Comment by CanvasWolfDoll

have to be honest, i never would have expected crossdressing. or for it to be played so casually. interesting bunch they much be.

(unless this is foreshadowing some sort of shocking reveal)

(except i read that one essay you did on the bechdel test)

(unless tareth and xira start talking about guys a bunch from here on out...)

Reply by CanvasWolfDoll

and i just realized jonan and xira switched movies.

Reply by Threnodi

Oh man, and after I just finished scouring comments the other day to verify Shazz refers to Xira as a 'he' after my husband made some comment about 'that psion girl'...
(But but she did, so I'm maintaining he -is- a he and this just makes my husband and I even for the first page or two when I thought Tareth was a boy XD)

Reply by Shazzbaa

A couple of people have responded to this page with "OH OKAY I thought Xira was male but I wasn't sure..." I'M WAY ENTERTAINED BY THE IMPLICATION THAT HE'S MORE MASCULINE IN A DRESS. xD


BUT YEAH NO, you're right: Xira's a boy, though your husband wasn't alone in getting him mixed up -- and you weren't alone in getting Tareth mixed up. xD APPARENTLY I AM A MASTER OF AMBIGUOUS GENDERS

Reply by Glew

You should have a purple-haired elf character... :)

Reply by Asterai

Are... where are you from? Where I'm from, cross-dressing on Halloween is far from unheard of. I mean, there's people dressing up as other species. Is that really less extreme in your mind than dressing up as another gender?

Reply by Shazzbaa

Asterai, where I'm from (aka southernish America) it's pretty dependent on the kind of people you hang out with! I have one group of friends that really wouldn't bat an eyelash, and another group of friends that, while they wouldn't have Jonan's reaction, would burst into giggles and exclamations because it would be so different from what they're used to! People dress up as animals or whatever all the time for Halloween and that's expected -- wearing a really super-(cross)gendered outfit is unexpected to some people and not weird at all to others! Just depends on what you're used to.

I gotta admit, as someone who has a few friends who crossdress just 'cause it's neat, I like the idea that it wouldn't be so much WHOAAA YOU'RE WEARING A DRESS THAT'S SO WEIRD and more of "oh dude I did not expect you to look that good in a dress?????" Both Sev and Xira are pretty secure in their masculinity/lack thereof and would be chill about that sort of thing. xD

Jonan thinks it's weird though.

Reply by Asterai

(Scuffles feet.) Okay, I do know surprise is a common enough reaction in many places (and in many sectors of society, even in metropolitan SoCal where I live). Thing is, I ALSO like to deliberately try to make people feel like they're the awkward one when they act all surprised at someone breaking traditional gender roles.

This is partly an "on principle" thing for me (srsly guys, using "gay" as a synonym for "stupid/bad" is not okay) and a little bit self defense (I'm straight/cissexual/cisgender, but there's plenty about traditional gender stereotypes I REALLY don't fit).

So that's what I was doing to CanvasWolfDoll. Trying to make him feel awkward for acting like cross-dressing was weird. ESPECIALLY since it's a frigging Halloween costume, where people are already blurring the lines of their normal identities anyways; you'd think the social pressure to be "normal" could relax, just for once. One day. It seems so little to ask.

Reply by Shazzbaa

Shoot, the thing is that I really agree with you on the principle. D: I think it would be really cool if people weren't made to feel awkward and weird for enjoying cross-gendered clothing. Even in really accepting circles that are 100% okay with different orientations and gender identities, I've seen people look down on others for wearing the "wrong" clothes unless they have a "good excuse" (like officially being trans* or something). I agree: that sucks!!

That's a big part of why I got really excited when I realised Xira would make a pretty great Esmeralda, haha!

But that's also why I don't want to make it an awkward subject for anyone. ;u; If someone was surprised to see a guy wearing traditionally feminine clothes, well cool! Check out how it can be not all that weird, and people can be okay with it! None of the comments so far have said anything nasty about it or put anyone down, so I don't wanna make anyone feel crappy just because it's new and different. That seems to defeat the purpose. ;u;

AKA YOU ARE ALL COOL AND ALL OF US HAVE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES WITH DIFFERENT THINGS SO LET'S ALL BE FRIENDS TO EACH OTHER AND WE CAN JUST LEARN NEW THINGS TOGETHER ; u ; <3

Reply by CanvasWolfDoll

i never said crossdressing was weird, just an uncommon thing to see in the webcomics i read. i am a fan of eddie izzard after all.