quote:In the commentbox for 13 Jan 2008, DVandom wrote: Now, given the setting, is Tip "just" a transvestite, or is he literally a woman in a man's body?
Insufficient data, so far, especially if you really do mean that literally (i.e., that Tip was at one time physically female and got switched), though we can draw some conclusions on which to speculate:
Now,in the first strip, Tip described the sweater as 'gender-inappropriate', which taken strictly would imply that he is male (gender being psychological, while sex being physical). It could have been a mistake though; as a psychologist, Tip would know the correct usage, but hey everyone slips from time to time. The fact that in both the comic and the title story Tip is consistently called 'him' and 'he', however, seems to indicate that he's male, unless they simply are referring to whatever form Tip's body is currently in without consideration for gender.
I've noticed that Tip doesn't go very far in to look female (Tip doesn't seem to wear falsies, for example) or fit social expectations for women's appearance other than clothing (e.g., arms and legs not depilated). Tip also doesn't seem to being dressing this way for a sexual thrill (not that the subject has come up...), but apparently simply dresses feminine on a regular basis (or at least a frequent basis). This seems to imply that he's a cross-dresser, rather than being transgendered, (involuntarily) transsexual, a transvestite, or a drag queen (yes, each of those terms has a different meaning, though just what those meanings are will vary depending on who's using them, and they can overlap).
In any case, the general rule in these matters is: you are what you think you are. Until Tip says something about his/her self-identity, we won't know for sure.
This being Shaenon's comic (and me being the TF-TG obsessed perv that I am), however, I'm still holding out for a female Tip who is subject to involuntary transformations. If Tip is physically female most of the time but switches unpredictably, then it would follow that she wouldn't bother trying to 'correct' her male form, since she it probably would only last until the next time she switches back. Whether Tip's gender changes as well... that would open up a whole different can of worms, especially if sex and gender aren't always in sync. Not a fun headspace to be in, that.
-------------------- Schol-R-LEA;2 ELF JAM LCF BiWM MGT GS First Speaker, Last Eristic Church of Finagle and Holy Bisexuality || Keeper of the Tent Peg of Homosexuality +5 #define KINSEY (rand() % 7)// Oinos! Oinos! Pentadaktyloi phylloi! moderator of the GenderShifters LJ community Posts: 35 | From: The People's Republic of Berkeley | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
As far as I can tell, he just likes to look pretty. Nothing wrong with that! Although he should think twice before exposing such good clothing to lion claws.
Posts: 332 | From: California | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by JohnWWells: As far as I can tell, he just likes to look pretty. Nothing wrong with that! Although he should think twice before exposing such good clothing to lion claws.
I dunno, if you might get mauled and make the news, you wanna look your best.
posted
Maybe Tip felt he was too much of a "regular human" to fit in among the misfit sapients of Skin Horse, and so he adopted a quirk of his own to compensate.
Posts: 25 | From: Cornwall, U.K. | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
I dunno, the title-text story sounds like it goes back to when Tip was in college, since it mentions a final exam. Though that in and of itself doesn't mean much, I suppose.
-------------------- Schol-R-LEA;2 ELF JAM LCF BiWM MGT GS First Speaker, Last Eristic Church of Finagle and Holy Bisexuality || Keeper of the Tent Peg of Homosexuality +5 #define KINSEY (rand() % 7)// Oinos! Oinos! Pentadaktyloi phylloi! moderator of the GenderShifters LJ community Posts: 35 | From: The People's Republic of Berkeley | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
I think your over thinking this any reasonable mad psychologist would want to experience life as each sex when a mad biologist suggested it could be done. I mean how could you refuse. It's not like refusing is an option anyway.
basil
-------------------- Where is the KABOOM..? There was meant to be an Earth-shattering KABOOM... Posts: 569 | From: Pinole CA | Registered: Jan 2005
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