V's Gender Debate IV [Official]

[Highwarlord]

Well, we've now seen V's 2 androgenous children and androgenous spouse. Seems the Giant's keen on keeping us in the dark

Edit: Whoah, there's no 629 thread up yet O.o

[Annon]

So...what? Is no one going to comment here now that we've seen V's mate?

Personally, he/she seems more ambiguous to me than the V-man/woman him/herself.

[Prak]

hmm... I'd bet this has been brought up in other threads on this same topic, but...
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0028.html

With Roy's and Belkar's reactions to the implication that V checked out Elan's "blade" they either know, or, more likely, assume, that V is male.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I should have been the one to call you on that.

On another note, why is "penis" not blocked by the word filter but "****oris" is blocked? Gender inequality, says I! The Minx is not happy.

well, a word that is slang for penis and short for Richard is blocked, so apparently we can talk about naughty bits academically, but not "naturally."
****oris get's partially filtered because it contains the "offensive" word, but apparently the entire word isn't offensive, otherwise the whole thing would be a line of asterisks.

[Raenir Salazar]

V referred to her Mate as a Baker not a Bakeress.

Gotcha Now.


Unless Baker is a Unisex term and inwhich drat, foiled again by this meddling kids.

[Rettu Skcollob]

I'm pretty sure that Baker doesn't carry any masculine or feminine connotations. 'Bakeress' sounds kind of like a supervillain though, so kudos.

[Shanty Man]

I'm pritty sure that baker is a unisex term and you don't need to say bakeress,
sorry Rich has accaped from yore grasp and yore evil laphter is wasted.

[DigoDragon]

I guess this is a "Thank you Raenir, but the princess is in another castle" kind of deal. Of course it's still possible V and the mate are the same sex and they adopted. I mean those kids don't really look like 'em (Unless this elven culture trades children around as part of their culture).

[King of Nowhere]

If the dragon skins V's mate, maybe we will know...

[KilltheToy]

Baker is a unisex term. And even if it wasn't, there's always the possibility V is gay. You never know.

EDIT: It would seem I've been ninja'd.

[The Neoclassic]

Not only is baker not a male or female term, but you entirely ignore that V could be in a gay relationship. Even if it could be proven that V's mate was male, you'd have to prove that they were both married and that elven law only allowed heterosexual couples to marry to use that as a proof of V being female. Sorry!

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Actually, I was going to make the reverse argument...

Since both Aarindarius and Vaarsuvius have purple, parted down the middle hair, and wear robes in the same fasion, and Vaarsuvius CLEARLY called Aarindarius Master and not Mistress, V must be MALE!!!

I win the Internets! I win the Internets! No one can deny me! Lalalala!

Or... Maybe V's the female, since her husband is clearly an expert in putting "Buns in the Oven!"

Meh... Still not solved.

[CreganTur]

I wonder if V might be female- and here's my reasoning:

The body styles between males and females in OoTS is very distinctive. Males have a completely square torso, and females have a curvy, organic torso. V's mate clearly has the masculine torso, while V's torso shape cannot be determined due to the robes.

Now the question is: are ther other instances where Rich draws masculine females? What do other females wearing robes look like- are they androgenous, or can you clearly see the female body-type's curves under the robe.

[factotum]

What you can see of the naked V's body in strip #186 also appears square and masculine, which kind of torpedoes that theory...

[Nimrod's Son]

"Bakeress" is not even a real word.

[Kaytara]

I wonder if V might be female- and here's my reasoning:

The body styles between males and females in OoTS is very distinctive. Males have a completely square torso, and females have a curvy, organic torso. V's mate clearly has the masculine torso, while V's torso shape cannot be determined due to the robes.

Now the question is: are ther other instances where Rich draws masculine females? What do other females wearing robes look like- are they androgenous, or can you clearly see the female body-type's curves under the robe.

We see females in robes with rather obvious curves. Sangwaan and the other spellcasters in Azure City are good examples.
The problem is that they are humans. Elves are generally much slimmer and less busty than humans, so it would make sense that, being both thin and nearly flat-chested, their curves would be difficult to spot underneath robes. We see a couple of robed elves in SoD and they have the same bodytype as V. We have yet to see any confirmed female robed elves.

[Draz74]

V referred to her Mate as a Baker not a Bakeress.

There is no possible way the Giant could be paying this much attention to the word Baker, without turning it into some kind of friendly jab against his personal arch-nemesis, Keith Baker.

Elves are generally much slimmer and less busty than humans, so it would make sense that, being both thin and nearly flat-chested, their curves would be difficult to spot underneath robes. We see a couple of robed elves in SoD and they have the same bodytype as V. We have yet to see any confirmed female robed elves.

I don't know how much water this holds, considering how feminine certain elves without heavy robes manage to look.

[Optimystik]

Actually, I was going to make the reverse argument...

Since both Aarindarius and Vaarsuvius have purple, parted down the middle hair, and wear robes in the same fasion, and Vaarsuvius CLEARLY called Aarindarius Master and not Mistress, V must be MALE!!!

I win the Internets! I win the Internets! No one can deny me! Lalalala!

Or... Maybe V's the female, since her husband is clearly an expert in putting "Buns in the Oven!"

Meh... Still not solved.

Pretty much this. I'm still leaning toward "gay male" myself.

[DrivinAllNight]

Well if color is anything to go buy, V's magic is PINK colored, and V's speech squares in the 630 strip are pink as well, so that could be female. Not that this is scientific or anything but just another thought.

[SlightlyEvil]

Personally, I think the V-is-male, mate-is-female theory to be the least likely. When has Rich gone with the sanest theory? It's not as funny that way.

[darkninjaoflight]

Why do the funny threads get mostly serious replies

[MCerberus]

Personally, I think the V-is-male, mate-is-female theory to be the least likely. When has Rich gone with the sanest theory? It's not as funny that way.

It is when these kinds of threads constantly pop up. Sometimes I imagine Rich as a puppeteer sitting high above these forums yelling, "Dance, my puppets!"

[Kaytara]

I don't know how much water this holds, considering how feminine certain elves without heavy robes manage to look.

Which is why I used the word "generally".

Really, now. If humans can have such wildly ranging cup sizes I don't see why the same shouldn't apply for elves. Not to mention that elves are depicted as being pretty much anorexic, which would eliminate just about any hint of breasts on an average human female, too.

Basically, I think that if we see clearly-gendered elves, it's the race showing some variety.
If we see androgynous elves, it's Rich further screwing with us by establishing the norm for his elves.

[Yendor]

We see females in robes with rather obvious curves. Sangwaan and the other spellcasters in Azure City are good examples.
The problem is that they are humans. Elves are generally much slimmer and less busty than humans, so it would make sense that, being both thin and nearly flat-chested, their curves would be difficult to spot underneath robes. We see a couple of robed elves in SoD and they have the same bodytype as V. We have yet to see any confirmed female robed elves.

I'm surprised you don't have your own set, V.
I do, actually, but they are not nearly so large.

[Optimystik]

When has Rich gone with the sanest theory?

When it sparks the most pointless debate. See also "Belkar is Chaotic Evil."

[Emilinah Adams]

V already has a mate. She/he has shown no interest in hooking up with any of the main characters...or any characters for that matter so what does V's gender matter? The joke was funny for a while but it's not really funny anymore and doesnt really matter because it does not impact the story in any way. Now if for some reason V showed sexual interest in Roy or Hailey then the question of gender would become important but for now its one of those things that doesnt matter in the slightest except for cheap jokes.

[The Minx]

I'm surprised you don't have your own set, V.
I do, actually, but they are not nearly so large.

Um, are you agreeing with the previous poster? Because that link is hardly evidence, since we don't know that V is actually a female.

BTW: we have three examples of robed female elves who are obviously female: Lirian, and the two Drow (the one in the dungeon and the one in the evil adventuring party which attacked Mount Celestia).

[spooon]

I conclude that V is female. How, you ask?

Leaving out the elves, all members of the Linear Guild are the same sex as their Order of the Stick counterparts, except Hilgya. One alternately-sexed counterpart, expressly for the sake of sexual tension, is poor storytelling; whereas two more exceptions to the rule (the male Zz'dtri and Pompey to the female Vaarsuvius) balance the narrative.

And since we all know that Rich is, in fact, not a poor storyteller, we can come to the inevitable conclusion. And it is no more nor less full of crap than all the other theories.

[Zevox]

BTW: we have three examples of robed female elves who are obviously female: Lirian, and the two Drow (the one in the dungeon and the one in the evil adventuring party which attacked Mount Celestia).

They aren't wearing robes, though. Lirian has a skirt and a top of some sort (she's even showing her midriff). Same with the first Drow. The second is wearing more generic clothing - there's no real way to tell what it is.

For characters in robes their robes quite clearly extend all the way down over their legs, covering their entire bodies. See V and Sangwaan.

Zevox

[Max_Sinister]

I am pretty sure that V's mate is male, and they might be a gay couple.

[Amon Star]

*I only realized a month or so ago that that means elves don't have eyebrows...

Not really. I always took the 'no facial hair' thing as a euphemism for no pubic hair. So no beard, chest or genitalia hair, but eyebrows are still present.

Why do the funny threads get mostly serious replies

's gender. Serious Business.