Will V's gender be revealed--official word? [Archive]

137beth

2011-10-02, 04:14 PM

I think the truth is that V's gender is irrelevant to the story and the character, so it's unlikely that it ever gets revealed, since its ambiguity is the source of so much comic material.

Neither of those points would be issues after the strip ends, though...

I'd actually be very dissapointed in him if he does, because it's such a fun joke and it will be ruined if he does give V a gender.
Point taken. Plus, if it's never revealed, the gender debate threads will continue looooooooong after the last book.

Whiffet

2011-10-02, 04:32 PM

My favorite theory on this came from... uh... let me find it...

Okay! It came from Capt Spanner on the Unresolved Plot Point Collection thread. :smalltongue:

My theory for the end of the strip:

:elan: : "So we've killed Xykon, Nale and Sabine have been brought to justice, Redcloak's repented his sins, we saved Vaarsuvius' soul from the IFCC, liberated Azure City, saved the world from being unmade in the nick of time and - most importantly - fallen in love. I have just one question. V, are you a boy or a girl?"

:vaarsuvius: "I'm a grown adult, you moron."

:elan: "I know, Vaarsuvius. What I mean is are you a man or a woman?"

:vaarsuvius: "This is hardly relevent, but purely to satisfy your idle curiosity I am a - "

:roy: "Everyone! End of story arc shot! Quick!"

:elan: *During pose* "So what is it?"

:vaarsuvius: "It's - "

THE END!

Qwertystop

2011-10-02, 04:54 PM

Or someone finds out which it is, but it isn't on-panel. The most you ever hear is people saying that's what they thought V was, or that they're surprised at it.

NerfTW

2011-10-02, 05:16 PM

Or someone finds out which it is, but it isn't on-panel. The most you ever hear is people saying that's what they thought V was, or that they're surprised at it.

Well, V's mate certainly knows his/her real gender, if elves even have the same genders as humans. (Lirian being the only elf we've seen with clearly defined secondary sexual characteristics) So somebody knows.

There's a good chance Haley, being a close friend, also knows, simply by virtue of having known her for so much longer, and being a bit more perceptive than Roy and Belkar (shown to be fairly naive about other races) and Durkon (pretty ignorant of any culture/race outside Dwarves). Elan might know, given that he's never mentioned any confusion.

But as said, it's not really relevant to the character at all. Even if a gender were mentioned, what does that tell us? It would force people to start perceiving V under the filter of traditional gender roles. (As noted by one person insisting that V's mate was female by virtue of being a baker)

TreesOfDeath

2011-10-02, 05:49 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SX3JnUhTaE&feature=related

Its a running gag so...

Noir0

2011-10-02, 06:18 PM

Y'know, it's definitely too late.

It'd be similar to J.k Rowling saying dumbledore was gay when it had no relevance to the plot at ALL.

Owait...

No, it'd be like giving the Doctor from Doctor Who his actual name. It can never live up to the hype.

It's slightly diffrent in v's case since it's a 50/50 chance, but i still believe it wouldn't be benificial in away and actually a detriment to v's character growth.

Knowing too MUCH of something can ruin it forever. The devil is in the details after all.

137beth

2011-10-02, 08:50 PM

Y'know, it's definitely too late.
But V originally HAD a gender...

Nevereatcars

2011-10-02, 09:10 PM

But V originally HAD a gender...

Yeah, for like five strips.

ref

2011-10-02, 09:53 PM

He could draw two "alternate reveals" (or maybe more) where V is revealed as male in one and as a female in the other one. That would be cool.

Sith_Happens

2011-10-02, 11:51 PM

Or someone finds out which it is, but it isn't on-panel. The most you ever hear is people saying that's what they thought V was, or that they're surprised at it.

Or Belkar's ghost ends up learning a bit more about reptile reproductive anatomy (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0177.html), but is too traumatized to tell anyone.

Anderlith

2011-10-03, 12:38 AM

In one page the party is at an inn, all the boys are in one room & Haley & V are in another. They are talking about "orbs". This seems to point out that V is a girl

Mira_Man

2011-10-03, 12:52 AM

They were talking about Haley's orb, though V did mention that (his/hers) weren't as big.

Of course, given the confusion, utter irrelvance and the sheer giggles/snicker factor, I don't see why V's big reveal is that (he/she)'s be a transexual. Just to muddy the waters a little more.

Fallen Angel

2011-10-03, 01:15 AM

I remember a comic with V's cloak bulging.. maybe I'm remembering it?

I vote that Elves in the comic have the same genders as Narn. (Oh, I think V was refered as 'Mother'. Might be wrong. Would still work with my theory.)

Comrade

2011-10-03, 01:20 AM

I hope it's revealed....and at the same time I hope not :v I have, however, gone this whole time seeing Vaarsuvius as a male. I just cannae imagine (s)he as a female for some reason :v

tassaron

2011-10-03, 02:49 AM

I understand why some people would want to debate V's sex, but not why some people seem to think that it's going to be revealed at the end. It's a running gag, not a plot point. There wouldn't be any point.

Kish

2011-10-03, 04:32 AM

In one page the party is at an inn, all the boys are in one room & Haley & V are in another. They are talking about "orbs". This seems to point out that V is a girl
You would seem to remember all of that strip except the punchline.

Cizak

2011-10-03, 05:00 AM

Well, V's mate certainly knows his/her real gender, if elves even have the same genders as humans. (Lirian being the only elf we've seen with clearly defined secondary sexual characteristics) So somebody knows.

I'd say the dark skinned leader (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0707.html) is pretty clearly male. Although he hasn't interacted with anyone in a romantical or sexual way, so this forum will probably still debate that.

KillianHawkeye

2011-10-03, 06:16 AM

I'd say the dark skinned leader (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0707.html) is pretty clearly male. Although he hasn't interacted with anyone in a romantical or sexual way, so this forum will probably still debate that.

I actually didn't read anything in that strip to "clearly identify" that character as being male OR female FWIW. Unless you're implying that leadership itself is a male trait? :smallconfused::smallsigh::smallannoyed:

Cizak

2011-10-03, 06:37 AM

I actually didn't read anything in that strip to "clearly identify" that character as being male OR female FWIW. Unless you're implying that leadership itself is a male trait? :smallconfused::smallsigh::smallannoyed:

Yes, that exactly what I'm saying. Didn't you get that? I linked to a comic where a charater looks like a male, with a square body and eyes at male level. How can you not get that is me telling you women can't be leaders? I mean, seriously.

Gift Jeraff

2011-10-03, 06:39 AM

Rectangular body and his eyes seem to be on the same level as male characters. The short hair certainly helps. (Not that there's anything wrong with women with short hair.)

EDIT: Ninja'd.

Fishman

2011-10-03, 06:48 AM

Although not explicitly stated, the Elven Commander had a square figure, in contrast to his subordinate's round figure. So far, all characters depicted with rounded figures are female, while characters depicted consistently with square figures are usually-male, although some ambiguous cases exist when see at low detail. The Elven Commander, however, is seen dominating a frame of reasonable size, and it can be reasonably concluded that he is probably-male. Not all elves appear gender-ambiguous.

V, on the other hand, is depicted always in a wizard robe and therefore has no figure, with an ambiguous hairstyle and manner. It's possible elves actually have 3 genders.

jidasfire

2011-10-03, 07:43 AM

(Lirian being the only elf we've seen with clearly defined secondary sexual characteristics)

You know, now that you mention it, based on that, and everything we've seen with elves in the strip otherwise, Lirian must be the elven equivalent of Marilyn Monroe. Weird.

squidbreath

2011-10-03, 07:48 AM

^ not the same type of elf as V and their mate though ;P

Y'know, it's definitely too late.

It's slightly diffrent in v's case since it's a 50/50 chance, but i still believe it wouldn't be benificial in away and actually a detriment to v's character growth.

Without going into all the ways that you can be castrated / mutilated and born intersexed, some cultures have more than three genders. (granted, they're usually tribal)

I also have a feeling that V doesn't think of itself as having one, bit like a robot.

iBear

2011-10-03, 11:55 AM

Didn't the Giant say at one point that V's gender changes in his own mind as he writes the strips?

The only thing a gender reveal would accomplish is, as someone said, forcing V into preconceived gender roles. If V is a female, fan art of her in a bikini with Haley will start appearing, and that's about it.

Just think of V's genitals as you would Schrodinger's cat.

Mystic Muse

2011-10-03, 12:14 PM

The only thing a gender reveal would accomplish is, as someone said, forcing V into preconceived gender roles. If V is a female, fan art of her in a bikini with Haley will start appearing, and that's about it.

You'd probably already be able to find said fan art.

Nimrod's Son

2011-10-03, 12:15 PM

Just think of V's genitals as you would Schrodinger's cat.
...Possibly dead?

the_tick_rules

2011-10-03, 12:17 PM

FujinAkari

2011-10-03, 03:57 PM

Might happen but doubt it, unless the comic ever ends.

The Comic is absolutely going to end. Rich has a specific story planned and that is all he intends to tell, he isn't going to keep dragging it out like some fantasy series I could mention :P

WickedWizard17

2011-10-03, 05:31 PM

Oh my GODS. Can this debate please end? V does not have ANY gender!!!! He doesn't even know what it is!!!! There will be no reveal, because there is nothing TO reveal!!!!

KillianHawkeye

2011-10-03, 05:56 PM

Yes, that exactly what I'm saying. Didn't you get that? I linked to a comic where a charater looks like a male, with a square body and eyes at male level. How can you not get that is me telling you women can't be leaders? I mean, seriously.

Rectangular body and his eyes seem to be on the same level as male characters. The short hair certainly helps. (Not that there's anything wrong with women with short hair.)

I said I READ the strip. Sorry, but I don't waste my time fixating on absurd details like "eye level" or whatever. :smallannoyed::smallsigh:

Qwertystop

2011-10-03, 07:27 PM

Oh my GODS. Can this debate please end? V does not have ANY gender!!!! He doesn't even know what it is!!!! There will be no reveal, because there is nothing TO reveal!!!!

1: This debate is not on V's gender.
2: No need to rage, I'd assume you can just ignore the thread.
3: I would assume that V has a gender, and that V knows what it is, as there is at least 1 elf with a clear gender (Lirian), possibly several more (all elves not wearing body-shape-concealing robes or similar), and a half-elf with a clear gender (Pompey).

Siosilvar

2011-10-03, 09:21 PM

I said I READ the strip. Sorry, but I don't waste my time fixating on absurd details like "eye level" or whatever. :smallannoyed::smallsigh:

That's not an absurd detail. Every female character the Giant makes has eyes lower on the head than male characters.

Roy's eyes are at the male level, Belkar's eyes are at the male level, etc. Haley's eyes are at the female level, as are Celia's, etc.

V's eyes are in between.

Interestingly, I think a couple people measured Inkyrius's eyes and found that they were male-height.

ORione

2011-10-03, 10:39 PM

3: I would assume that V has a gender, and that V knows what it is, as there is at least 1 elf with a clear gender (Lirian), possibly several more (all elves not wearing body-shape-concealing robes or similar), and a half-elf with a clear gender (Pompey).

Indeed, the fact that there can be half-elves implies that elves have genders.

Kish

2011-10-04, 03:37 AM

Interestingly, I think a couple people measured Inkyrius's eyes and found that they were male-height.
If anyone did, I sure didn't see them post it, so this looks like Telephone Game to me.

Tricia

2011-10-04, 07:04 AM

Inkyrius's eyes were purple monkey dishwasher?

Cizak

2011-10-04, 07:22 AM

I said I READ the strip. Sorry, but I don't waste my time fixating on absurd details like "eye level" or whatever. :smallannoyed::smallsigh:

So you immediately read it as "Look at this strip. I think women are incapable of being leaders"?

KillianHawkeye

2011-10-04, 07:28 AM

That's not an absurd detail. Every female character the Giant makes has eyes lower on the head than male characters.

Roy's eyes are at the male level, Belkar's eyes are at the male level, etc. Haley's eyes are at the female level, as are Celia's, etc.

V's eyes are in between.

Interestingly, I think a couple people measured Inkyrius's eyes and found that they were male-height.

I'm sorry, but that IS an absurd detail because WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER MEASURE THAT?????!?!?!??!? The fact that it is consistent doesn't make it any less absurd that people are actually taking visual clues from a webcomic at the pixel level. Admit it, that is something that would only be noticed by a person who is obsessed with minor details.

Personally, I have never noticed or cared about how a particular character is drawn, because I read this comic for the banter and story (and occaisional RPG jokes). I'm not about to get caught up in minutiae such as "which foot is bigger" in a FRIGGIN' STICK FIGURE COMIC!!!! Because, in my opinion, that is just missing the point. :smallannoyed:

So you immediately read it as "Look at this strip. I think women are incapable of being leaders"?

No. I read the strip, found no indication of gender whatsoever, and decided that the only distinguishing factor was that the character possessed leadership qualities. And since you claimed that the character (whose only defined trait was being the leader) was obviously male, what did you expect me to think?

Nimrod's Son

2011-10-04, 08:17 AM

Admit it, that is something that would only be noticed by a person who is obsessed with minor details.
You mean you honestly can't tell that Roy's eyes have moved down in the first panel here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0235.html) just by glancing at it?

Sorry, but the fact that females' eyes are lower down on the heads than males' in OotS is both easily visible to the naked eye, and regularly mentioned on these forums in discussions about elves and gender.

Qwertystop

2011-10-04, 08:44 AM

Indeed, the fact that there can be half-elves implies that elves have genders.

Not necessarily. You can add half-templates to Oozes. Half-elf-Half-human is just so common there's a race for it instead of a half-elf template.

Cizak

2011-10-04, 09:11 AM

No. I read the strip, found no indication of gender whatsoever, and decided that the only distinguishing factor was that the character possessed leadership qualities. And since you claimed that the character (whose only defined trait was being the leader) was obviously male, what did you expect me to think?

That only males can be murderers, obviously.

FujinAkari

2011-10-04, 10:13 AM

I'm sorry, but that IS an absurd detail because WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER MEASURE THAT?????!?!?!??!? The fact that it is consistent doesn't make it any less absurd that people are actually taking visual clues from a webcomic at the pixel level. Admit it, that is something that would only be noticed by a person who is obsessed with minor details.

It isn't even beginning to border on absurd. A casual glance at the comic will show you that eyes tend to be lower on female faces, and once you notice that it is simple logic to actually go and measure it...

Lira

2011-10-04, 11:36 AM

I'm sorry, but that IS an absurd detail because WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER MEASURE THAT?????!?!?!??!? The fact that it is consistent doesn't make it any less absurd that people are actually taking visual clues from a webcomic at the pixel level. Admit it, that is something that would only be noticed by a person who is obsessed with minor details.Rich Burlew himself mentioned on the forums that he draws females with their eyes lower. I didn't notice any measurements happening before he said that, so I imagine that's why people first really noticed and started applying it to characters with ambiguous genders. There's no need to get condescending and rude about it.

Siosilvar

2011-10-04, 01:55 PM

Rich Burlew himself mentioned on the forums that he draws females with their eyes lower. I didn't notice any measurements happening before he said that, so I imagine that's why people first really noticed and started applying it to characters with ambiguous genders. There's no need to get condescending and rude about it.

^ This.

I'm not sure one can claim something's an absurd detail unless it's actually ridiculous. It's a detail, and although it might seem trivial, it makes a big difference in the way we see the characters.

For example, in this recent strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0802.html) Z and V have the same body, but Z looks definitely more male than V does. Why? Aside from prior knowledge (a few hundred strips back), Z's eyes are higher than V's are. You don't have to be looking specifically at it to notice the difference.

Comrade

2011-10-04, 05:40 PM

If V is a female, fan art of her in a bikini with Haley will start appearing, and that's about it.

Do want.

Wait....no. I said nothing. Nothing at all.

ORione

2011-10-04, 08:13 PM

You mean you honestly can't tell that Roy's eyes have moved down in the first panel here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0235.html) just by glancing at it?

This (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0249.html) is a better example of what you're saying, because you can see female Roy and male Roy.

SovietCommissar

2011-10-05, 09:25 AM

While V's gender is a veritable Schrödinger's cat, I'd rather not be thinking about the potential swimsuit spread he/she/it/both would be starring in with Haley. Just sayin'.

The Dark Fiddler

2011-10-05, 07:57 PM

He could draw two "alternate reveals" (or maybe more) where V is revealed as male in one and as a female in the other one. That would be cool.

And which one you see is determined randomly, for ultimate hilarity when people go to the discussion thread and say things like "I always knew V was a x" and "Uh, dude, it says right there that V's a -x..."

John Cribati

2011-10-06, 01:32 PM

And which one you see is determined randomly, for ultimate hilarity when people go to the discussion thread and say things like "I always knew V was a x" and "Uh, dude, it says right there that V's a -x..."

You, sir, win an internet for the art of trolling.

FujinAkari

2011-10-06, 06:31 PM

You, sir, win an internet for the art of trolling.

How was that trolling in any way, shape, or form? It sounds like an awesome idea to me...

Gift Jeraff

2011-10-06, 06:35 PM

He's saying that would be a great way of trolling the fans.

J's

2011-10-06, 08:07 PM

In one page the party is at an inn, all the boys are in one room & Haley & V are in another. They are talking about "orbs". This seems to point out that V is a girl

Here: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0123.html
But like Roy calling V "V-Man", it was done for the gag. Accept that Giant has fun playing with it, let the argument go and enjoy the story and jokes.
And people follow my suggestion and the world ends as the world stops spinning in surprise.

irenicObserver

2011-10-08, 12:11 PM

Oh look, someone is beating a dead horse again. You could probably use Animate Dead, but the undead don't really respond to pain either.

Lord.Sorasen

2011-10-08, 03:44 PM

Not necessarily. You can add half-templates to Oozes. Half-elf-Half-human is just so common there's a race for it instead of a half-elf template.

That's not quite true, though, as half-elves are defined in their fluff very clearly as having an elf parent and a human parent.

Qwertystop

2011-10-09, 04:52 PM

That's not quite true, though, as half-elves are defined in their fluff very clearly as having an elf parent and a human parent.

My point was that it;s possible to be half-something even if one of the halves has no gender, so the existence of half-elves doesn't mean elves have genders. Personally, I think they do, but I just wanted to point out that something previously said wasn't a reason.