this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2023
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It has occurred to me that Vulcan must have some form of sex industry to handle those going through Pon Farr who aren't currently married or otherwise involved. Otherwise, they'd have constant issues with violence from those suffering the "blood fever" whose spouse was far away, or had died, or for some other reason had no one to mate with.

Given Vulcan attitudes towards sex, it's probably kept out of sight, and is only "officially" available to those experiencing their "Seven Year Itch," but it has to exist, right?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

From that voyager episode with horny belana we learn that Vulcans are basically assigned a mate, so the chances are slim that a vulcan would need release without an outlet. And aside from that, the ponfarr can also be dealt with through meditation and discipline, probably particularly created for the situations you mention where there actually is no partner available.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Vorik and Tuvok both claim the problem can be dealt with through meditation, but both of them also fail to resolve the issue in this way, so we don't know if that's actually an effective treatment.

There's also lots of ways a Vulcan could end up single, not to mention we've seen at least two instances of Vulcans rejecting their arranged marriages (T'Pol and T'Pring), so there's no guarantee any given Vulcan has a mate, despite their customs.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

In the T'Pring case, we also see that sex isn't the only outlet. A fight to the death is just as effective, with Spock ending up not needing to bed T'Pring, having resolved his Ponn Farr by fighting Kirk.

While the cultural custom is a fight to the death, it is possible that some form of extended, high-stakes physical combat might be enough to relieve things, but Vulcan sensibilities might simply prevent them from choosing that as an option.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

This is true, and ultimately fighting is how Vorik's Pon Farr is resolved as well. So there could also be a Vulcan fight club for those afflicted.