Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Weddings and social participation

I said in a previous post that in FatLand 3, people will agree that it is time to start constructing things like wedding halls and hair salons.

But it actually took quite a while before FatLand even formalized the civil and legal wedding process. Frankly not a lot of FatLanders were thinking of getting married during the first few years. There was too much to think of and to do, and -the bugaboo- many lacked the self-esteem to participate in courtship. The block counselors were able to help with some of this by encouraging people to get out and have fun in FatLand. But the extra impetus toward self-esteem had to develop over time.

It developed when people started to walk around and see that not only were there a lot of people shaped as they were, but that they were not experiencing harassment or stigmatization of any kind. That was the first step.

The second step was to start participating in social activities - sometimes as minor as going to a cafe for lunch or stopping off to pick up a soft drink or candy or fruit.

The third step was to start talking to people. Not just casually, although that was starting to occur as people were walking around. But for a little longer, and more deeply.

The fourth step was getting together at/having parties or going to a Festival together (FatLand doesn't have all those festivals just so people can eat and sing - although it helps).

The fifth step... :)

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