# Can Sisters of Battle-



## bobss

Ok, silly question, but I need an answer quick-

- Can sisters of battle be lesbians, or does homosexuality not exist in the 41`st millenium, or is it prevented by their religious doctrines?


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## Smokes

The more important question is WWSD? What would Slaanesh do?


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## Lord of the Night

I would imagine thats allowed, in a wider sense. The Imperial Cult doesn't seem to hate homosexuals, only aliens and heretics.


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## dardle reesraf

what made you think of this question? that has to be the strangest question i've ever seen on heresy online. but dont get offended, because now that you've asked it, i want to know the answer as well. heres what i think:

probably not. because arent SOB just female versions of SM's? and spacey's dont care about that kind of stuff. do they?


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## Akkiko

Yes :3 just add a few Slaanesh hehe :3


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## bobss

Lord of the Night said:


> I would imagine thats allowed, in a wider sense. The Imperial Cult doesn't seem to hate homosexuals, only aliens and heretics.


You, good sir, shall be quoted for that:victory:


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## Shacklock

Someone wants to write a special sort of SOB story neh? lol

But yeah to be honest theres not -actually- anything in the fluff that explicity states mainstream Imperial Culture has anything against lesbians or gays, probably plenty of planets that dont like it though.


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## bobss

Wouldn`t Homosexuality be seen as a weakness? (hey, this is just a theory! not my own views), and a way for Slaanesh to infect the mind?


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## darkreever

bobss said:


> - Can sisters of battle be lesbians, or does homosexuality not exist in the 41`st millenium, or is it prevented by their religious doctrines?


Yes and no

Yes; it is possible for anyone to develop feelings for people they spend enough time around. And fighting alongside certain people you respect or owe your life to for your life can lead to feelings being shared between you.


Much more often though, this will not happen, that kind of love between two comrades. Sisters of battle are taken in at very young ages, long before puberty and are taught and trained to love and desire only to fulfill the will of the Imperial Cult and the Emperor. This would entail abstinence and quashing feelings of most love and desire as all you truly need is love and faith in the Emperor.

Also, these are generally people you grew up with and alongside; they would be more like siblings or family than anything else.


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## Dave T Hobbit

dardle reesraf said:


> ...arent SOB just female versions of SM's? and spacey's dont care about that kind of stuff. do they?


If I remember correctly, Space Marines are recruited prior to - or during - puberty, so the their implants would certainly affect their hormones; they are certainly mentally conditioned. It is possible that post-heresy SMs have no sex drive.

SoB on the other hand gain their mojo from intense faith which - if you subscribe to many schools of psychology - is sublimated sex drive, so they could be of either orientation; however, they are certainly non-practising.


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## K3k3000

bobss said:


> Ok, silly question, but I need an answer quick-
> 
> - Can sisters of battle be lesbians, or does homosexuality not exist in the 41`st millenium, or is it prevented by their religious doctrines?


Unless GW has massively outdated opinions of homosexuality or some entirely pointless genetic engineering is involved, homosexuality will certainly exist in the 41st century. History has proven that homosexuality, while prone to becoming more widespread if condoned by society (there was probably no such thing as a heterosexual Greek male, for example), cannot be eliminated by even the harshest of taboo.

Whether the masses are allowed to practice it openly or are persecuted, I can't say. Methinks neither the sisters nor the space marines are prone to sexuality of any sort, though there must be some examples of an individual breaking that norm.


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## MadCowCrazy

I remember reading somewhere (I think it was in both Codex : Sisters of Battle 2E and Codex : Witch Hunters 3E) that sisters of battle are not forced into celebasy. They are allowed to have male sexual partners atleast.

On the question of lesbians, if slaanesh was involved anything that would be pleasurable would be ok. I dont think it would be too hard for initiate sisters to feel love towards their veteran sister superiors or other figures of desire. When reading the codex it said men and females were separated from eachother in the Schola Progrena or whatever it was called because the students should not be distracted by such things. Then from there females/males would get sent to other school depending on their found speciality.

The females sent to the Adepta Sororitas school to begin their training are all in their teens as far as I know and get to see and hear all about their heroic teachers/superiors.
A young female student might revere her superior so much it borders on love/desire.
Im sure most of you have seen the Sister Repentia pic on deviant art where to sinfull sisters endulge themselves in repentance through lesbianism 

Here is a pic from Strawberry Panic showing what might happen between a Sister Superior and one of her students


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## forkmaster

bobss said:


> Wouldn`t Homosexuality be seen as a weakness? (hey, this is just a theory! not my own views), and a way for Slaanesh to infect the mind?


Yes and no on that, the males, the guys would fell more easily into Slaanesh if they knew there was war fighting lesbians out there.  However I think the reason why lesbians would be considered a weakness is because they cant reproduce more children = less soldiers = bigger chance of loosing the wars.

Edited: And I think I read somewhere in the early Horus Heresy books there was hint (mainly a joke between troopers I think) about a guy being homosexual, but I might have gotten that the wrong way. But that would guy homosexually and off topic.


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## Veritas

bobss said:


> Ok, silly question, but I need an answer quick-
> 
> - Can sisters of battle be lesbians, or does homosexuality not exist in the 41`st millenium, or is it prevented by their religious doctrines?


With a little bit of luck :3c

I see why not. After all sisters have to have something to reduce stress.


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## Fire starter Pyro

bobss said:


> Ok, silly question, but I need an answer quick-
> 
> - Can sisters of battle be lesbians, or does homosexuality not exist in the 41`st millenium, or is it prevented by their religious doctrines?


I don't see why not, homosexuality is a long-standing tradition in same sex military formations (pre 20th century). This goes back to ancient Greece, the Spartans, Athenians and Thebans to name but a few were homosexual when un service (as many would only marry after service) so it is quite possible (even with out slaanesh) that it wouldn’t be so strange that if parted from males for prolonged time would turn to members of the same sex. It was also thought that homosexuality would strengthen the bond between warriors in the field. 

2nd SOB are human they don't go through the genetic manipulation that marines go through and can't interface with their armour either.


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## countchocula86

Sexuality really does not exist in the 40k universe. So I doubt youll ever get any sort of a diffinative answer to this question. Personally I will echo the sentiment of 'why not'? Unless they are under a vow of celibacy I cant see why they would be allowed male but not female partners.


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## K3k3000

Fire starter Pyro said:


> This goes back to ancient Greece, the Spartans, Athenians and Thebans to name but a few were homosexual when un service (as many would only marry after service)
> 
> 2nd SOB are human they don't go through the genetic manipulation that marines go through and can't interface with their armour either.


Spartans, Greeks, and probably the Atenians still stuck with men after service, if not in an official capacity. Spartan men were only allowed to live with their wives if their wives permitted it. Otherwise, they lived in a communal barracks. It wasn't uncommon for Spartan men to meet their wives, sleep with them, then go back to their barracks and sleep with some of their mates. Greeks thought true love and sexual ecstacy could only exist between men, and since there was no punishment for men not being faithful to their wives, there was undoubtedly a lot of sordid affairs going on. To the best of my knowledge the Athenians had the same attitude as the Greeks.

I think we've come to the conensus that while genetic manipulation isn't involved, mental manipulation is. Still, no brainwashing is perfect.



countchocula86 said:


> Sexuality really does not exist in the 40k universe.


Really? Slaanesh is buggered, then O_O.
I see what you mean, though. Sexuality is extremely downplayed in the 40K universe. You never really see the Space Marines, Eldar, or Tau being seduced, do you? Then again, I've never read the books, so what do I know? Whatever the case, I'm sure most of the sexual themes occur within chaos and the dark eldar.


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## countchocula86

> Really? Slaanesh is buggered, then O_O.
> I see what you mean, though. Sexuality is extremely downplayed in the 40K universe. You never really see the Space Marines, Eldar, or Tau being seduced, do you? Then again, I've never read the books, so what do I know? Whatever the case, I'm sure most of the sexual themes occur within chaos and the dark eldar.


Well, obviously sexuality exists in the universe, wherelse do baby Commisars come from! But as a theme its rather absent, and really only present in that standard nerdy hyper-sexual way. Your only outlet is the chaotic Slaanesh who deals with hedonism. Its really not present in any sort of realistic, adult way. Frankly, the world is so male-o-centric its rather weird  (Obviously understanding where and when WH came from, and to what audience it makes sense)

But when someone like the OP asks that kind of question, I figure theres really never going to be an official answer. But logically speaking, why not? Why couldnt they form bonds and what to express themsleves in a physical sexual way?


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## BiOHaTe

How about Renegade SOB worshiping Slaneesh?


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## Sigmatus

Mmm. I can see it now. Sororitas Girls Gone Wild! See what happens when these pent-up battle sisters PURGE their inhibitions and drop their itchy power armor! Only $9.95, order now and you'll get Rainbow Warriors Unleashed, FREE!

But, as others have said, yes its possible, but its highly improbable. Sexuality is probably highly repressed in the convents, as the Imperial Creed would see it as a waste of time for a Battle Sister, heterosexual or otherwise.


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## K3k3000

countchocula86 said:


> Well, obviously sexuality exists in the universe, wherelse do baby Commisars come from! But as a theme its rather absent, and really only present in that standard nerdy hyper-sexual way. Your only outlet is the chaotic Slaanesh who deals with hedonism. Its really not present in any sort of realistic, adult way.


Very true, which is so strange for sci-fi. Those looking for sexual themes are limited to trying to ignore daemonettes' claws or those ugly helmets the Eldar wear.


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## Fire starter Pyro

K3k3000 said:


> Spartans, Greeks, and probably the Atenians still stuck with men after service, if not in an official capacity. Spartan men were only allowed to live with their wives if their wives permitted it. Otherwise, they lived in a communal barracks. It wasn't uncommon for Spartan men to meet their wives, sleep with them, then go back to their barracks and sleep with some of their mates. Greeks thought true love and sexual ecstacy could only exist between men, and since there was no punishment for men not being faithful to their wives, there was undoubtedly a lot of sordid affairs going on. To the best of my knowledge the Athenians had the same attitude as the Greeks.


I know its not a perfect similarity but it gets to the point, and acctually the Athenians were verry obsessed with faithfulness to their wives so long as they were of Athenian pedagree. if a man was found to be having an afair with a married Athenian woman the husband could kill on site if he found them sleeping together or could claim heavy compensation or publicly humiliate the culprit. 




K3k3000 said:


> Really? Slaanesh is buggered, then O_O.
> I see what you mean, though. Sexuality is extremely downplayed in the 40K universe. You never really see the Space Marines, Eldar, or Tau being seduced, do you? Then again, I've never read the books, so what do I know? Whatever the case, I'm sure most of the sexual themes occur within chaos and the dark eldar.


The main reason for the Celibet 41st millennium is that during the time GW has fleshed out much of the background off the battlefield they have moved to a PG13 attitude which limits the content of what they can discuss, so blame the kiddie winks 

But while its unclear on the matter i'll say Yes Bobss your fantasy is totally fluffy just remember to remove their full body chastity belt first


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## Stella Cadente

according to the artwork you find on the internet, lesbian sisters is very common, as well as moulded penors on armour........but I doubt its official art that they accidentally missed from the SOB codex


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## K3k3000

Fire starter Pyro said:


> I know its not a perfect similarity but it gets to the point, and acctually the Athenians were verry obsessed with faithfulness to their wives so long as they were of Athenian pedagree. if a man was found to be having an afair with a married Athenian woman the husband could kill on site if he found them sleeping together or could claim heavy compensation or publicly humiliate the culprit.
> [/SIZE]


All this is true, and I should have specified; the Athenians were largely unconcerned with adultery so as long as no one did it with their own wives . The Greeks were big on killing adulterers, too, and if the Romans were merciful on the violent front they were at least big on public humiliation. As for faithfulness to their wives, I haven't heard of that. All I know is that the Athenians were crazy sexist.


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## forkmaster

In the books Ive read, sexuallity is not unusal in the 40k galaxy. Heck even Commissar Gaunt got laid at least twice so far Ive read.


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## gen.ahab

Its not really so much a matter of could they do it, yes they have the free will and necessary body parts to do it. It’s more a matter of what the order would feel about such an action. They are suppose to be warrior priestesses, something like nuns with power armor and guns that fire .75 cal mass reactive shells. Like nuns they are suppose to be married to the deity they worship which is, in this case, the emperor of mankind. So I suppose they could but there could be hell to pay.


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## BiOHaTe

I heard Fulgrims a good read if you need Slaanesh relief.


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## LordLucan

Yes, there can be Lesbian Sisters of Battle. Though to be fair, homosexuality, lesbianism, and all these other categories, were divised by Victorian Britain by those who thought they could label and categorise everything.

With regards 40K, we have no idea if these categories even apply in Imperial society any more. For all we know, homosexuality isn't even recognised as being distinct from hetrosexuality. Hell, look at the classical world.


more pressing question is: What difference would it make? If one is looking in detail at a character study of a Sister int he Adeptus Sororitas, then that'd be interesting and revealing. However, if a lesbian Battle Sister is used purely as soem childish titilation, then I think 40K can do without it frankly.


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## Zooey72

bobss said:


> Ok, silly question, but I need an answer quick-
> 
> - Can sisters of battle be lesbians, or does homosexuality not exist in the 41`st millenium, or is it prevented by their religious doctrines?


OH MY GOD, IT IS 'COMIC BOOK GUY' FROM THE SIMPSONS!

Heh heh, no offense... just had to give you some crap


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## bobss

Zooey72 said:


> OH MY GOD, IT IS 'COMIC BOOK GUY' FROM THE SIMPSONS!
> 
> Heh heh, no offense... just had to give you some crap


None taken:victory:

Ill be the first to admit my geeky-ness, fanboyism and to-be conventional attending status (Hell, im doing a Death Korp themed outfit atm):laugh:, however, though, I definetly do not have the physique of Comic Book Guy:so_happy:, and im only slightly into Star Trek


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## Lucky_Marine

I would like to see these so called pics on deviant art, unless linking is not an option on the forums.

(my PM box is still open)


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## K3k3000

Ahhh ... Space Nun Yuri.

Rule 34 at its finest.


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## Giant Fossil Penguin

In one of the Caiphas Cain books, he comes across a Veteran Superior, who is teaching in the convent next to the Scholam where Cain is teaching, who is having an affair with another Scholam teacher. He is quite surprised by this, having always thought that SOBs were celibate, but obviously not! So I don't see how much difference it would make if the lover is male or female.

GFP


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## The Son of Horus

This sort of ends up being a 40k-ized version of asking the question of "Do nuns break their vows of celibacy?" The short answer is yes; the long answer is regularly. The Adepta Sororitas (which includes the Orders Militant and the non-militant Orders) have the same mix of vows as contemporary nuns, and their faith is supposed to be strong enough to keep them in line. The Sisters Repentia draw their ranks from those who break their vows-- so it's pretty clear that it's at least not an uncommon occurance. 

As for the original question of whether Sisters can be lesbians-- they're not psycho-conditioned or anything to have the sex drive of a paper bag the way the Astartes are, and they live exclusively with other women. Pretty sure they end up with each other, purely because no men are around. Womens' prisons and modern convents are both great examples of that. To be fair, men do the same thing (again, prisons and monestaries where there are no women around).


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## SideEffect46

This thread is a win!

SOB lesbians haha classic


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## Arcane

dardle reesraf said:


> probably not. because arent SOB just female versions of SM's? and spacey's dont care about that kind of stuff. do they?


Space Marines are geneticly altered super soldiers without reproductive organs. Sisters of Battle are normal women like you see everyday that have been trained for fighting.


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## Sethis

Only in 40k can "Burning Hot Sister on Sister Action!" mean both a lesbian tryst and a tabletop battle (2 Witch Hunters armies).


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## Iistaan Venturian

I imagine sister-to-sister interactions to be very Spartan. You're sisters-in-arms on the battlefield, the very best of friends outside the battlefield, and all united for the same cause by the same faith.

So, since the Imperium doesn't care what you do in the sack as long as Slaanesh isn't involved, what's to stop them from, ahem, relieving each other of stress? You know, so that their unsatisfied libido won't interfere with leveling their meltas? Yeah, something like that...

Regardless, there doesn't seem to be a problem with it if sisters _did_ happen to share a cot for the night or find that the proper application of sensual ritual oils is best done with a partner, you know, to better venerate the Emperor and all, as long as it doesn't interfere with their faith and results on the battlefield, and when looking at how zealous the sisters are, I don't think that would be a problem (The members of their convent are probably the only people they would deem faithful enough to be a worthy partner, anyhow).

Besides, if Games Workshop staffs people that are anything like their target demographic, which they do, it's pretty much unspoken canon.


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## XxDreMisterxX

yeah... thats what were all after here on Heresy.. to get our own copy of Sisters of Battle: Fiesty and Uncensored. lol XP my, my..


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## Hespania

for starters GW has massively outdated views on a lot of things, consider freedom of religion (or lack there of) in 40k superstition paranoia seriously people burn at the stake in this universe because gave cleric is bored or doesn't like. although somewhere in the Ravenor books the police officer investigating a priest's suicide, imply's a question regarding the priests sexuality regarding alter boys which does mean homosexuality and petophelia has made it to 40k also somewhere in Ravenor,there is a pair of gay musicians, so yes homosexuality has survived,

i know in caphis Cain sisters of battle can have relationships with others, what i don't know is if they can get married?

also there is one sister who fell to slanesh a certain Miriael Sabathiel can someone tell if sisters of battle can be married


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## Beaviz81

I personally think they don't go for sex normally in any form, but then again you have Ciaphas Cain. And even though I personally disregard his testimony about one having a sexual liason with the bursar of the Schoola I must accept its there and Mitchell brought with him a slegdehammer to work to bludgeon in Sister Julien. I'm no fan of that particular bit of canon, but I can't ignore it.


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## locustgate

The Son of Horus said:


> As for the original question of whether Sisters can be lesbians-- they're not psycho-conditioned or anything to have the sex drive of a paper bag the way the Astartes are, and they live exclusively with other women. Pretty sure they end up with each other, purely because no men are around.


At least in the SoB books that isn't entirely true, it mentioned the monasteries usually were attached cathedral. However the 2nd book there was no mention of anything but 'sisters' on an SoB outpost world. 

In populated worlds they would probably bump into males more and on SoB fortress worlds they probably don't run into Y chromosomes, unless he had his bits replaced by a calculator or a fuel nosel or something..


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## NT8

locustgate said:


> At least in the SoB books that isn't entirely true, it mentioned the monasteries usually were attached cathedral. However the 2nd book there was no mention of anything but 'sisters' on an SoB outpost world.
> 
> In populated worlds they would probably bump into males more and on SoB fortress worlds they probably don't run into Y chromosomes, unless he had his bits replaced by a calculator or a fuel nosel or something..


There was a rather large number of male serfs, that deacon who whipped the serfs whilst singing litanies, and a few male tech-priests and skitarii if you wanna count them.


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## GabrialSagan

If the Sisters are allowed to engage in hetrosexual relationships (See Cain's Last Stand by Sandy Mitchell) Why wouldn't they be allowed to have homosexual relationships?


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## GabrialSagan

The Son of Horus said:


> This sort of ends up being a 40k-ized version of asking the question of "Do nuns break their vows of celibacy?" The short answer is yes; the long answer is regularly. The Adepta Sororitas (which includes the Orders Militant and the non-militant Orders) have the same mix of vows as contemporary nuns, and their faith is supposed to be strong enough to keep them in line. The Sisters Repentia draw their ranks from those who break their vows-- so it's pretty clear that it's at least not an uncommon occurance.
> 
> As for the original question of whether Sisters can be lesbians-- they're not psycho-conditioned or anything to have the sex drive of a paper bag the way the Astartes are, and they live exclusively with other women. Pretty sure they end up with each other, purely because no men are around. Womens' prisons and modern convents are both great examples of that. To be fair, men do the same thing (again, prisons and monestaries where there are no women around).


This is emphatically refuted in Cain's Last Stand where the narrator states that Sister's of Battle are not bound by oaths of chastity. 

FYI- Catholic Nuns do not take vows of celibacy. They take vows of chastity. Celibacy means no marriage, chastity means no sex. The difference being that when a priest has sex it is a venial sin that can be confessed and forgiven. Nuns who have sex are committing a mortal sin and are often ejected from their order and face possible excommunication.


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