Pulling off the "samus is a girl" trope effectively?

Okay, so I've got an original story. The main character is stated to be male, but it's made as ambiguous as possible (i.e. when they are seen after taking a bath, the towel is knotted above the chest area) and there has even been one small example of Female Gaze so far. I plan to have a flashback where said character is assumed to be a little boy, but is revealed to be the young boy's little sister.   ^*

Is this too unfeasible? Should I add extra foreshadowing, or just ditch the idea all together? I would really appreciate the help, Because I'm so unsure of it.

edited 29th Dec '10 5:24:21 PM by fruitpork

If you want to make it not obvious, have her wear the towel around her shoulders, like a cloak. I've never seen a man knot a towel above the chest.

^ That's cuz we don't. The only reason a man would ever wrap a towel around his chest (even then briefly) is because the air is fucking cold. Even then most guys (myself included) just suck it up and keep it around the waist.

"Allah may guide their bullets, but Jesus helps those who aim down the sights."

^ Well I did see one example of a guy wearing a towel around his chest in Mulan, But that was probably just for comedy and to emphasize how un-manly he was. also: YOU OWE ME A PAIR OF SLIPPERS!!

Interesting idea.

Is the girl impersonating said brother?

Also if the towel thing is a problem why not give him/her a robe?

edited 29th Dec '10 5:34:00 PM by HistoryMaker

^Impersonating? No way. Her brother KILLED THEIR MOM. Also, he's like 26. S/he also didn't have a robe at the time. A: Because he couldn't afford one, and B:BECAUSE HE'S MANLYY!!!!!11one

edited 29th Jan '11 5:02:52 PM by fruitpork

Yeah, I agree with the idea to give her a robe instead of a towel, but then again a robe cinched at the waist is pretty form-fitting and you'd have to be a total Pettanko not to rouse suspicion.

Edit: Would it be possible to skip the bathing scene altogether? Also, instead of stating the character to be male, you could use The All-Concealing "I".

edited 3rd Jan '11 3:56:29 PM by OnTheOtherHandle

"War doesn't prove who's right, only who's left." "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."

Well, I didn't really go into much detail during the bath scene, pretty much "He took a bath." I wrote the story in third person though, and she is mentioned to be a 'he'. Then again, It's for the most part Third person limited, so that might be a way to get away with it.

Just don't make it a big deal that she's a girl. Make it a bigger shock to the reader, because they just assumed he was a well, he, all this time.

Oh, and word of advice, potholing to 'precision f strike' is not good ettiquette round these parts.

Read my stories!

Write it in first person and give her a gender neutral name like Alex Hayden.

If you're going to go with a third person perspective, have the other characters make the mistake of referring to her as a he. If the narration of the story refers to her as a he, then the reveal might just seem like an unnecessary Plot Twist.

edited 29th Jan '11 11:59:29 AM by SandJosieph

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Also, I might want to start a new thread, but I have a related question:

Is it possible to wait multiple books before revealing that a character is a girl, or would that be nigh impossible without going into Wallbanger territory.

Chihuaha: If you're going to do that, you really have to use first-person narration. It might take some working, but you could pull it off without it looking too awkward.

And yeah, it might not look good if you have the narration refer to her as "he".

"War doesn't prove who's right, only who's left." "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."

Well, her name is Will, So that may or may not count as neutral. Thanks, I'll edit that out.

edited 29th Jan '11 3:32:05 PM by fruitpork

I'd go with a more gender neutral name. Also, you can have soldiers or people in authroity refer to her as "Sir".

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Actually, It doesn't really involve the military, though her Brother did send out bounty hunters to kill her at one point. One of the main plot points is that she chose to crossdress in order to keep from having to deal with these all the time.

I like the name Will it’s different. It could be short for Willow.

Jamie's about the best I can think of.

There are too many toasters in my chimney!

Or Wilma. Though I think her taking up a more...masculine name is more justified in this case.