<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RDB:
<B>I'll bite - what's the difference? And I assume the former <> sex, since 7 years seems like an awfully long time to wait for _that_ beforehand (not that I approve of premarital sex, but that's a different flamewar^H^Hdiscussion... <IMG SRC="
http://www.keenspace.com/forums/frown.gif">); likewise 2 years _afterward_ <IMG SRC="
http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif"><P>Ron<P>[This message has been edited by RDB (edited 08-08-2001).]</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
The difference between being mated and being
married is a technical one, and is a grudging
concession by the human world to the differences
between furries and humans. Most of the time
it really seems to make little difference,
nowadays, but in the early years of the
establishing of furry culture (after the great
furry-human war) it was a hard-won battle. It
is basically an acknowledgment of the difference
between the way humans and furries form
relationships. Being mated is the furry
equivalent of being married. There are different
types of ceremonies, and in the early years
it was even acceptable for a fur to have more
than one mate (though this happens rarer and
rarer nowadays). The ceremonies and vows are
not the same as in the human world and,
depending on the species, may or may not be
meant to last a lifetime. Where the business
of 'legal marriage' comes into play is when a
furry couple has fulfilled all the parameters
for what would be considered (in human terms)
to be a normal marriage. That is to say, if a
furry couple has abided, through the time in
which they are mated, in a monogamous and
faithful-to-a-single-partner relationship. If
this has been the case, the couple may decide
to change their status from "mated" to
"married". <P>Being mated, in furry cities, carries the same
weight as being married in human cities... but
<I>only</I> in furry cities. (That is, as far as
taxes, healthcare benefits on the job, etc.)
Outside furry cities, being mated has no legal
status. If/when a furry couple decides to
change their status to 'married', however,
the time during which they fulfilled all the
requirements (in human terms) of marriage will
apply to them. And a married furry couple has
the same legal status in human society. If
Alice had been speaking to a human employee
in the case where CW was asking her about how
long she and Lloyd had been together, she
would have replied "Married twelve years",
since during the time she and Lloyd were only
mated, they maintainted a monogamous relationship.
Only furry record-keeping would need to make
the distinction between the two, since being
only mated in human society has no legal
standing.
<p>[This message has been edited by genecatlow (edited 08-08-2001).]
