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Starting February 1st ALL new Exiern pages will post ONLY to Exiern.com and Our Patreon. Please read and support us there!
Swords, Sorcery, And Then Some!
Howdy, New Readers! Thanks for reading Exiern!
Written by Scott T. Hicken with art by Antipus, the comic updates Mondays. Please check out the Archive to enjoy the earlier adventures of Typh and Peonie!
Exiern contains mature themes and is best for readers 18+.
Been better if he accepted he was a she. Been a better happier person since He was a She. As a male he spent all his time alone Hating his mom his brother him self his sexal orintation, No freinds.. About the only person he like was the Father that wanted to kill him and raped and murdered his mother..
Typh may have been happier as Tiff, but that isn’t who he really is
Maybe this is Typh accepting that, while he is now physically Tiff, he doesn’t have to stop being Typh internally, hopefully the conflict will end now (physically Tiff, mentally Typh)
@Jonathan Wint: Seems you still don’t understand that his gender identity is still male, doesn’t matter what his body looks like. It’s also why we saw him insisting on being called Typhan-Knee and not Tiffany.
@BattleChaser: Exactly, Typhan-Knee is essentially a transman now. It seems it’s something Ashdod and Wint don’t understand, no offense to either of you.
Typhan-Knee still thinks of himself as a man and there’s nothing wrong with that. He is who he is.
It isn’t a matter of understanding, Jake. It’s a matter of not wanting. Significantly different. Typhan-Knee isn’t “essentially a transman now.” If there has no been progression in the acceptance of a female self, then Typhan-Knee has ALWAYS been a transman since the curse. in so much as someone transformed by magic can actually be a transman or transwoman. That’s a discussion for another time.
And if this is the case then for better or for worse the story is not interesting to me. There are scores of webcomics for the Former Boys Club. where the thrust of the gender swap is the male lead dealing with being female while wanting to be male again. That isn’t interesting.
The character coming to realize that being female to their life is better for a number reasons: happier, more self-acceptance, whatever, IS interesting because it marks a pivotal moment in the character’s life and development. It also ends the perpetual loop of gender swap comics where no progress is made and the character is tormented endlessly, because fixing the gender swap means the crux of the story is over.
I was hoping Exiern was going to be different in this regard, and the character would be happy as female, and yet, the story would go on.
There’s nothing wrong with Exiern as it is, it’s merely that if this is the character’s intended story arc, it’s not a direction I’m particularly interested in following. I read some things into the story that were either not there to begin with or not followed up upon in the manner I was hoping, and that’s all there is.
What many people still fail to understand is that sex and gender are separate. Male and female are NOT respective to masculine and feminine. Sex is biological; gender is sociocultural.
As a man, Typh was controlled by his body, not his gender and not his true desires. As a female, Tiff was controlled by her concepts of gender, not by her actual gender, not by her body, and not by her true desires.
Now xey are female, masculine, and whole. Xey can focus on xeir true desires while embracing xeir sex and embracing xeir gender.
IT’S IN HER HEAD!Cliffnote “Of course Still this body..” So this is a Mental Transformation
@BattleChaser I agree if it was real Transgender and Tiff had not tried to rape someone. As it is she gives in it is as it always been time rewrite… And there would be no more story..So not going to happen anymore than a cure… But as a Man TYPH WAS A SCUM BAG!
I am very pleased that these pages have sparked discussion about such relevant topics. I am also always happy about how passionate people are about Exiern, whether or not they like how they think the comic is going.
But, I am going to hold back a few comments which are approaching personal attacks and contain some misinformation. I don’t like doing this, but everyone should be able to share their thoughts in a safe and open discussion. Please feel free to rephrase your comments in a more conversation friendly manner, as I do not want to see such important subjects derailed by unfortunate phrasing.
Thank you all for your understanding, patience, and passion.
Oh she complained about Princess Peonie choices and her Dressmaker of choice who would not..
Here the UGLY TRUTH Nothing Forced her to stop Dressing Like a MAN!
This Effect of the curse might been there all along..
But She Been Dressing Happily as a Girl all along….
Nothing she knew of Stopped her FROM Day one recutting her hair to closer to a male Style she used to have or Shaving it to look more Guy… Or cut that Curl…
Nothing Stopped Her From Day one From Tying Down her Boobs…Uncomfortable but Practical..
Nothing Stopped her she knew of From Dressing as a MAN!
YET SHE JUST TRIED FOR FIRST TIME!
She tried for semi Neutral at best but never MALE!
For all she Knows the curse Always did that just Never Had to!!
@Jake
@BattleChaser
@PC POLICE
OK you guys get it Now!?
@Jonathan Wint – I know my comment was posted after one of your posted comments, and I want it to be clear it wasn’t a passive aggressive indication of any one individual. There are a few that I am holding back in the hopes that they can be more openly presented.
@ScottHicken I just did not want sound like a Redneck.. Took no personal Offence.
Typh a character not a cliche cookie cut..
And my belief Her wanting to be male was not based on cliche cookie cut reasons but on a long story I Read for many years.
This most Male/Gender Neutral thing she ever Wore Previously http://www.exiern.com/2007/05/17/math-is-fun/
And its still a skirt open at the sides and Hip Hugging High Heel Boots…
Not Practical at all.
She took to Girl Clothes Like a Duck to water…. A Duck Living in a desert all its Life.. My sisters are Less Girly..
Tiff is not dressing (in the real time, not the flashback) like a girl, she is dressing like a female, which means accepting that her new body has different ‘bumps’ in different places than her male body did
To me, it seemed the curse was affecting her clothing because she was trying to dress like a man (it is possible to dress as a female without looking like Princess P-cups (and we saw that when she went out to confront Denver’s sister)
Are you forgetting about when s/he very recently tried dressing as a male, having finally obtained access to proper clothing, and everything s/he put on began transforming into sluttier and sluttier versions? Typh is being forced to dress that way, by the curse. Typh, I believe very much identifies as male, and enjoys being a male. His Sexuality has nothing to do with it. This is something I don’t think a lot of people realize, but Gender Identity is completely different from Sexual Orientation. For example, there are Transgendered men who still like men. They aren’t straight women pretending to be gay men, they are very much in every since of the word but genetically, gay men. And the reverse is also true.
Typh has had to come to terms with the body that was forced upon him. But doesn’t make him a transgendered woman. He still identifies as male, but is having to put up appearances as female due to the curse.
If would say that her clothing has always been sexy especially under Drowemos and Chemiclord in which the issue of identity and orientation wasn’t the focus. Especially under Studio Boom every female wore rather insanely revealing and sexy clothing, than but than the artists began to tone it down, even when Drowemos was writing. On the other hand the second link posted by @Jonathan Wint is rather practicalhttp://www.exiern.com/2006/11/09/forgeting-2/ and as said is much more closer to defining her new curves but it is reasonable to wear. She wore much similar attire venturing North to come to terms with her brother and than off to see the the Great Wyrms. If you look at any mmo for example starting from Everquest females always wore rather ridiculous outfits cloth wearers in Guild Wars to WoW and hell especially Tera is just pure Stripper on her Snack Break (I want to say Red magazine February 07′ – I will find it). Then look at say Triss from The Witcher (2, granted, is the most pragmatic example) probably the first video game woman who was actually sexy as hell but actually wore clothes and was all-in-all more realistic than most of the dolls in gaming today. She wears robes like the male songweavers in Council, but than wears feasible clothing when out in the field. So Tiff is wearing full on leather pants, even if they do look alot like tights or hose – another thing to note is that even though that “skirt” with slits is sexy, I am fairly certain that it has always been a Surcoat, which as we see with Neils and Beors is just part of the standard to identify who the squire/footman/knight fought for. It is certainly possble to find examples of the 1/2 coat which is just the ‘skirt’ and not the full vestment. Tiff just always incorporated that into her “female” attire, especially with the earlier artists/styles.
@H3xx: Indeed, Typhan-Knee has never stopped identifying and thinking of himself as a male and he shouldn’t stop that.
Typhan-Knee even told Denver before Denver left that he still wasn’t all that comfortable in his current body.
@Ashnod: Unfortunately for you then, this is something that Typhan-Knee will always have to deal with. Just like it’s something people in real life have to deal with, minus the magical transformations of course.
@H3xx That was my Point.. After what 2 years.. She tried to dress like a Pure Male Outfit.
Right After the curse all she dressed as was a Pure female..
She wearing High Heel Boots…And one outfit had a leather corset..
Thats not Not just putting up with of necessity of 2 bumpy bits..
Thats someone that Likes being female.
Umm, since when is High Heel Boots female only? Or a corset (leather or otherwise)?
Heck, it wasn’t until about 60 or 70 years ago that pink was the colour for boys
It’s always felt to me like the authors have been kind of tied down by the earlier story. The curse made Typhan-knee female was unliftable because Tiffany ‘blocked’ the lifting for some reason. If she was a transwoman, this would have made sense — that’s what happened to Sister Theresa, I imagine. But we know Tiff’s not trans; we’ve been told that at some level and have just been shown that in the last two comics.
So is she still female because she’s internally homophobic and can’t accept being a gay man? Or are they genderqueer, and still identifying as a binary when that’s not appropriate?
Actually, I´m fine with this, be temporal o definitive. Tiphan-Knee NEVER has said that he wanted to be a woman, nor I have any conclusive evidence of him adapting in a conclusive manner to that. He´s a pragmaticist, he won´t say no to use a bra (in combat it can be a nuisance to have the breast moving freely). He aceptted the clothes he has been given up until now, to just make do (with the curse, with his/her apperance, social customs, etc). While I understand the reasons to use “transman” as a description of his status (mentally and phisically), I think that he never has stopped to be (in his mind) in the sex in which he were born. I think it is very clear that he is, and will be, a gay man. He may have thought of “adapting” like Theresa, but that was a fluke, not an honest desire. In the world of Exiern, or precisely, in his Northern tribe, that´s (I think) a big no-no (having sex or love with another man). I think we can be glad about this page, for this character. He “may” have had some cheery times as a female, but like in the secuence of the mirror (cutting the flock of hair, etc) , he never stopped his desire to show how he wants to be seen. He can “conform” to be in female form, but never be “confortable” with that. And that´s a plausible, sane, thought. I´m waiting to see what follows.
@Guesticus true that those wear for guys Originally but in Exiern they appear to be both north and south to be Decidedly Female .And true Tiphan-Knee NEVER has said that he wanted to be a woman.. But its Clear that She Never Minded dressing as one..
And Its clear she happier as one..
And Is Very UNHAPPY that she dose indeed IDENTIFY as one.. Heck she hates it..
But WANT is not what argueing..
I have transGender friends who are Post Op.. Heck I got one girl I hate.(just so your not confused TIM)..
But they all went through that hell not By Choice. Had Nothing to do with choice.
It was WHO they wear born as.
Identify with a Stupid way of phrasing it.
The Did not Choose to be female or wanted to be a women, they just wear..
One Guy was a Jock had a lot of Girlfriends and kids.. And Acted a lot Like tiff even in looks.(kind of man we all secretly want to be)
Came for Spiritual counseling And got the Operation about 5 years Ago told me she still Hates other women (lot women do) but for the first time in her life was happy. Told me she woke up every day and cry tears of joy it was not a dream.
Here the thing Most Transgender before the operation are gay (not all) MOST.
And Most Like being Hyper Alpha Males.. And Till they Admit What Wrong will be the First to break your Jaw And Swear up And Down Even if they Admit there Gay that They do not See themselves as Female Nor want to Be Female..and Then they take the hormones that Might Kill them and go threw several Years of Hell.
But It got Nothing to do with Choice or Identifying themselves as..
One Friend Wanted the Procedure but was told do to his Age it would Kill him. He was nearly 60 , He still wanted it but The Doctors said No.
I known 5 TransGenders in my 30 years of Counseling and trust Me Tiphan-Knee EXACTLY the type.
@Lambda And no Misogynes is that a pragmatic as to Dress as a Attractive Woman, There wear Plenty of Gender Neutral outfits.. Hech It would be uncomfortable But any of the Guards Suits could of covered her and she could of Tied Down her Boobs. Thats pragmatic as its Real Armor.. Plunging Neckline in a half Laced leather Bodice is not being PRACTICAL its being a HOT GIRL and Identifying as one. Weather She Admits it to herself or not.
That´s okay, Jonathan. Gender neutral clothing is, well, what it is. Clothing. Anyway, perhaps I´ve overstressed that side of my argument, but in the early comic, Tiff wasn´t confortable with the most sensual clothing she was given by princess Peonie. Note that, also, the underlying theme of the comic changed, and right now the Tiff/Tiphan thing has developed in its meanings, relying less in humoresque exploits, and touching a lot of psychological themes on a more serious tone. To take Exiern as a whole, perfectly coherent story is too much to ask. The shift on how we view the MC has been too great, each plot-writer changing a little the facets of the character. It´s normal, and it has been discussed before, I believe. Even so, I believe Scott´s writing on the MC is interesting, and he´s made an intriguing development with what he´s taken. I wouldn´t take Tiphan-Knee as a good, precise example of being trans, but as a thrilling “showcase-ish” in a fantasy setting. I mean, it´s interesting even without the whole gender issues (of the MC), which it touches, but Exiern shines when it tries to work with a believable context (politics, relationships of any kind, conspiracies, Faden locust, etc). I admit that I don´t think Drowemos ever thought of that virgin barbarian being a whole lot of issues at the start of this webcomic ;). Sometimes I miss that silly humor he had xD.
It seems, to me, that Typh has been fighting for the right to dress as he wants: he has no problems wearing female clothes, he just refuses to wear ‘girlie’ clothes because he is still a male in his mind
I must add, more than “gender issues”, it´s more precise to use “psychological issues”. Tiphan/Tiff is a can of worms tightly reined by his sometimes stern, grumpy demeanor, and ocassional fits of rage (when the ocassion lets on it). This is why I don´t like to use “trans-man” or similar depictions on the MC. It translates to a context that perhaps “conforms” a bit too much our views on the MC. Thanks for reading and comenting on my post, by the way.
I love to argue different Points of view win or lose. If I come off a @SS I apologize . But I wanted to be clear this time around that my reasoning of my opinion not as simple minded as all Gay men want to be Women. I do not believe that.
I think Typh Was Forced into this form..
A form that she did not ask for.
So She Hates it Fights it.
But It was White Magic overloaded..
So I believed at the time and Always have that it was what she secretly wanted.. Even if she did not know it consciously nor was ready to admit it. But all that Power Granted her Deepest Most Hidden wish.
White Magic Does no Harm Even Overloaded its what makes it white magic by Definition. If it did this without Typh consent it would been Black and the Unicorn Would of stopped it.
And if offered freely as a choice at some later point in his life he would of accepted it. As it was it was Forced by Faden. And She wants it undone.
I just want be clear my reasoning not “REDNECK Homophobia”
I agree completely with Brandi. Being TG is and accepting your body is not something happens. And if you come out, most of your family, friends, associates, … tell you just accept OR deal with it or my favorite, it is the personal cross God has given to you so be endure and be proud to have that cross. And one day you finally kill yourself or you decide to find a way to be who you are, even if you will always be considered by others a freak, you finally no longer consider yourself one.
Natalie, I’m very shy of looking to real-world TG folk as models for what Typh is experiencing, if only because of the magic involved. We have seen that the spell can indeed change her emotions and perceptions, as well as her physical form.
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It nice that Typhan-Knee got to feel like his true self again, if only for a little while.
Still this this body.. So this is a Mental Transformation, it explains why the curse is Doubling Down with Fetish Wear..
If it’s mental, it’s not a transformation. It’s what he feels his true identity to be.
So he still identifies and views himself as male, that’s still his gender identity.
D’awww. Typh really needed that.
Been better if he accepted he was a she. Been a better happier person since He was a She. As a male he spent all his time alone Hating his mom his brother him self his sexal orintation, No freinds.. About the only person he like was the Father that wanted to kill him and raped and murdered his mother..
liked*
So, the magic let him have a moment as his true self,
Equivalent Exchange kicked in a while later,
So to make up for the lost time, it hypercharged the “Bimbo-fication” part of the spell?
@Jonathan Wint as most transgender people will tell you, that’s not really a feasible solution.
Jonathan – Pretty much…enthusiasm diminishing for me at the moment. We’ll see if that changes in the coming strips.
When you feel you are in a body of the wrong gender, just ‘accepting’ that isn’t really an option. Trust me, I know, I am transgender.
Typh may have been happier as Tiff, but that isn’t who he really is
Maybe this is Typh accepting that, while he is now physically Tiff, he doesn’t have to stop being Typh internally, hopefully the conflict will end now (physically Tiff, mentally Typh)
@Jonathan Wint: Seems you still don’t understand that his gender identity is still male, doesn’t matter what his body looks like. It’s also why we saw him insisting on being called Typhan-Knee and not Tiffany.
@BattleChaser: Exactly, Typhan-Knee is essentially a transman now. It seems it’s something Ashdod and Wint don’t understand, no offense to either of you.
Typhan-Knee still thinks of himself as a man and there’s nothing wrong with that. He is who he is.
It isn’t a matter of understanding, Jake. It’s a matter of not wanting. Significantly different. Typhan-Knee isn’t “essentially a transman now.” If there has no been progression in the acceptance of a female self, then Typhan-Knee has ALWAYS been a transman since the curse. in so much as someone transformed by magic can actually be a transman or transwoman. That’s a discussion for another time.
And if this is the case then for better or for worse the story is not interesting to me. There are scores of webcomics for the Former Boys Club. where the thrust of the gender swap is the male lead dealing with being female while wanting to be male again. That isn’t interesting.
The character coming to realize that being female to their life is better for a number reasons: happier, more self-acceptance, whatever, IS interesting because it marks a pivotal moment in the character’s life and development. It also ends the perpetual loop of gender swap comics where no progress is made and the character is tormented endlessly, because fixing the gender swap means the crux of the story is over.
I was hoping Exiern was going to be different in this regard, and the character would be happy as female, and yet, the story would go on.
There’s nothing wrong with Exiern as it is, it’s merely that if this is the character’s intended story arc, it’s not a direction I’m particularly interested in following. I read some things into the story that were either not there to begin with or not followed up upon in the manner I was hoping, and that’s all there is.
What many people still fail to understand is that sex and gender are separate. Male and female are NOT respective to masculine and feminine. Sex is biological; gender is sociocultural.
As a man, Typh was controlled by his body, not his gender and not his true desires. As a female, Tiff was controlled by her concepts of gender, not by her actual gender, not by her body, and not by her true desires.
Now xey are female, masculine, and whole. Xey can focus on xeir true desires while embracing xeir sex and embracing xeir gender.
OK say this one more time.
IT’S IN HER HEAD!Cliffnote “Of course Still this body..” So this is a Mental Transformation
@BattleChaser I agree if it was real Transgender and Tiff had not tried to rape someone. As it is she gives in it is as it always been time rewrite… And there would be no more story..So not going to happen anymore than a cure… But as a Man TYPH WAS A SCUM BAG!
And a unhappy one. There a reason white magic did this.
I am very pleased that these pages have sparked discussion about such relevant topics. I am also always happy about how passionate people are about Exiern, whether or not they like how they think the comic is going.
But, I am going to hold back a few comments which are approaching personal attacks and contain some misinformation. I don’t like doing this, but everyone should be able to share their thoughts in a safe and open discussion. Please feel free to rephrase your comments in a more conversation friendly manner, as I do not want to see such important subjects derailed by unfortunate phrasing.
Thank you all for your understanding, patience, and passion.
Almost immediately Tiff Started Dressing Happily as a GIRL!
http://www.exiern.com/2005/10/23/ok-with-it/
Oh she complained about Princess Peonie choices and her Dressmaker of choice who would not..
Here the UGLY TRUTH Nothing Forced her to stop Dressing Like a MAN!
This Effect of the curse might been there all along..
But She Been Dressing Happily as a Girl all along….
Nothing she knew of Stopped her FROM Day one recutting her hair to closer to a male Style she used to have or Shaving it to look more Guy… Or cut that Curl…
Nothing Stopped Her From Day one From Tying Down her Boobs…Uncomfortable but Practical..
Nothing Stopped her she knew of From Dressing as a MAN!
YET SHE JUST TRIED FOR FIRST TIME!
She tried for semi Neutral at best but never MALE!
For all she Knows the curse Always did that just Never Had to!!
@Jake
@BattleChaser
@PC POLICE
OK you guys get it Now!?
To the Author Sorry for all that pasting thought It needed to be made Clear .
@Jonathan Wint – I know my comment was posted after one of your posted comments, and I want it to be clear it wasn’t a passive aggressive indication of any one individual. There are a few that I am holding back in the hopes that they can be more openly presented.
@ScottHicken I just did not want sound like a Redneck.. Took no personal Offence.
Typh a character not a cliche cookie cut..
And my belief Her wanting to be male was not based on cliche cookie cut reasons but on a long story I Read for many years.
http://www.exiern.com/2006/11/09/forgeting-2/
http://www.exiern.com/2007/04/05/kissing-cost-extra/
This most Male/Gender Neutral thing she ever Wore Previously
http://www.exiern.com/2007/05/17/math-is-fun/
And its still a skirt open at the sides and Hip Hugging High Heel Boots…
Not Practical at all.
She took to Girl Clothes Like a Duck to water…. A Duck Living in a desert all its Life.. My sisters are Less Girly..
Tiff is not dressing (in the real time, not the flashback) like a girl, she is dressing like a female, which means accepting that her new body has different ‘bumps’ in different places than her male body did
To me, it seemed the curse was affecting her clothing because she was trying to dress like a man (it is possible to dress as a female without looking like Princess P-cups (and we saw that when she went out to confront Denver’s sister)
@Jonathan Wint
Are you forgetting about when s/he very recently tried dressing as a male, having finally obtained access to proper clothing, and everything s/he put on began transforming into sluttier and sluttier versions? Typh is being forced to dress that way, by the curse. Typh, I believe very much identifies as male, and enjoys being a male. His Sexuality has nothing to do with it. This is something I don’t think a lot of people realize, but Gender Identity is completely different from Sexual Orientation. For example, there are Transgendered men who still like men. They aren’t straight women pretending to be gay men, they are very much in every since of the word but genetically, gay men. And the reverse is also true.
Typh has had to come to terms with the body that was forced upon him. But doesn’t make him a transgendered woman. He still identifies as male, but is having to put up appearances as female due to the curse.
If would say that her clothing has always been sexy especially under Drowemos and Chemiclord in which the issue of identity and orientation wasn’t the focus. Especially under Studio Boom every female wore rather insanely revealing and sexy clothing, than but than the artists began to tone it down, even when Drowemos was writing. On the other hand the second link posted by @Jonathan Wint is rather practicalhttp://www.exiern.com/2006/11/09/forgeting-2/ and as said is much more closer to defining her new curves but it is reasonable to wear. She wore much similar attire venturing North to come to terms with her brother and than off to see the the Great Wyrms. If you look at any mmo for example starting from Everquest females always wore rather ridiculous outfits cloth wearers in Guild Wars to WoW and hell especially Tera is just pure Stripper on her Snack Break (I want to say Red magazine February 07′ – I will find it). Then look at say Triss from The Witcher (2, granted, is the most pragmatic example) probably the first video game woman who was actually sexy as hell but actually wore clothes and was all-in-all more realistic than most of the dolls in gaming today. She wears robes like the male songweavers in Council, but than wears feasible clothing when out in the field. So Tiff is wearing full on leather pants, even if they do look alot like tights or hose – another thing to note is that even though that “skirt” with slits is sexy, I am fairly certain that it has always been a Surcoat, which as we see with Neils and Beors is just part of the standard to identify who the squire/footman/knight fought for. It is certainly possble to find examples of the 1/2 coat which is just the ‘skirt’ and not the full vestment. Tiff just always incorporated that into her “female” attire, especially with the earlier artists/styles.
Remember when he/she went to the store that first time,everything they had was slutty . And he/she tried again and again to get another option.
@H3xx: Indeed, Typhan-Knee has never stopped identifying and thinking of himself as a male and he shouldn’t stop that.
Typhan-Knee even told Denver before Denver left that he still wasn’t all that comfortable in his current body.
@Ashnod: Unfortunately for you then, this is something that Typhan-Knee will always have to deal with. Just like it’s something people in real life have to deal with, minus the magical transformations of course.
On a different note, i really hope Typhan-Knee stays in contact with his grandmother, even if it’s via letters.
@H3xx That was my Point.. After what 2 years.. She tried to dress like a Pure Male Outfit.
Right After the curse all she dressed as was a Pure female..
She wearing High Heel Boots…And one outfit had a leather corset..
Thats not Not just putting up with of necessity of 2 bumpy bits..
Thats someone that Likes being female.
Umm, since when is High Heel Boots female only? Or a corset (leather or otherwise)?
Heck, it wasn’t until about 60 or 70 years ago that pink was the colour for boys
It’s always felt to me like the authors have been kind of tied down by the earlier story. The curse made Typhan-knee female was unliftable because Tiffany ‘blocked’ the lifting for some reason. If she was a transwoman, this would have made sense — that’s what happened to Sister Theresa, I imagine. But we know Tiff’s not trans; we’ve been told that at some level and have just been shown that in the last two comics.
So is she still female because she’s internally homophobic and can’t accept being a gay man? Or are they genderqueer, and still identifying as a binary when that’s not appropriate?
Actually, I´m fine with this, be temporal o definitive. Tiphan-Knee NEVER has said that he wanted to be a woman, nor I have any conclusive evidence of him adapting in a conclusive manner to that. He´s a pragmaticist, he won´t say no to use a bra (in combat it can be a nuisance to have the breast moving freely). He aceptted the clothes he has been given up until now, to just make do (with the curse, with his/her apperance, social customs, etc). While I understand the reasons to use “transman” as a description of his status (mentally and phisically), I think that he never has stopped to be (in his mind) in the sex in which he were born. I think it is very clear that he is, and will be, a gay man. He may have thought of “adapting” like Theresa, but that was a fluke, not an honest desire. In the world of Exiern, or precisely, in his Northern tribe, that´s (I think) a big no-no (having sex or love with another man). I think we can be glad about this page, for this character. He “may” have had some cheery times as a female, but like in the secuence of the mirror (cutting the flock of hair, etc) , he never stopped his desire to show how he wants to be seen. He can “conform” to be in female form, but never be “confortable” with that. And that´s a plausible, sane, thought. I´m waiting to see what follows.
@Guesticus true that those wear for guys Originally but in Exiern they appear to be both north and south to be Decidedly Female .And true Tiphan-Knee NEVER has said that he wanted to be a woman.. But its Clear that She Never Minded dressing as one..
And Its clear she happier as one..
And Is Very UNHAPPY that she dose indeed IDENTIFY as one.. Heck she hates it..
But WANT is not what argueing..
I have transGender friends who are Post Op.. Heck I got one girl I hate.(just so your not confused TIM)..
But they all went through that hell not By Choice. Had Nothing to do with choice.
It was WHO they wear born as.
Identify with a Stupid way of phrasing it.
The Did not Choose to be female or wanted to be a women, they just wear..
One Guy was a Jock had a lot of Girlfriends and kids.. And Acted a lot Like tiff even in looks.(kind of man we all secretly want to be)
Came for Spiritual counseling And got the Operation about 5 years Ago told me she still Hates other women (lot women do) but for the first time in her life was happy. Told me she woke up every day and cry tears of joy it was not a dream.
Here the thing Most Transgender before the operation are gay (not all) MOST.
And Most Like being Hyper Alpha Males.. And Till they Admit What Wrong will be the First to break your Jaw And Swear up And Down Even if they Admit there Gay that They do not See themselves as Female Nor want to Be Female..and Then they take the hormones that Might Kill them and go threw several Years of Hell.
But It got Nothing to do with Choice or Identifying themselves as..
One Friend Wanted the Procedure but was told do to his Age it would Kill him. He was nearly 60 , He still wanted it but The Doctors said No.
I known 5 TransGenders in my 30 years of Counseling and trust Me Tiphan-Knee EXACTLY the type.
@Lambda And no Misogynes is that a pragmatic as to Dress as a Attractive Woman, There wear Plenty of Gender Neutral outfits.. Hech It would be uncomfortable But any of the Guards Suits could of covered her and she could of Tied Down her Boobs. Thats pragmatic as its Real Armor.. Plunging Neckline in a half Laced leather Bodice is not being PRACTICAL its being a HOT GIRL and Identifying as one. Weather She Admits it to herself or not.
That´s okay, Jonathan. Gender neutral clothing is, well, what it is. Clothing. Anyway, perhaps I´ve overstressed that side of my argument, but in the early comic, Tiff wasn´t confortable with the most sensual clothing she was given by princess Peonie. Note that, also, the underlying theme of the comic changed, and right now the Tiff/Tiphan thing has developed in its meanings, relying less in humoresque exploits, and touching a lot of psychological themes on a more serious tone. To take Exiern as a whole, perfectly coherent story is too much to ask. The shift on how we view the MC has been too great, each plot-writer changing a little the facets of the character. It´s normal, and it has been discussed before, I believe. Even so, I believe Scott´s writing on the MC is interesting, and he´s made an intriguing development with what he´s taken. I wouldn´t take Tiphan-Knee as a good, precise example of being trans, but as a thrilling “showcase-ish” in a fantasy setting. I mean, it´s interesting even without the whole gender issues (of the MC), which it touches, but Exiern shines when it tries to work with a believable context (politics, relationships of any kind, conspiracies, Faden locust, etc). I admit that I don´t think Drowemos ever thought of that virgin barbarian being a whole lot of issues at the start of this webcomic ;). Sometimes I miss that silly humor he had xD.
It seems, to me, that Typh has been fighting for the right to dress as he wants: he has no problems wearing female clothes, he just refuses to wear ‘girlie’ clothes because he is still a male in his mind
I must add, more than “gender issues”, it´s more precise to use “psychological issues”. Tiphan/Tiff is a can of worms tightly reined by his sometimes stern, grumpy demeanor, and ocassional fits of rage (when the ocassion lets on it). This is why I don´t like to use “trans-man” or similar depictions on the MC. It translates to a context that perhaps “conforms” a bit too much our views on the MC. Thanks for reading and comenting on my post, by the way.
I love to argue different Points of view win or lose. If I come off a @SS I apologize . But I wanted to be clear this time around that my reasoning of my opinion not as simple minded as all Gay men want to be Women. I do not believe that.
I think Typh Was Forced into this form..
A form that she did not ask for.
So She Hates it Fights it.
But It was White Magic overloaded..
So I believed at the time and Always have that it was what she secretly wanted.. Even if she did not know it consciously nor was ready to admit it. But all that Power Granted her Deepest Most Hidden wish.
White Magic Does no Harm Even Overloaded its what makes it white magic by Definition. If it did this without Typh consent it would been Black and the Unicorn Would of stopped it.
And if offered freely as a choice at some later point in his life he would of accepted it. As it was it was Forced by Faden. And She wants it undone.
I just want be clear my reasoning not “REDNECK Homophobia”
@Guesticus:Exactly and we saw what he’d prefer to be wearing when he borrowed the clothes from the Peonie’s boyfriend.
I agree completely with Brandi. Being TG is and accepting your body is not something happens. And if you come out, most of your family, friends, associates, … tell you just accept OR deal with it or my favorite, it is the personal cross God has given to you so be endure and be proud to have that cross. And one day you finally kill yourself or you decide to find a way to be who you are, even if you will always be considered by others a freak, you finally no longer consider yourself one.
Natalie, I’m very shy of looking to real-world TG folk as models for what Typh is experiencing, if only because of the magic involved. We have seen that the spell can indeed change her emotions and perceptions, as well as her physical form.