V's Gender Debate IV [Official]

[DarkElfGangsta]

How the heck does V-Man imply anything more than all the he's and she's thrown around in the comic?

What do you want Roy to call V, "V-Elf"? That just sounds silly.

*sigh*

please read my posts in their entirety before you comment on them angrily.
what you just said was exactly my point.

[lio45]

How the heck does V-Man imply anything more than all the he's and she's thrown around in the comic?

What do you want Roy to call V, "V-Elf"? That just sounds silly.

Um, what about simply "V", you know, like... ALWAYS?

There's a reason V's NEVER EVER been called "V-Man" again by Roy or any other member of the party in the 683 comics that followed. Rich never edits old comics, but that's probably one of the first things he'd erase if he did.

[ScottishDragon]

Totaly from strip 1 i thought v was female!!!
She just strikes me as femenine.

[lio45]

BTW, another important thing I forgot to point out... notice that

all the he's and she's thrown around in the comic

are thrown around by people like Xykon, Nale, Sabine, the IFCC, Qarr, etc. -- people who do not know V well. On the other hand, you'll notice that the main characters (OotS party members) never throw random he's and she's.

...with the exception of this early "V-man" from Roy, a close friend and long-term adventuring party colleague of V.

So this huge difference is what explains

How the heck does V-Man imply anything more

than all of those random he's and she's from comics after V was made ambiguously-gendered.

[DarkElfGangsta]

yeah but apparently even Roy doesnt know, someone said he expressed confusion in one of the books.
sigh I'll ask my cousin from Canada to get me one of theoots books for Hanukka.

[ScottishDragon]

Hey am i the only one that has remembered,but when they were staying in the hotel,V was there when they went to the dwarfs room.This to me obviously indicates that V is female.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Hey am i the only one that has remembered,but when they were staying in the hotel,V was there when they went to the dwarfs room.This to me obviously indicates that V is female.

Not really. V is just back-up.

[Kish]

Hey am i the only one that has remembered,but when they were staying in the hotel,V was there when they went to the dwarfs room.This to me obviously indicates that V is female.

Roy doesn't know Vaarsuvius' sex.

Incidentally, the answer to,

Hey am i the only one that has remembered

is always, always, "No, but other people don't think it establishes Vaarsuvius' sex" and usually, "See the FAQ."

[ScottishDragon]

Roy has called Vaarsuvius V-man,most charachters already have an opinion on v's gender,but i guess roy is still guessing.

[John Cribati]

I'm neither confirming or denying V's gender, because I know it will never be revealed. I'm thinking male, though, because after the whole "Baleful Polymorph" mini-arc, V is returned to normal and re-robing behind the dragon, his/her body looks rectangular:
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0186.html

[Zanaril]

I'm neither confirming or denying V's gender, because I know it will never be revealed. I'm thinking male, though, because after the whole "Baleful Polymorph" mini-arc, V is returned to normal and re-robing behind the dragon, his/her body looks rectangular:
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0186.html

We only see the very top. V could easily have a similar body shape to the archer elf in Team Peregrine.

[Maximum Zersk]

We only see the very top. V could easily have a similar body shape to the archer elf in Team Peregrine.

Basically what I noticed.

[Xacal]

We only see the very top. V could easily have a similar body shape to the archer elf in Team Peregrine.

Uh, just to point out, we dont know THAT elf's gender either....
Also, V still has a different body type from that individual; (s)he is drawn more akin to Roy than to that elf...

I don't know what this proves, but personally, Im saying that V is male, because in the "Lizard that Roared" commentary in "No Cure For the Paladin Blues," Rich always referred to V as male. (And yes, I have read the FAQ, but I figured that this would at least let me decide my opinion as to V's gender ...)

[Drolyt]

Such a long thread. And this is simply the last in a line of many? I've always expected we will learn V's gender, but not till the strip is nearly over. Or maybe we won't, that's the giant's decision. Either way these discussions don't seem to matter. For my part though I had assumed he/she was an androgynous male until the other characters started pointing out that nobody knew for sure. Even though he rooms with Haley I still think he/she makes more sense as a dude, his/her actions, particularly while rescuing his/her mate, while not prohibitive of the possibility of him being female, seem very masculine. His/her name sounds masculine. Also to my eyes V's mate looks feminine. So yeah I think he/she is probably male but we don't know. Someone did mention the giant slipping up and calling him/her he, and while that doesn't prove anything it may very well have been a slip.

[Kish]

Rich commonly calls Vaarsuvius "he" on the forum, and said a while ago that no one should read more into this than that typing him/her all the time gets annoying.

[The Dark Fiddler]

He is also commonly used as a gender neutral pronoun instead of it, since it tends to be so impersonal and borderline insulting. So yeah.

[Temotei]

I had originally assumed Vaarsuvius was a male. Just a hunch.

[Touchy]

It probably was intended to be female, but all the questions just made the giant think it was a good idea for it to be ambiguous. At-least my theory. But until I get a definite answer(aka never) I am going to assume it's female.

[The Dark Fiddler]

It probably was intended to be female, but all the questions just made the giant think it was a good idea for it to be ambiguous. At-least my theory. But until I get a definite answer(aka never) I am going to assume it's female.

I'm not going to argue about V's gender now, but It's pretty obvious that V was meant to be male before becoming ambiguous ( V Man).

[Lissou]

I'm not going to argue about V's gender now, but It's pretty obvious that V was meant to be male before becoming ambiguous ( V Man).

Not to mention V had not only the male body, but the male face as well (yes, they are different, the position of the eyes and mouth isn't the same in males and females).
If V was intended to be ambiguous from the start, then it would be an explanation.
But using the male template for body and face for a character who wasn't supposed to be ambiguous until people made the mistake? Seems pretty obvious that V, if not intended to be ambiguous, was intended to be male.

[goodyarn]

Did a search for the word "pink" and didn't see it in this thread, so...no doubt it's been pointed out before, BUT:

If V is a guy, he's a guy who uses pink-colored magic, and likes to polymorph into pink creatures (dragon, T-Rex, and now burrowing creature) a whole lot.

On the other hand, if V is a gal, she's a gal who *really* gets off on blowing stuff up.

Whichever side we come down on this question, we are forced to acknowledge that V is a guy who does girl things, or a girl who does guy things. And I am assuming that's the point, and Rich created V specifically for that purpose. Telling us what gender V really is would ruin it.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Whichever side we come down on this question, we are forced to acknowledge that V is a guy who does girl things, or a girl who does guy things.

No. Pink isn't girly. It used to be considered a girl color in some cultures (American, for example) but it's fading in many places, and was even considered a masculine color in many cultures (it's a lighter red, and red is masculine!). Meanwhile, destruction isn't manly. I don't really know how to argue this other than the fact that it isn't.

[Lissou]

I've always assumed pink was more like his magical aura, and a good compromise between his two colours (red and purple). I don't find anything else to note about it, since I fail to see how some colours could be more "manly" or "girly" than others.
We also have no reason to believe that whichever colour V uses is on purpose, rather than his aura or something, or a colour hint from the Giant for us so we can keep track of who's casting what spell.

[goodyarn]

No. Pink isn't girly. It used to be considered a girl color in some cultures (American, for example) but it's fading in many places, and was even considered a masculine color in many cultures (it's a lighter red, and red is masculine!). Meanwhile, destruction isn't manly. I don't really know how to argue this other than the fact that it isn't.

Well, you might begin by citing a source for your claim that pink's association with the feminine is fading, even in America. Here's my counter-sources that it's not:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/557010

which claim it's been associated with women from 1940 through now.

And yes, this comic clearly has global reach and the characters are set in a fantasy world. However, given the numerous references in OOTS to American pop culture (G.I. Joe cartoons, SNL sketches, Subway restaurants, Captain America and X-Men comics, My Little Pony, Reading is Fundamental literary spots, and the TV show "Lost" to name just a few), it seems to me the characters have an American bias.

Destruction isn't "manly" in the best sense, no. And I think Rich's point is that V's extreme enjoyment of blowing things up is unhealthy. Nevertheless, I know many males but few females who get off on real or imagined explosions. If your experience is different, please enlighten me.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Well, you might begin by citing a source for your claim that pink's association with the feminine is fading, even in America.

How about the fact that you commonly see men wearing pink, and all the 'Real Men Wear Pink' shirts?

Nevertheless, I know more males than females who get off on real or imagined explosions. If your experience is different, please enlighten me.

I know nobody that 'gets off' on explosions at all.

More seriously, my friends tend to like explosions equally despite gender; fun too watch, overall.

[goodyarn]

How about the fact that you commonly see men wearing pink, and all the 'Real Men Wear Pink' shirts?

I would say those shirts are attempting to buck a cultural bias, the same bias that Rich's creation of V is attempting to buck. But that doesn't mean the bias doesn't exist. I think we are on the same side of this question. Perhaps you just think we are farther along than I do.

More seriously, my friends tend to like explosions equally despite gender; fun too watch, overall.

How about *setting off* explosions, as V does? When my friends and I were setting off toy rockets and fire crackers, I don't recall any girls wanting to join us. Maybe things have changed, but if so, I haven't seen it.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Perhaps you just think we are farther along than I do.

That mightn't be too far off.

How about *setting off* explosions, as V does? When my friends and I were setting off toy rockets and fire crackers, I don't recall any girls wanting to join us. Maybe things have changed, but if so, I haven't seen it.

That comparison is a bit iffy; V doesn't just set them off for fun, it's essentially his job. Still, I know I never took much of an interest in explosives myself, except for fireworks other people were putting on. My friends tend to like fireworks equally regardless of gender, and I don't think any of them tend to set off explosions.

Of course, that's my friends, a very small sample group. I could be very very far off here.

[lio45]

How about the fact that you commonly see men wearing pink, and all the 'Real Men Wear Pink' shirts?

The existence of 'Real Men Wear Pink' shirts is something that actually contributes to showing that pink is generally associated with women in our culture, not the other way around.

Incidentally, I wonder why Rich chose to make those male/female gender icons (right below 'Location:' in the forum members' displayed info section) respectively blue and pink. I guess he rolled dice to pick random colors on a table...

[Touchy]

I have arguement proof myself
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0123.html
In reply to the people who don't believe me, in the v was intended to be a women.
Either that are elven men are so girly that people would believe they have breasts. Also bodies mean nothing, not all women have breasts.

Then again, fighting over this doesn't matter. Intention or not, V is ambiguous now, so that's what probably matters.

[goodyarn]

V doesn't just set [explosions] off for fun, it's essentially his job.

I disagree.

(1) Explosive runes is a spell V uses over and over again, sometimes as a joke on Belkar, sometimes against enemies but with a snarky note sent along with it.

(2) In a very recent strip, V approved of Girard's plan to blow up Soon as a way of ending their feud, and in general s/he approved of using big explosions to solve personal problems.

(3) In the recent battle with the insect slavers, V acknowledged to the raven familiar that s/he needs to curtail the instinct to use flashier spells (like lightning bolt) and instead concentrate on support (like heroism).

V just likes blowing stuff up.