please do not add hate to this post, bring up the art book, or bring up the books/comics. thank you!
note that this is a PURELY watsonian analysis
it's a fascinating concept, isn't it? an entire culture as a single whole. the qun is strict, demanding, and inflexible: so, too, are bodies. your blood has to do what blood does. your limbs have to do what limbs do. your brain has to do what brains do
of course, the qun as a cultural body is fully aware that each qunari is an individual. the triumvirate - the arishok, arigena, and ariqun - are themselves individuals, after all. i have never felt that the qun as a whole devalues the individuals within it, especially given how they recruit for various roles
unlike the dwarven caste system, the qun fills its roles through the recommendations of the tamassrans. tamassrans as a role are a keystone in qunari society: they choose who will breed with who in order to develop specific genetic traits, raise young qunari and provide education, and notably assign individual qunari to their role within the qun based on an assessment of the individual
thus, each individual is suited to their role within the broader society, which aids in smooth functioning. this, of course, does not preclude any problems... but compared to the dwarven caste system or the human system of lineage, qunari are given roles based on them as individuals rather than who they are born to or how
interesting to note here that both tevinter and the qun breed for select genetic traits. i don't think either group would care for the comparison! but it's still true
while they do not devalue the individual, they also do not value individual liberty over collective unity. nor do they value the lives of individuals over the goals of their society. specifically, the qun attempts to spread itself, to convert, and does so with an incredibly long-game approach to the matter
and this works for them at a social, cultural, and political level, because it is not about an individual in the government wanting something and trying to achieve it within their lifetime. the man we first knew as sten and later knew as the arishok is not trying to assimilate the world, but advancing the overall goals of the qun - the goals of the body - within his lifetime. the border skirmishes they have with tevinter are not a full assault because a full assault is not something the body deems necessary or useful
and since they seek conversion rather than destruction, invading and laying waste would be counterproductive. the qun is many things, but it is rarely if ever counterproductive
given their emphasis on the whole over the individual, there does not appear to be any cultural valuing of one group over another. the soldiers are not better or worse than the bakers, who are not better or worse than the stonemasons, who are not better or worse than the scholars, who are not better or worse than the priests. my arm is not better than my lungs
and the distinction between vashoth and tal-vashoth ties into this. as an entity which wants to convert, the qun sees those who are of "qunari" descent - ie the so-called-but-not-really "kossith," the horned giants we think of when we think about "qunari" - but who were born outside of it as potential converts. comparatively, tal-vashoth, those who have abandoned the qun, are seen as irredeemable. they appear to be the sole group who the qun views as irredeemable and unable to be converted. to know, really know, and to still reject the body appears to be the worst "crime," so to speak, one can commit against the qun
the perspective of the body also makes sense of the "aqun-athlok" thing. it is not a transgender identity, not as such, but the qun has gender roles within its culture. and if the tamassrans select someone for a role that goes against their gender, then that gender is changed; they are aqun-athlok. but even to say the gender is "changed" is inaccurate: i think it's more accurate to view it as the gender is revealed following the results of the assessment. genitalia doesn't matter to the qun, outside of the province of the tamassrans who selectively breed. gender identity does not matter to the qun. nonetheless, they do have gender roles in their society, and the gender is dictated by the role, not the other way around
to further this conversation, there is the potential that roles are not gendered in the way we think of things being gendered, but rather that qunlat has inherent distinctions between roles as part of their linguistic structure, distinctions that may not translate particularly well. which may have led to the shifting from "the tamassrans are [specific qunlat word]" to "the tamassrans are [rough translation to other languages]" to "the tamassrans are women" <- this has no basis in canon afaik, but is an interesting thought nonetheless, and not entirely unrealistic
