Sexual Equity 02: Orientation

State Service Orientation

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New Dorset

From Openpedia, the free encyclopedia.

New Dorset is an island, and nation-state, in the northeast Pacific. Located 450 km southwest of the Baja California peninsula, it is the largest territory (other than Antarctica) to have no native population when first discovered by Europeans. It was first discovered in 1533 by Spanish explorers, but no Spanish presence was ever established, and it was disputed between Spain and Britain until Spain withdrew its claim in 1815. It was colonized by the British beginning in the early 1800s, and given its independence along with other British dominions in 1931.

New Dorset is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government, with a constitution in broad terms similar to that of the United Kingdom and many former British colonies, but governed under the unique principles of Sexual Equity...

[...]

Population of the provinces (duchies) of New Dorset

| Order | Province | Founded | Capital | Population, 2018 |

| :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | ---: |

| | *New Dorset* | *1815* | *Dorchester* | *8,671,074* |

| 1 | Bathurst | 1826 | Dorchester | 832,092 |

| 2 | Wilmot-Horton | 1826 | Portsmouth | 2,046,189 |

| 3 | Goderich | 1827 | Poole | 1,100,280 |

| 4 | Deltaland | 1867 | Stafford | 1,195,146 |

| 5 | Alicia | 1867 | Taylorville | 1,024,764 |

| 6 | Helenia | 1867 | Jenkins | 1,040,141 |

| 7 | Louisia | 1867 | Kibblewhite | 537,428 |

| 8 | Beatricia | 1867 | Packman | 895,034 |

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Twelve women in the their twenties and thirties, dressed in pantsuits or blazers and skirts, file in to the conference room and sit around the table. At first, they talk of their journeys here to the capital; soon he discussion turns to constituency office staffing and committee assignments. Finally an older woman, about fifty, comes in, wearing a "State Service Office" badge on a lanyard.

"Hello. Welcome to State Service Orientation. I'm Rebecca Upston, the Parliamentary Commissioner for State Service. Angela, who usually does new officeholder orientation, is off today, so you get me; I'm the head of the program. Thanks for coming on time. I know this seems uncomfortable and frightful for some of you, but don't worry, for almost everyone orientation, and service generally, turns out to be a good experience. Can you introduce yourselves? Just first names here. You can call me Rebecca."

They go around the room, and each says her name. Rebecca makes a point of repeating them back. "Georgia." "Eva." "Lucy." "Holly." "Bella." "Brooke." "Samantha." "Jasmine." "Sophie." "Madison." "Summer." "Elizabeth."

Rebecca says, "Great. And most of you are new members of the Legislative Assembly from — which province was it, Deltaland, right? Except Sophie, who won the federal by-election in MacVicar, and Lucy, who is the newest city council member in Poole. Her election was just two days ago. Thanks for coming down so quickly.

"Congratulations to all of you on running for and winning office, on being chosen to represent and lead your people. What we are here for today may not seem like it has much to do with what you do in the legislature, but you'll see that it does.

"I was an MP for twelve years and on my city council for four years before that, so even before this job, I did my share of state service. A lot of women come in with ideas about service that are pretty far off, so even though we provide you with written materials, we have everyone do an in-person orientation. You've all read the 'Your Service Obligation' booklet, right?" A series of nods.

"All right. Let's begin he orientation by letting me show you through your part of the selection process. Servitrixes — that's what we call women who have a service obligation — go online each month and sign up for service room assignments. By the way, in real life nobody ever calls them 'service rooms,' they're always called 'cribs,' except in the paperwork. Anyway, the Service Office will send you the date each month when you're eligible to select times and places. You get a different date depending on whether you're a minister, an MP, an MLA, or what. If it's available, you're allowed to choose any crib, anywhere. Usually, you'll want to pick one near where you work, but it's up to you."

She calls the web site up on the projector and goes through a sample assignment selection process. "You pick the number of appointments you need each month for your obligation. Each appointment time lasts an hour. Ten minutes at the beginning is for preparation and fifteen at the end is for clean-up, so if you have two crib assignments in a row, you'll have a twenty-five minute break in between."

"What if we forget to sign up?" asks Georgia.

"Well, you can always sign up late, and be limited to whatever crib spaces are available. We'll try to accommodate you if we can. Ultimately, it's your responsibility to make sure you can fulfil your service obligation. If you don't, you can end up before the Joint Disciplinary Committee, and ultimately lose your seat. So don't do that. Sign up early, get convenient crib assignments, do your service, and then go back and run the country. That's how service is supposed to work. All the details are on the help pages online."

"OK, so that's how you'll sign up. I want to give you a a general idea about how patrons —men who receive service — sign up too. Patrons sign up on a weekly basis instead of a monthly basis, and select their preferences from the service room assignments you've chosen. They select their preferred times and servitrixes, and the system matches them up. There are a lot more men who want to receive service than servitrixes to provide it, so there's a complicated system for building the waiting list. Patrons get priority firstly on how long they've been waiting, then on whether they live in the constituency of the woman in question, and last on whether they've received any honors -- lords, knights and members of the various orders of merit all have their own priority levels."

"I thought earls and lords could get service anytime they wanted," asked Lucy.

"No, just the duke of each province and the king. Nobles get some preference, but if a regular man with no honors has been waiting longer than an earl, he will get service even if the earl has to wait. Where the honors make a difference is in whether they get their first choice of servitrix.

Samantha asks, "Why do we sign up monthly when men sign up weekly?"

"It just works out better that way -- it allows women to establish their schedules in advance, which is especially important for women like the foreign minister, who has to make sure she squeezes in her service obligation in between foreign trips. For men, it's easier to pick appointment times closer to when they'll actually go, and weekly signups allow the waiting lists to shuffle more often, which gives a sense of progress, even if the wait isn't really any different in the long run. As long as you sign up on time for your assignments, the difference won't affect you.

"Oh, one other thing you should know: if a crib isn't being used, servitrixes can sign up to use it for whatever they want -- either take a friend down there, or just use the lounge to take a nap or something. Perk bookings open up at the beginning of the week, after any late assignments.

"Any other questions? OK, they should be ready for us in the cribs now."

Rebecca leads the women out of the conference room and into the hall. They pause in the Grand Hall on the way to the stairs. "Parliament House is a beautiful place to work. State service reminds us of our responsibility to the citizens, but the building reminds us how glorious our country is and what a privilege it is to lead it. We who work here are fortunate, especially the MPs. State service might seem like an heavy burden at times, but it's a small price to pay. I don't regret a day of it."

They descend a stairway and travel down another hall, and come to an alcove marked Service Rooms -- East, where two athletic men in their twenties are standing.

"Hello, Ms. Upston."

"Hello, gentlemen," says Rebecca. "These are two of our instructors. We don't use names for our patrons, so for now we'll just call them Mr. M and Mr. V." They exchange a round of greetings.

Rebecca addresses a woman in a security uniform sitting behind a glass window in the back of the alcove.

"Hi, Harper," says Rebecca. "Harper here is our first line of security. We know you are in a vulnerable position with you don't know, so we take security very seriously at the Service Office, especially here at Parliament House. We show you this side during orientation so you can feel confident in your safety. You've all gone through body scanners to get into Parliament House. Security's even tighter down here. No man can get into the cribs until the guard gives them a key and buzzes them in. Harper, can you check in Mr. M and Mr. V?"

Harper checks their IDs and then passes two plastic rings through the window, and the two men each take one. Mr. M puts the ring on a finger, then presses the ring to a badge reader next to a door; Harper presses a button and the door opens. A short hallway is visible, with another door at the other end. Rebecca says, "The door opens only when guard buzzes the doors at the same time the key is used. Every entrance and exit to the cribs is protected by a set of double doors, which can't open at the same time, so nobody can sneak through."

Mr. M leads the others through the hallway, and they find themselves in a room with a bench, a row of lockers, and a stack of what look like towels on a shelf above a hamper. There are doors marked To Exit and Washroom/Showers, and a hallway marked To Service Rooms.

Rebecca says "There are twenty cribs in Parliament House: seven in the south wing, ten in the west wing, and this the smallest set, with just three. Usually all the Parliament House cribs are pretty busy. Backbench MPs usually do service in Parliament House, as do ministers of the major departments like the Foreign Ministry and Defense, since those offices don't have their own cribs. Ministers whose offices are in the North and South Executive Buildings generally use the cribs there.

"This is the locker room for the east cribs. Men can't take anything into the cribs with them from the outside, anything at all. No clothes, no jewelry, nothing except their ring key. They have to take off everything and leave it here. Gentlemen, will you demonstrate?"

The instructors remove their shoes, pants, and shirts and put them in lockers. Mr. V removes a gold chain from around his neck; Mr. M removes a piercing from his ear, a gold ring from his finger, and a wristwatch. All go in the lockers. Finally, they remove their underwear, and turn around, facing the officeholders totally nude except for the plastic ring keys on their fingers. Rebecca says, "Please, take a good look," and the two instructors pause as the women examine them..

A few titters escape the women's mouths. Rebecca says, "We always get a few gigglers here at orientation. But you'll have to get used to seeing men like this. We'll talk more about that later. First, let's finish seeing security.

Meanwhile, Mr. M takes one of the cloths that look like towels. "These wraps are all patrons are allowed to wear," he says. "It's not much, but having something makes most of us more comfortable while we wait." He puts it around his lower torso and presses it closed. "There's no pockets or anything, so you can see why the keys are made like rings -- we don't have to worry about losing them. We need the ring to open our locker and get our clothes after service." Mr. V also takes a wrap and puts it on.

They continue on into the hallway marked To Waiting Room. In the hallway is another security checkpoint with a full-body scanner, with entry and exit doors; a male security officer stands behind a glass wall.

Rebecca says, "We're always extra careful. We know you're in the public eye and we don't want anything to happen to any of you. So we have another checkpoint here. Lucas here does a visual inspection, and then the scanner verifies that the man has left absolutely everything in the locker room."

The scanner door opens, Mr. M steps inside, and the door closes behind him. Lucas says, "Please remove your wrap, sir." Mr. M does, and the guard makes a point of examining him thoroughly. "You may put it back now, sir," says Lucas. Mr. M does so, and then Lucas operates the scanner, which is silent. "Thank you, sir," says Lucas, and the rear scanner door opens. Mr. M goes through the door, and it closes behind him.

Lucas goes through the same procedure with Mr. V. Rebecca says, "Only patrons are allowed in the waiting room, so we will be heading out now."

Bella says, "Is there something special in the waiting room that we can't see?"

"Yes, actually. Official portraits. At one point, it was decided that the old practice of displaying portraits of past and present ministers and officers of Parliament was one of the honors women would renounce. Instead, it was decided that official portraits would be made in the act of giving service, and they would be displayed in the waiting rooms to help patrons get in the proper mood."

Lucy is alarmed. "But they said service was private, that nobody got to see us."

"Well, nobody gets to see except the patrons. This is why you're not allowed in there. The waiting room is highly restricted. Nobody is ever allowed in except men waiting for service. Even I've never seen any of the official portraits except my own."

Sophie says, "I'd like to know about that."

Rebecca laughs. "Maybe later. Anyway, don't worry — only ministers and a few others are required to have their portraits posted, and in any case only the men actually waiting for service can see them. We can have no expectation of privacy from our patrons. And the portraits do an important job, of helping patrons get themselves ready for what is about to happen. It's just another kind of service."

"Anyway, when the woman in the crib signals that she's ready to begin, there will be an announcement in the waiting room. The man then uses his key to access the hallway that leads to the crib, and then the crib itself. The main security office has a door to the hall, to come if you call, and the hall is also used by housekeeping staff who wipe up and change the linens after every appointment.

"For now, our instructors will stay in the waiting room while we go around to the women's entrance."

Rebecca leads the women out through the locker room and a series of hallways with doors back to the service room entrance alcove. She counts the women, and says "Harper, we're all clear."

Rebeca leads the women back to the stairwell. "We actually have to go up and over to get to the women's entrances. We don't want any mistakes."

Lucy asks, "Are all cribs this secure?"

"Well, mostly. No matter what, we always have separate men's and women's entrances, and there's always a guard on the men's side who makes sure patrons can't bring anything inside, monitors who enters the cribs, and who is there to help if called. But all security is stronger for our national leaders. The truth is that we've never had a problem where somebody who wasn't supposed to be in a crib tried to get in to hurt someone, not even here in the capital."

Rebecca leads them up the stairs, back through a set of hallways, and down another stairway. At the bottom, a woman in a security uniform sits at a counter, behind another glass window with a locked door. Rebecca says, "Matilda here will check your IDs and buzz you in."

Matilda checks each ID before allowing the group through another set of double doors into another hallway, this one with doors labeled E1 through E3.

Rebecca says, "We're going to do most of the rest of orientation in E1, but that's an extra-large crib we use for orientations and other special occasions. Before we go there, I want to show you E2, which is a regular crib. The first room is your lounge, where you can freshen up. There's a small washroom with a toilet and shower, and an area where you can rest and change clothes. Then after that is the crib itself, which has a bed, a chair, and a stool. I'll explain that in a bit, but go on into E2 and see what it's like." Rebecca opens the door with her badge.

Each goes into E2 and looks around. The lounge has an area rug covering most of the floor, a daybed and a small clothes closet with a mirror on the door. The washroom is small but well stocked with toiletries. Next to the door to the crib is wall decoration reading "Happiness / Gratitude / Humility" and a small whiteboard marked "Today's code: 2701".

Inside the crib is a full-size bed, made up with just a fitted sheet. It's pressed up against the wall on one side, and on the other side there's a low chest of drawers. Across from it there's also a chair with a seat raised off the ground, and a very low stool in front of it. This room has a rug on the floor also. On the far wall is a door marked Men's Exit. Next to the door back to the lounge there are some push-buttons and a keypad.

After each has a look, Rebecca reaches into the E2 lounge, presses a button on the wall marked Finished, and exits the room, closing the E2 door behind her. Then she shows the officeholders into E1. The lounge here is similar, but much larger, with two couches and a large closet, and mirrors lining the walls; the washroom has a toilet and shower but also a whirlpool bath. It has the same decoration and whiteboard next to the crib door.

Rebecca says, "This is the biggest crib we have, which is why we use it for orientation: there's no way this many women could fit in E2. At the same time, E2 is much more like the cribs you'll be using. This room is booked up quickly.

"Now is when you will be first introduced to what State Service is really like. The first step is to change your clothes. You should remove everything: clothes, jewelry, hair bands, whatever you have on, and put on a service robe. Let me know if your robe is too long; it shouldn't go down to your knees." She opens the closet and hands each woman a garment bag and a thigh-length, very sheer robe.

Eva looks at the robe and asks, "What's the point of wearing this thing? There's not even any lace. They can see everything anyway, we might as well just be naked."

Rebecca says, "Yes, Eva, it doesn't hide anything, but that's not the point of wearing this. We provide service not only in what we do but in how we look, and not only in how we look to the men but how we look to ourselves. Nudity isn't necessarily sexy -- it can be pretty ordinary. We're all nude when we take baths, or change our clothes. These robes are a reminder, partially to the men but mostly to ourselves, that we are here in their service. In here, we reveal ourselves in every way, even If we wear a robe, even if we do what usually conceals. So we're more nude than nude in these. And before you ask, yes I'll be wearing one too. Out there, I'm a Parliamentary Commissioner; when I come in here, I'm a woman providing service, like any of you. Counselors and managers in the Service Office are the only women other than elected officials who have a citizen service obligation.

"So, please place your clothes in the garment bags; we'll put them in the closet."

Each of the women begins to remove her clothes and place them in the garment bag. As they do, Rebecca says, "Don't be shy about looking at each other. Servitrixes need to get used to being looked at." Each woman puts on her very thin and sheer robe, and hangs the bag in the closet. "Sophie, your robe is a little long —can you exchange with Bella? You don't want it to get caught on your knees." They exchange robes.