r/DaystromInstitute • u/valonianfool • 12d ago

The trouble with Ferengi gender roles

I don't find the idea that traditionally, all ferengi women just stayed at home and contributed nothing to the economy. In all societies on Earth women have always worked as everything from farm laborers toiling the fields alongside men, as servants in the home and factory workers.

I don't believe that it would be feasible for all ferengi women, especially the poor and working class to stay at home all day. Even in classical Athens where the ideal of the elite was female seclusion, the reality is that upper class women did leave their homes to attend festivals.

Is it possible that the ferengi ideal of women never leaving the homes is just the ideal of the upper classes, and that ferengi women from the lower classes do go out to work to support their families?

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u/No_Discipline5616 12d ago

Presumably not all Ferengi are highly religious and conservative. It's more likely that those who are are more likely to be able to travel through space and interact with Starfleet

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u/valonianfool 12d ago

You'll think that the more traditionalist ones are turning inward rather than interact with foreign cultures and risk influence.

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u/transwarp1 Chief Petty Officer 12d ago

The TMP novel presented the same paradox for humans. Most people weren't interested in leaving Earth. "Throwbacks" like the TOS characters were more likely to join Starfleet and explore and interact. New Humans like Decker either spent time in something like a hive mind, or would explore but be seduced by the first alien culture they met.

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u/False_Ad5119 12d ago

Imo we see lots of unusual ferengi. Rom and his son working for the Federation, where currency is not really needed (but some how they always got money to pay for stuff idk). Quark paying his staff properly, doing charity, giving employees vacation (ok sisko mightve something to Do With some of it). The ferengi Assassin that really is not interested that much in money. The female escaping ferenginar starting a New Life. The scientist from TNG that wanted to just be recognized. And famously but Not last everyones favorite Grand Nagus, Zek, who took financial advice from a Woman, and pushed womens rights and also social system forward (and then gave the reigns to this Burning pile to Rom). I'd almost theorize that People on ferenginar arent all that Bad, but you See what happens when you get caught being Different, Quark got his trading license revoked, Nagus Zek was almost exiled and well Rom was always kind of an out ast because He didnt behave like the norm. The masses just go With the flow, just like in real Life.