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Hello,
Today Dan Shive posted a comic on his EGS:NP section that was very funny, and was a scene, dealing with the gender bending genre that is rarely mentioned, let along discussed.
The comic can be found here: http://www.egscomics.com/egsnp.php?id=374
I found that comic to be hilarious.
The scene dealt with that two gender benders, in their female forms, not having any body hair, with the natural girl being clearly jealous for them not having to shave their legs, among other things.
This sub-trope of no body hair on female gender benders is one of those tropes that one would expect to be mentioned more, but this trope is only is rarely mentioned in passing, as a thought by the gender bender. It is very rare to see authors, let along characters discuss this concept.
Though, eight months ago, I did mention this trope is my fanfic here on BC: http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/fiction/54877/badasses-multive...
The only difference is Shive's female gender bending characters have no hair below their neck, while I took a more mature approach to have female gender benders have bush.
And it is nice to see other people that deal with gender bending fiction, point this trope out. If for any other reason to poke fun from those that are originally female in their stories.
If done right, as seen with Shive's comic, using this trope could produce pure comedy gold.
Also, given the dress that Shive has Ellen wearing in that scene, I believe that Shive is going with a joke at the beginning of the Ford Fairlane film. That joke being a quote: Don Cleveland, "You got to shave before you leave the house in a dress like that. And I don't mean your legs."
Anyway, thank you for your time in reading this.
Comments
EGS and EGS:NP
I've followed El Goonish Shive and its sort of parallel story EGS:NP since they were first referenced here a while ago.
In fact, I almost made my own blog here a few weeks ago when a certain run of hilarity popped up in one of the comics... sadly, Real Life limited my options then.
I can heartily recommend them to almost anyone who likes impossible gadgets, magic, girls being girls, monsters, confusion and accidents. The artwork is especially pleasing to the eye and very distinctive while his commentaries only add to the fun.
Penny
PS Ah, yes, it started about here.
You are preaching to the choir.
Anyone that appreciate the empowering effects of tea should be respected. ;)
To add to your reply, Dan Shive is brilliant storyteller. And EGS is a good natured story. Dan Shive stated that while he could, he preferred to keep his story from getting to dark.
Also, when it comes to story arcs, I recommend a few. But, the one that stands out for me would have to be "Grace's Birthday" story arc. (The story arcs are organized, so you can immediately look each of them up.)
The "Grace's Birthday" story arc could be used a how to do a very well done story with several gender benders at once.
If someone wants to know how to properly handle creating a gender bending story, with multiple gender benders, "Grace's Birthday" arc is a good example of how it is done right, while maintaining humor and not becoming dark.
Though, it is saying something, when the nice demonic talking duck, whom stopped by for some pizza, is the most normal character of that story arc. I am just not sure what that says about that situation.
Also, EGS is so long that even binging on reading those webcomics will take a while.
On a side note. My favorite sketch from the EGS sketchbook is this one: www.egscomics.com/sketchbook.php?id=784
Susan (EGS) former man hating woman (she has gotten better), dressed as macho Mal Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly). Though, given Mal has had a few cross-dressing incidents, I do sometimes wonder about him.