Clan Culture, Resource Scarcity, and Gender Identity

[CitizenErased]

With the recent increase in representation of non-cisgender identities in BattleTech, particularly Frankie Fischer in Bryan Young's Fox Patrol stories and the protagonist in Jason Hansa's "Behind the Stick" in Shrapnel #15, it's been a fantastic time to be a transgender BattleTech fan. But this small smattering of canon representation has left me mulling over a bigger question - how do the Clans handle divergent gender identities?

I feel there are a few options, and I'll detail those, but I would love to hear thoughts from other fans, particularly other queer ones!

Modality 1: Non-permissive. This feels the least interesting to me both in a literary and personal sense, but it does potentially fit Clan culture overall. As genetics are essentially sacrosanct to the Clans, behavior that strays away from any form of genetic "truth" would effectively be heretical - you might as well be an Elemental that wants to be a MechWarrior! Similarly, the major issue of resource scarcity during the early days of the Star League in Exile and even until the beginning of the Golden Century could result in a cultural bias against "non-essential" medical procedures. Still, as I said, I don't feel this is the most interesting answer, as it paints the entirety of Clan society as a transphobic monolith.

Modality 2: Unilaterally permissive. This is the polar opposite of the spectrum, and I feel is very in the spirit of Clan society as we know it. Namely, they don't care in the least about such frivolous things as gender, especially since trueborn Warriors don't have to worry about reproducing via procreation. However, this does potentially butt heads with the nominal issues of resource scarcity the Clans have always struggled with - not in terms of the medical resources needed to allow ~1% of the population to transition (assuming the population proportion holds constant compared to modern estimates, which I'll grant is a pretty loose statistic but makes a nice arbitrary number), but because the lower castes have often been forced into arranged couples in order to reproduce as effectively as possible. Which leads me to...

Modality 3: Situationally permissive. Essentially a middle case, this would basically mean that Warriors are allowed to do whatever the hell they want, but members of the lower castes may not have that freedom for various reasons. More importantly this would allow for different Clans to have different approaches - i.e., the Smoke Jaguars would likely not allocate resources to such perceived waste and still demand transgender lower caste members to reproduce as directed because the Jags see laborers as cattle, the Blood Spirits may respect the needs of the lower castes but be genuinely too resource-poor to allow for much beyond basic hormones, and the Wolves and Ghost Bears may well have figured out how to grow a uterus in a tank on a whim (although I think if anyone's figured out how to perform a hysterectoplasty, it's the Canopians).

(Mods, obviously this is a topic that might get particularly heated and tread too close to Rule 4, so I want to clearly state my intent to have a positive discussion about Clan society, not draw any parallels to modern politics in any form)

[Fire Scorpion IIC]

You are overthinking this

Genetics and everyday life are two different things

In short Clans don't care what you do in your spare time as long as you do your job and this applies to everyone from simple labourers all the way up to Khans

You can play on Xbox all day long as long as you do your homework, metaphorically speaking

Medically wise if you have enough rep or are ranked highly enough to be seen as valuable you will get access to more elective medical procedures (money functioned differently in Clans before invasion), in fact this would be easier for civilians because they have more free time than warriors

If you are good enough you will get what you want, same as with everything else in Clan society

And Clan medicine is the high water mark of the setting, it's equal or superior even to Canopian, gender transition on that tech level is equivalent of today's Botox or maybe nose job tops

They easily grow limbs from scratch and prosthetic limbs that Clans consider generic were seen as high tech luxury items by the Inner Sphere

After invasion it's probably even simpler, once they started using money again it was just the matter of saving up and going to hospital for a day or two

[Maingunnery]

And Clan medicine is the high water mark of the setting, it's equal or superior even to Canopian, gender transition on that tech level is equivalent of today's Botox or maybe nose job tops

It would still require resources to dedicate people to learn and perform such a procedure, I can't think of any Clan that would do that for a non-combat related procedure. Franky being open about it would be extremely dangerous in such a genetic deterministic society, some Clans would reave entire sibkos for perceived defects.

[Fire Scorpion IIC]

It would still require resources to dedicate people to learn and perform such a procedure, I can't think of any Clan that would do that for a non-combat related procedure. Franky being open about it would be extremely dangerous in such a genetic deterministic society, some Clans would reave entire sibkos for perceived defects.

Comparing medicine in real life with medicine in BT would be like comparing spaceflight in real life with spaceflight in, well... BT

Millennia in the future means that something like this would be like taking x-ray now

It's figured down to tiniest details and machine does the work (bio beds and med tanks)

Put the patient in, press buttons and wait

Sibkos were reaved for culturally completely different reasons

[AlphaMirage]

That is kinda my thinking too maingunnery. I think they'd be proactively non-permissive with sterilization if not euthanization on the table. Scientists would likely view such deviancy (to them) as a failure on their part.

The Clans Orwelliian social order does actually care deeply about what even common laborers do because everything is accounted for. Homosexuality is probably fine though as long as it doesn't damage the order of the enclave Also no one has time off in the Clans Civilian or Warrior except on Founders Day or maybe some religious holidays in Cloud Cobra. Busy peons cannot rebel and collective punishment ensures those that don't pull their weight won't bring everyone else down for long.

Elective medical procedures are likely rare. The Clan does not humor your requests. If you're not dying (or even if you are) or damaged to disability (and even then you'd better be irreplaceable) you probably don't want to or cannot go to the hospital.

[tassa_kay]

Speaking from my perspective both as a gay BattleTech player and one who in particular favors the Clans... beyond some edge cases (I'm thinking the RasDom and the Scorpion Empire, which have had to make some adjustments as they've begun sharing power with their non-Clan populations), I don't see the Clans tolerating divergent gender identities, or even acknowledging them in the first place. In fact, the Clans seem like exactly the type of society that would be conservative and absolutist when it comes to sex/gender.

The Clans are all about conformity and have a pretty solid grasp on genetic sciences, and I'd think that if they haven't already corrected things like gender dysphoria with actual treatment of the underlying condition (as opposed to what is done in the real world, which is to alleviate the symptoms through social and sometimes medical transition), they'd just flush what they'd see as "bad genes" down the drain. After all, why would the waste-not-want-not Clans go through the expense/resource expenditure of transitioning someone's gender when they can just sterilize or even euthanize them and replace them with someone that isn't a resource drain? That seems to be antithetical to the Clan mindset.

And speaking again as a gay BattleTech player, I'm A-OK with all of this, because it's all fiction and the Clans have always revolved around this kind of violent conformity; it's baked into the very foundation of what the Clans were formed to be. The Clans are defined by a lot of things, and one of those things is their intolerance for that which is different, especially where genetics are involved. We've seen them stamp out entire sibkos for a lot less... hell, we've seen sibkos cull themselves to weed out what they perceive as weakness, and as grim as it is to say, I just can't see the Clans not viewing something like gender dysphoria as a weakness, most especially the warrior caste.

snip

Literally none of this is accurate or cited anywhere in the source material. We've seen absolutely no evidence that Clan medical technology is "press a button and wait", either. Even their ability to replace/regrow severed limbs, one of their most advanced medical techniques, takes months of downtime, with some warriors opting for prosthetics just to avoid that downtime.

The Clans do have very advanced medical technology but it differs greatly from Canopian methods because Clan medical technology revolves around necessity (i.e., surviving on their marginal worlds, keeping their warriors fit for duty, etc.), not elective medical procedures. In other words, the Clans' medical technology is top-notch but also very, very specialized, as opposed to the broader approach we see with the Canopians.

In fact, WoK points out that not only have the Clans focused their technological research on military efforts, but they've had very few advances in civilian technologies save as spin-offs of military research. The general level of Clan technology differs little from the Inner Sphere and even lags behind in some areas (such as entertainment), as they've technologically stagnated in most areas outside of weaponry, genetics, computing and materials chemistry.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

For warriors at least, HRT is probably easily available.  Surgical procedures are probably not just because most Clan medical procedures are based around getting a warrior back into shape to fight some more.  And while conformity is important among the Clans, there's also at least some allowance for individual variation: homosexuality appears to exist without carrying any sort of stigma, as seen in several recent novels and Shrapnel stories.  So as long as you can fight, most Clanners probably don't care about what pronouns you want to use.

As far as the lower castes go, they probably allow you to identify as trans/nonbinary/gendernonconforming, but the best you're probably going to get in terms of gender-affirmation is your choice of haircut and people using your preferred pronouns.

[BrianDavion]

So my thoughts on this... first of all we need to stop thinking about people, partiuclarly the lower castes (but this Even applies to WARRIORS to SOME extent) like people, because that's not how the clans look at them
to the clans, all people are... livestock.

What do I mean by this? I mean to the clan way of thinking people exist to do a job, they are BRED to do that job, amnd are expected to breed the next generation. THAT is what's cared about, do you do your job? Can you breed? So long as both thsoe are answered yes. that's what's important. WoK explictly says many lower caste people have lovers outside their assigned breeding pair and that the clans do not care. They're likely utterly accepting of homosexual relationships (in fact it might even be sublty enchouraged to have same sex relationships outside your assigned breeding pair to reduce the likelyhood of accidental 'unapproved' children)  now transgenderism? that's a slightly differant kettle of fish. If "Tom the merchant " wants to insist his/her name is Marie and wear a dress? yeah bit weird but so long as Marie is doing their job the clans will ignore it, but elective surgery and hormone treatment isn't going to be accepted, because Tom/Marie needs to be able to breed. Likewise chances are clan records keeping isn't going to entertain the name change and "merchant Marie" is always going to be refered to in clan records and by officals as "merchant tom"

[tassa_kay]

Let’s be careful comparing sexual orientation to transgenderism, please. Sexual orientation doesn’t involve medical procedures, debilitating identity crises (which is what can and often does result from gender dysphoria), hormone replacement therapy, or any use of limited medical resources, all of which can affect a warrior's ability to do their job/a lower casteman's ability to produce offspring and are germane talking points when it comes to the Clans. The two have very little actual overlap, and as a gay man, I find it a little bothersome (if not downright offensive) to be used as a point of comparison to a condition that that has nothing at all to do with sexual orientation/attraction.

But I pretty much agree with the rest of your points, Ogre/Brian. I could see transgenderism to a very, very limited point, at least in self-expression (though I still suspect that the Clan tendency towards conformity could make things like that a bit troublesome), but I certainly don't see gender-affirming care being a thing in the Clans. In fact, given the Clans' advanced medical technology in the realm of genetics, it's just as possible that the scientist caste could've simply found an actual treatment for gender dysphoria entirely (one example I know of is that the Clans long ago solved the genetic portion of degenerative tooth decay, per "A Rending of Falcons"). But that's a whole other can of worms that I'd really rather not see BattleTech ever dive too deeply into.

[Jellico]

Tooth decay is a problem that immediately effects the function of the population. Can't chew, can't eat, can't work to 100%
At the same time we have examples of minimal treatment of chronic back wear and tear because an element isn't expected to live that long.
I don't know if they would bother with something like dismorphia unless it is effecting production. I don't think they would try to attempt to breed towards modern day morals. Even some of the stuff from the Star League suggests a much more permissive society.

Gender norms in the Clans have been portrayed as very vanilla because it is a product of the 80s marketed to Midwestern Americans from the same era. But if you stop and think about the implications of the sex is a handshake culture you end up with A Question of Survival. The difference being you can write that scenario now rather than in the 80s.

Art in books like Warriors of Kerensky suggests self expression is still very much a thing.

My suspicion is orientation isn't an issue because it costs the society nothing. Low cost modification is probably accepted. If you can pay for alcohol, you can pay for hormones. But anything more would be problematic. We are talking a society that will choose cybernetics over waiting six months for a limb to grow. If a warrior can't be out of action for that long, a civilian will need a very good business case to justify any sort of surgery.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Also, while gender identity and sexual orientation are quite different from a scientific perspective, they're strongly linked when it comes to political and social perspectives.

And let's face it, you can get away with just about any personal peculiarities in the Clans as long as you can take down anyone who disagrees with them in a Circle of Equals.

[tassa_kay]

Also, while gender identity and sexual orientation are quite different from a scientific perspective, they're strongly linked when it comes to political and social perspectives.

Largely due to ignorance and bigotry. And completely besides my point. Jellico got it: orientation costs Clan society nothing, transgenderism does in fact have a cost. I’m leaving real-world political/social perspectives aside because they have no real relevance in what is essentially an alien culture.

And let's face it, you can get away with just about any personal peculiarities in the Clans as long as you can take down anyone who disagrees with them in a Circle of Equals.

This much, at least, I largely agree with.

[Gaiiten]

I do not think that the Clans give even a cent for thinking of this.

Especially the Home Clans do have more to do with surviving their harsh worlds.

If you do your  work and service properly, you may lîve a gender of a sad dolphin, if you disturb the peace of the Clan(s) with such activism, a Circle of Equals, medical treatment or death penalty will come to be sure.

[cmerwin]

My suspicion is orientation isn't an issue because it costs the society nothing. Low cost modification is probably accepted. If you can pay for alcohol, you can pay for hormones. But anything more would be problematic. We are talking a society that will choose cybernetics over waiting six months for a limb to grow. If a warrior can't be out of action for that long, a civilian will need a very good business case to justify any sort of surgery.

First, I'm grateful that we are a community that is welcoming to all sorts of conversations. Another reason why I love BattleTech and its players.

Second, I think it's absolutely correct that the Clans would not care at all about anyone's orientation, as long as it does not interfere with their performance. Second, if there is one resource the Clans have in abundance, it's genetic material and technology. I imagine that for Clan scientists gender confirmation is much easier, faster, and more efficient than it is now, by a long shot, especially for Trueborns. It is far less expensive to do HRT than to regrow and retrain another trueborn warrior, especially if the argument is that gender confirmation would make them better at being a warrior.

"You, Scientist, you decanted this Trueborn warrior into a body that they do not feel is optimal for their performance. Change it to their desired configuration immediately."

"Yes, Star Captain!"

This is, for the touman, actually more important, than say, the same trueborn warrior requesting a bicycle. Those are resources that are more difficult to come by, are not in abundance, and are probably already dedicated towards other projects.


I agree with what most others have said though regarding freeborn lower castes. At most you get preferred pronouns, maybe you can spend what disposable "income" you have on your own elective HRT, but the Clan is not going to do it for you because it has no investment in doing so.

[Maingunnery]

"You, Scientist, you decanted this Trueborn warrior into a body that they do not feel is optimal for their performance. Change it to their desired configuration immediately."

They are more likely to shoot the involved scientists for making a critical mistake and then reave the entire sibko.

They are eugenicists and they do not care about any type of plastic procedures. 

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

They are more likely to shoot the involved scientists for making a critical mistake and then reave the entire sibko.

They are eugenicists and they do not care about any type of plastic procedures.

Maybe the Jaguars or Falcons would, but not every Clan.

[AlphaMirage]

We possess no indication that the Clans engage in cosmetic plastic surgery either however, thus it is entirely possible that they don't beyond the rough grafting of cybernetics or installation of cloned organs, both rather uncommon and technically challenging procedures. Now it is probable that the Scientist/Doctors that install these prostheses do some reconstructive work to incorporate them better but it is unlikely that you could elect to receive a non-essential procedure as such individuals are likely scarce and in high demand. It is not likely that the Exiles thought to bring along plastic surgeons on their one way trip (as part of their highly screening and self-selected members of the SLDF), and entirely within the realm of possibility that injuries such as severe facial trauma requiring reconstructive surgery are as likely to lead to abandonment and deprivation as reconstruction for most Clans, particularly for Warriors.

Warriors are also held to a much higher standard and thus they are doubly susceptible to being ousted from the Touman rather than necessarily privileged over the civilian castes except that you probably receive sufficient food. You are possibly more likely to receive a higher standard of medical care as a high ranking Merchant Factor or Scientist than you might expect a Warrior to receive. We are after all always making more via Iron Wombs and reject thousands of them every year.

[Gaiiten]

BTW I do not think that the Clans do have so-called human/soft "sciences" as to sociology and "genderlogy".

Todays idea of Gender (chosing your sex as you feel/you want and as often as you like) would be very alien to them. People who want to have precious resources for this used will face consequenses. At least a rebuke.
They would say "given your genetics you are male" or "you are female". "Live on with that."

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

On the reverse side, it's pretty rare for a society that's so lacking in gender-based prejudices or so permissive with sexuality to care that much about gender identity.  There's a considerable difference between accepting of gender identity and undergoing hormonal and surgical alterations.

[Jazzhands Licker]

I'm not going to answer for the Clans, as I am still learning much on them.  I can only speak on my experience living in remote places of extreme poverty on our planet.  Now, yes, this is comparing our modern world to a fictional world 1,000 years in the future, but I just have my experiences to draw on.

Rather than break it all down, I'll just ask a question:  Do they even have time to contemplate many of these issues?

What I mean by time is that when you're living in a resource-poor location (and poverty), you tend to have far different priorities.  The villages I've been do in Africa and the Pacific tended to have reinforced roles for everything (much like the caste system), and anything that could be considered a luxury (ie that doesn't directly contribute to the society) gets at best, the silent treatment, at worst punishment.  So, something that doesn't directly answer a question like "Have you met your quota?" would get either a simple "uh huh... but HAVE you met your quota?" or "hold on, I need to report you..."

But this may be my utter failure to understand the Clans.

Also, yeah, I thought only the Belters had the push-button medical system.

[cmerwin]

We possess no indication that the Clans engage in cosmetic plastic surgery either however, thus it is entirely possible that they don't beyond the rough grafting of cybernetics or installation of cloned organs, both rather uncommon and technically challenging procedures.

We actually do. It's mentioned in a couple of places, most famously with Trent Smoke Jaguar. In Exodus Road the doctors mention regrowing him an entirely new eye in less than 5 days, and the addition of synthetic skin across his head and face. The doctor is also clear that they could very easily repair the damage to his face, but that the Clan would not allow the squandering of medical resources for "vanity", having already repaired him enough to return him to active duty.

[Fire Scorpion IIC]

We actually do. It's mentioned in a couple of places, most famously with Trent Smoke Jaguar. In Exodus Road the doctors mention regrowing him an entirely new eye in less than 5 days, and the addition of synthetic skin across his head and face. The doctor is also clear that they could very easily repair the damage to his face, but that the Clan would not allow the squandering of medical resources for "vanity", having already repaired him enough to return him to active duty.

Exactly

Which means that even Smoke Jaguar medics are perfectly qualified to handle cosmetic surgery, they just don't do it unless they have to

Less fatuous Clan (which is pretty much all of them) would be practicing cosmetic surgery much more often than them

Like I said before, sci-fi levels of medical science so it wouldn't even be a big deal technically or resource wise

[glitterboy2098]

i'm not entirely sure that trueborns would have gender dysphoria or be transgender. the current research into it indicates that while there is a genetic component to being transgender, most of it derives from the prenatal enviromental conditions which can cause those genetics to manifest, and the times in which those conditions happen. with Trueborns being gestated in artificial wombs under very carefully controlled conditions, i suspect that the fetuses just wouldn't be exposed to whatever conditions would cause the mismatch of body and mind. and if for some reason, something happened that did, odds are the entire sibko would end up as such. but i suspect that dysphoria would be considered an unwanted traits by both the warrior caste and the eugenics program, and they'd study the records to figure out what happened in the ironwombs, and adjust their procedures to prevent it in future sibkos)

that said, the clan's freeborn population would likely have a fair percentage of people who are transgender and experience dysphoria. possibly more than IRL, given how rough the non-warrior populations have to live, which would expose pregnant people to all sorts of stresses and conditions that might effect their offspring.

[Jellico]

I think it is important to remember the appendix. It is a left over piece of evolution that the body doesn't really need any more. Everything alive is full of them. Human backs are notorious for being full of cludges to handle upright locomotion.

In terms of things a Clan scientist might want to modify or remove, gender is an after thought. It might get tweaked while selecting for aggression or stamina, but that is a accidental by-product. It is easy to imagine a tension between increasing testosterone and retaining reproductive capability for test downs. That is basic level stuff that will mess with brain chemistry.

But what I am saying is for the most part, gender won't be important enough to "fix" but could be taken all sorts of places by accident.

Exactly

Which means that even Smoke Jaguar medics are perfectly qualified to handle cosmetic surgery, they just don't do it unless they have to

Less fatuous Clan (which is pretty much all of them) would be practicing cosmetic surgery much more often than them

Like I said before, sci-fi levels of medical science so it wouldn't even be a big deal technically or resource wise

Hair dye. If you have ever seen a photo of the CCP you will know the importance of hair dye.

[cmerwin]

Like I said before, sci-fi levels of medical science so it wouldn't even be a big deal technically or resource wise

Agreed. I also think its interesting what counts as "fit for active duty". There are examples of Spheroid mechwarriors who still pilot a mech with only one eye, yet the Smoke Jaguars don't even blink at just regrowing, grafting, and replacing an entirely new eye for an un-Bloodnamed Star Captain in less than a week (technology which is currently waaaaay beyond our current 21st century abilities).

And I take your point about less fatuous Clans seriously. For almost any other Clan, except maybe CJF, these are easily achievable, non resource intense, operations that just need command authority. My own Clan leadership has the tendency to live well into their 90's, and I am sure they get nearly any medical treatment they want and we know of examples of Elementals having whole limbs regrown. Because at the end of the day, it really does cost more materiel to produce a Bloodnamed Elemental Star Colonel, than it does to just regrow their leg.

"Nurse John, what is on the docket this week?"
"Well Doctor Crick, the saKhan is coming in for his liver transplant, but that will probably just be outpatient."

If a commander wants one of their warriors to have gender confirming surgery or hormone therapy, it's scientifically easy for the Clans, and depending on the attitudes of the individual Clan, probably not a big deal.

[Metallgewitter]

Maybe the Jaguars or Falcons would, but not every Clan.

*cough* Vipers and Blood Spirits *cough*

Though I for one doubt thew Clan medicine even accounts for such things. You have to remember that the Clan's favor efficency over drawn out processes and have a waste not want not mentality. And while I tend to agree that the Clans have high medical capabilities in this particular field they probably stay strict to the man / woman structure. First off all we don't know how far medicine has reached at this point. Considering the Clans specialized on genetics, cloning of body parts and reconstructive surgery (partially with cybernetics) for warriors of high staus / high potential I doubt they would even dream of actually transforming a body to another gender just because the warrior demands it (not to mention I for one believe if a child in a sibko even utters things like "I feel I am not a boy / girl he or she will get the extra hards treatment or it's even off to the lower castes and then good luck with getting any real access to said medical help). And if we take today's medicine as basis I fear such an altered body needs still medical maintenance. Which is detrimental in a society where conflict is as regular as breathing.

You might find such  a technique more likely in the freewheeling Magistracy of Canopus (Cat girls anyone?) or in the Terran Belter societies. The Belters have even better medical overall knowledge then the Clans. Heck their normal born younglings have traits that are on par with vat born Clan children.

[rebs]

Maybe the Jaguars or Falcons would, but not every Clan.

*cough* Vipers and Blood Spirits *cough*

On the other end of the spectrum, I could see the Sea Foxes actually offering gender reassignment surgical procedures. 

But I have to agree with most people above that for the most part the Clans by-and-large aren't going to do this very often.  Mostly just if they are rebuilding a person after a catastrophic injury or illness.  And then not in all cases.  HRT is one thing, but the surgical procedures probably not.

Now, regarding waste.  I could see them designating such a procedure a "waste of time and resources" etc... but then how many OmniMechs get wrecked in all of these ToPs, every year, every generation, for how long?  Trials that are passed as well as failed. 

I know, this is hardly a shocking headline - NEWS FLASH, THE CLANS ARE GREAT BIG HYPOCRITES.

Even if this hypocrisy is built into their culture, it is worth noting and also wondering about how their views and practices may adjust with time in the Inner Sphere. 

[Alan Grant]

Since this thread appeared I've been wrestling a lot with how to contribute. I've poured over books I've poured over a hundred times, yet again, trying to find useful relevant clues that might hint at an answer. I've written, deleted, re-written more than one post. I eventually realized none of that mattered. It was all topic-adjacent at best. It didn't speak to this topic.

My central conclusion and thesis is thus: The Clans devote resources based on their own internal sense of priorities, and we don't know how they would perceive issues of gender identity as a priority. (unless there's something new that sheds light on this, new story published for example that I haven't read)

I know that probably sounds like a cop-out answer, but it isn't. There is a fundamental missing piece here. Show me where the Clans perceive this issue and in turn, I can start to formulate a coherent answer based on how we know the Clans allocate resources. Do they see it as an optional indulgence? Do they see it as an imperative to ensure to ensure the happiness of the individuals in the Clan? Do they see it as a strike against Clan style conformity, to be resisted? Or do they support this as a way to optimize productivity? We know the Clans dictate resources to individuals based on their value to the Clan, could that include this issue as well? Does the Clan tendency toward directness and honesty compel them to address this issue for sake of making Clanners who are being very direct and honest regarding their own identity into more satisfied members of the Clan? Do they perceive it some other way? (these are all rhetorical questions, you don't know the answer, not really, you can speculate, but you don't really know, neither do I, that's my point)

As-is. Unless we have seen something in some of the newer fiction that does shed light on the perception of the Clans on this issue (how they perceive it, how they would prioritize it in terms of resources), I can't draw a conclusion.

The good news is this. Since the Clans are such an alien culture, there isn't some inertia of history to tell us where the Clans SHOULD be on this issue. I can conceptualize and rationalize almost any position imaginable (and I can do it from book and page number references that address topics of productivity, or optimization, or happiness, or advanced medical technology, or societal norms surrounding sexual behavior, from Clan style directness and frankness to Clan tendencies toward conformity, to how the system of arranged marriages has divorced sexual identity from reproduction). From either extreme view, to the more mixed or moderated views. Yes it could also be sub-divided by caste or the individual's perceived value to the Clan and in turn the Clan's willingness to expend resources on that person. It can also differ by Clan, for sure. Note the different way I framed the various rhetorical questions (two paragraphs above).

The writers can pretty much do what this what they wish and I can see a path to justify that view (whatever it is). The field is pretty wide open on this one. The paths they can decide are a multitude that go off in many directions.

The real challenge then... is what the writers ACTUALLY do with this, and I think that day is coming. Once they do start to address this from the Clan perspective at all, then the path begins to narrow very quickly.

[cmerwin]

Since this thread appeared I've been wrestling a lot with how to contribute. I've poured over books I've poured over a hundred times, yet again, trying to find useful relevant clues that might hint at an answer. I've written, deleted, re-written more than one post. I eventually realized none of that mattered. It was all topic-adjacent at best. It didn't speak to this topic.
...
The real challenge then... is what the writers ACTUALLY do with this, and I think that day is coming. Once they do start to address this from the Clan perspective at all, then the path begins to narrow very quickly.

Alan, as always, your voice and viewpoints are balanced, canonically accurate, well thought through, and (by me) welcomed.

As an old grognard who started playing BattleTech in 1985, I'll respond (possibly unrequested) and add my hopes for the Writers.

My own hope is that the "Writers" take a complicated and nuanced approach to this, just as so much of BattleTech lore has already been nuanced. I agree with (and love the) statement Stackpole made when he wrote that "BattleTech has always been woke." But BattleTech has also always been complicated. Just like real life. I hope the writers write about Clans that are both tolerant and and intolerant, Clans that are "conformist" (at least within Clan culture) and "non-conformist". I think they've written and laid the ground work for many such Clans already.

I hope they continue to write in a way where BattleTech is for everybody. Clanners, and stravag Spheroids alike. ;-)

[Cannonshop]

Largely due to ignorance and bigotry. And completely besides my point. Jellico got it: orientation costs Clan society nothing, transgenderism does in fact have a cost. I’m leaving real-world political/social perspectives aside because they have no real relevance in what is essentially an alien culture.

This much, at least, I largely agree with.

Clan perspective now; What is the relative value to the Clan, given the Clan priorities, versus the investment necessary?  IOW, is it 'worth it' for the Clan to produce the necessary synthetic hormones for HRT, to have the cosmetic surgeons necessary for top or bottom surgery, and what is the payoff to the Clan for having resources dedicated to those things, versus an electro-whip to beat the lower caste into conforming with expectations or the bullets to shoot lower castes who are not meeting their quota?

Keep in mind something else, from WoK and not contradicted later, the average lifespan for a Laborer is 50 years old at best, which means a significant portion die well below fifty.

Is a Scientist Caste worth the investment? maybe...if they are VERY productive in turning out useful innovations (which doesn't happen all that often given the speed of 'innovation' since the Golden Century has been a crawl and the best ones thus far have been from desperation moves thanks to losing to the dirty primitives).

Merchant caste? probably not.

Laborers can forget about it, they're not going ot live long enough for it to matter, and they're imminently replaceable.

and what about the Warrior Caste?

Well...that's going to depend on two things: 1. is the necessary treatment even available, safe, and reliable?  2. is the Dysmorphia impacting the warrior's performance and will it actually be addressed by the change?

BrianDavion had it right in that under the Clans, everybody is PROPERTY, they're bred like livestock, traded on a bet, and denied mobility *You can't quit your job or move without permission.

This makes a lot of what we consider 'basic human rights' something more like privileges earned for good behavior and witheld  based on what is convenient for your immediate chain of command (pending Klingon promotions, which only are valid in the Warrior Caste.)