happy to see me)...

Definitely varies from world to world but the Imperium as an institution probably couldn't give a toss as long as you're paying your tithes

GW pretends sex doesn't exist. Because kissing is icky.

OP's guess is as good as mine.

 Harriticus wrote:
GW pretends sex doesn't exist. Because kissing is icky.

Not entirely true. I can think of a few examples of them existing in-universe in Black Library novels, and I think there were also references to it in the FFG books as well.

There aren't references to it in GW's corebooks because sexuality of any kind is irrelevant to what those books discuss.

Well, back in the days we could read about stuff like child prostitution in the Schola Progenium in the 2E SoB dex - but that was when Daemonettes still looked like people would actually be attracted to them, and cultists could look like this.

I think the last 10 years or so just experienced a slight shift into the contemporary definition of "family friendly", where violence and torture is okay but boobies are taboo.

 Inky wrote:

 necrondog99 wrote:
Gothic Space Catholics with gaudy clothes and little churches nailed to all their ordinance? Starships driven by leather clad chain gangs? An entire galaxy that seems stuck in a 1980's heavy metal video?

The Imperium is flaming AC/DC bro.

- J

You win at everything.

Mind if I use you as the quote thing?

Feel free! Sometimes I surprise everyone and manage to be funny.

- J

 Lynata wrote:
Well, back in the days we could read about stuff like child prostitution in the Schola Progenium in the 2E SoB dex - but that was when Daemonettes still looked like people would actually be attracted to them, and cultists could look like this.

I think the last 10 years or so just experienced a slight shift into the contemporary definition of "family friendly", where violence and torture is okay but boobies are taboo.

Oh, a thousand times this.

 Lynata wrote:
What happens in the fortress-monastery, stays in the fortress-monastery. ;p

Why???


I'm sure The IoM has bigger "problems". And an Inquisitor wouldn't waste his valuable time on a gay couple, but I'm sure an Arbite would.

Well, at least not by GW's original fluff - the Arbites are more like the Imperium's FBI in that they don't investigate petty crimes. What they do is hunt down rebels, and arbitrate between the different Imperial Adepta.

"Of the personal misdemeanours of the citizens of a million worlds the Judges care nothing. Such matters are for the Lords of individual worlds to deal with as they wish. The Judges concern themselves with more weighty issues. It is their task to bring the rebellious to trial, to hunt down enemies of the Imperium, to destroy those who threaten its safety from within."
- Codex Imperialis, Adeptus Arbites

"Where civil unrest and crime threaten the stability of a world or the power of its ruler, the Arbitrators may be released to restore law and order. However, while the Adeptus Arbites are responsible for ensuring that Imperial Decrees are obeyed across the galaxy, the role of everyday control and policing usually falls to local security forces, working under the orders of the Imperial Commander and his staff. Such is the case on Necromunda, where policing is carried out by Necromunda Enforcers."
- Necromunda Enforcers supplement

So this, too, would fall into the responsibility of both local laws, and enforcement of such. It is certainly possible that there are many worlds where it might be a cultural taboo punishable by all manner of penalties, just like with gun ownership (to offer a redirect to a somewhat similar thread).

 TheLinguist wrote:
I've been wondering this for a while now, ever since seeing a bunch of Youtubers playing Dark Heresy and they came across what seemed like proof of a homosexual relationship, but nothing was further built upon that specific factor. I'm just very curious, since the Emperor's Imperium has zero tolerance for anything that could be considered heretical or simply out of the norm. I'm just curious as to if they DO consider non-hetero sexualities as something to be frowned upon, even if it would seem like such an irrelevant issue in the larger scheme of things.

And to build on that question, what about transsexuals and genderqueer people?

This is just some of my curiosity, wondering what you guys would think. Thank you for your time.

There is a line at the end of hammer of Daemons about a pleasure planet for retired imperial lords where lasses and LADS are imported for pleasure.

So it seems that the imperium has at least some tolerance for homosexuality