So, I thought I'd share a few of my musings to see what you all think. As I may have mentioned before, in my sad and meaninglessly lame obsession with Trek, I'm compiling my very own personal encyclopedia incorporating the 21st century Trek lit continuity (okay, continuities). I wanted to try a few thoughts out on my fellows here to see what they think of my interpretations. 
First:
The Andorians. As viewed under the modern Trek lit Heather Jarman-derived model, we not only have four sexes and four genders but we learn some interesting trivia about those sexes and genders- including the traditional ceremonial clothing and spiritual “virtue” of each (as well as their Guardian).
One thing that is quickly clear is that Andorians view things differently from humans. For example, the gender who receive the traditional virtue of “strength” are the zhen. That’s interesting, as it suggests the Andorian view of strength differs from most human ideas- at least those we’re familiar with. Whereas humans traditionally saw strength as a traditionally male virtue associated with the male role of provider/protector, and segregated it from the nurturer, child-raising role of the female, the Andorians equate strength with the child-bearing and child-rearing sex. Presumably, enduring childbirth in the dangerous conditions of frozen Andoria, caring for offspring and installing in the children the basic lessons needed to further the fortunes of the clan required, in Andorian terms, strength. Indeed, if we consider what we see of Andorian family life in Trek lit, I think we might make a case that traditional Andorian society is “matriarchal”, in the literal sense of mothers being the head of the family and the model for political authority. Don’t children take the zhen’s family name most of the time? Thirishar ch’Thane, after all. And Thriss shared her name with her zhavey, if I remember rightly. Also, as a happy serendipity, Pava Ek’Noor Aqabaa becoming sh’Aqabaa where her mother is Undeieela zh’Noor offers an explanation for her unusual name- ek’Noor is in there because she didn’t take her zhavey’s surname and needs it in there in another fashion? If we consider characters like Charivretha zh’Thane and Sessathantis zh’Cheen, they suggest that even now the matron of the clan- the leading zhen- is at least unofficially the most powerful political presence. Was the great Empress Thalisar the Last a zhen?
Anyway, as well as a virtue or value the genders also get traditional clothing- for the two “female” genders a variety of dress, where chans wear “warrior’s attire”, and the thaan wear chain-mail. So, I was thinking; Andorian civilization developed as partly subterranean around hot-springs (both Jarman’s DS9 Andorians and Enterprise Andorians established this prior to the two approaches’ reconciliation in later novels), the clan keep a warren of tunnels. The chans, according to Thelin in “The Chimes at Midnight” are the sex traditionally least involved in child-rearing- and if they wear warrior’s attire we can assume they were the hunter-gatherer/war-makers who operated outside the keep, so this makes sense. Their value is “wisdom”- the wisdom of the hunter-tracker, learning to read the signs of the natural world as he moved through it, outside the safety of the caves and the keep? After all, his gender’s Guardian is the Star Guardian, and the Tale of the Breaking insists he uses the stars as his guide. Then, the other default “male” sex, the thaans, were closer to home and so more involved in family life, and formed a defensive perimeter perhaps (hence the chain-mail?). Their value is “passion”- the passion of standing their ground and fighting in direct defence of their family within the keep? I guess maybe thaans also performed close-to-home labour professions. Their Guardian is Fire- the fire of passionate defence AND of the forge?
Maybe some of this type of labour was performed by shens too (as Andorian “females” are as tall or taller than “males” and we don’t know how physical power works for them they may have had “females” in those roles too). Either way, as we go further in, we have the shens, who I guess maintain the home and keep the supplies running between the “males” on the edge and the zhen and young deep inside. This makes sense- their Guardian is the Water Guardian, their virtue Blood. They are the flowing life-blood between the zhen/children and the males, the currents connecting it all. Then, deep in the centre of the keep, are the nurseries and schools, and the zhens caring for the young- with the zhens also having political authority and, perhaps, the leadership role, because it is their strength that allows them to succeed in the child-birthing nurturing role. That’s not to say there’s a hierarchy of moving inward- there’s no evidence that any of the sexes were considered “inferior” in any sense, only that zhens were associated possibly with leadership, their mothering associated with strength. The zhen, of course, have the Earth Guardian, strong protector -- as they, who embody strength, are buried in the earth, at the heart of the subterranean keep?
What do you think? Does this (of course highly over-simplified) model make sense as an explanation of Andorian gender norms, at least prior to the age of space travel and technology's role in making such strict divides pointless?
First:
The Andorians. As viewed under the modern Trek lit Heather Jarman-derived model, we not only have four sexes and four genders but we learn some interesting trivia about those sexes and genders- including the traditional ceremonial clothing and spiritual “virtue” of each (as well as their Guardian).
One thing that is quickly clear is that Andorians view things differently from humans. For example, the gender who receive the traditional virtue of “strength” are the zhen. That’s interesting, as it suggests the Andorian view of strength differs from most human ideas- at least those we’re familiar with. Whereas humans traditionally saw strength as a traditionally male virtue associated with the male role of provider/protector, and segregated it from the nurturer, child-raising role of the female, the Andorians equate strength with the child-bearing and child-rearing sex. Presumably, enduring childbirth in the dangerous conditions of frozen Andoria, caring for offspring and installing in the children the basic lessons needed to further the fortunes of the clan required, in Andorian terms, strength. Indeed, if we consider what we see of Andorian family life in Trek lit, I think we might make a case that traditional Andorian society is “matriarchal”, in the literal sense of mothers being the head of the family and the model for political authority. Don’t children take the zhen’s family name most of the time? Thirishar ch’Thane, after all. And Thriss shared her name with her zhavey, if I remember rightly. Also, as a happy serendipity, Pava Ek’Noor Aqabaa becoming sh’Aqabaa where her mother is Undeieela zh’Noor offers an explanation for her unusual name- ek’Noor is in there because she didn’t take her zhavey’s surname and needs it in there in another fashion? If we consider characters like Charivretha zh’Thane and Sessathantis zh’Cheen, they suggest that even now the matron of the clan- the leading zhen- is at least unofficially the most powerful political presence. Was the great Empress Thalisar the Last a zhen?
Anyway, as well as a virtue or value the genders also get traditional clothing- for the two “female” genders a variety of dress, where chans wear “warrior’s attire”, and the thaan wear chain-mail. So, I was thinking; Andorian civilization developed as partly subterranean around hot-springs (both Jarman’s DS9 Andorians and Enterprise Andorians established this prior to the two approaches’ reconciliation in later novels), the clan keep a warren of tunnels. The chans, according to Thelin in “The Chimes at Midnight” are the sex traditionally least involved in child-rearing- and if they wear warrior’s attire we can assume they were the hunter-gatherer/war-makers who operated outside the keep, so this makes sense. Their value is “wisdom”- the wisdom of the hunter-tracker, learning to read the signs of the natural world as he moved through it, outside the safety of the caves and the keep? After all, his gender’s Guardian is the Star Guardian, and the Tale of the Breaking insists he uses the stars as his guide. Then, the other default “male” sex, the thaans, were closer to home and so more involved in family life, and formed a defensive perimeter perhaps (hence the chain-mail?). Their value is “passion”- the passion of standing their ground and fighting in direct defence of their family within the keep? I guess maybe thaans also performed close-to-home labour professions. Their Guardian is Fire- the fire of passionate defence AND of the forge?
Maybe some of this type of labour was performed by shens too (as Andorian “females” are as tall or taller than “males” and we don’t know how physical power works for them they may have had “females” in those roles too). Either way, as we go further in, we have the shens, who I guess maintain the home and keep the supplies running between the “males” on the edge and the zhen and young deep inside. This makes sense- their Guardian is the Water Guardian, their virtue Blood. They are the flowing life-blood between the zhen/children and the males, the currents connecting it all. Then, deep in the centre of the keep, are the nurseries and schools, and the zhens caring for the young- with the zhens also having political authority and, perhaps, the leadership role, because it is their strength that allows them to succeed in the child-birthing nurturing role. That’s not to say there’s a hierarchy of moving inward- there’s no evidence that any of the sexes were considered “inferior” in any sense, only that zhens were associated possibly with leadership, their mothering associated with strength. The zhen, of course, have the Earth Guardian, strong protector -- as they, who embody strength, are buried in the earth, at the heart of the subterranean keep?
What do you think? Does this (of course highly over-simplified) model make sense as an explanation of Andorian gender norms, at least prior to the age of space travel and technology's role in making such strict divides pointless?
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The idea of base ideograms in the written language seems to fit, I guess. So here it is, my Bajoran dictionary. 
