Just a Face and a Caption (RUNOFF): Wholesome Crossdresser

Sheesh, you think we'd be able to find a better image. You can't even tell he's a guy by looking at him. The only thing telling us that we're looking at a boy is the caption. He's got to go.

Fixed the link. This pick would work very well for, say, Viewer Gender Confusion, but here, it's out of place. Motion to pull until a better example is found.

edited 7th Jul '12 2:03:49 PM by jkbeta

Previous thread...clocked out for non-results.

edited 7th Jul '12 2:40:17 PM by Willbyr

Well, the trope is about someone crossdressing well enough that it's accepted as a good thing, and that generally means you can't tell the real gender. How do you display that in a picture? As far as the current goes, it does accomplish that. The only information necessary that the image doesn't carry is that it's a guy. While that's an important part, I still think the image is better than nothing.

How about this picture◊ with a caption along the lines of 'While not busy writing Great American Novels, F Scott Fitzgerald liked to dress up as "the most beautiful showgirl" on campus.'? Though I have to admit myself that it's probably too caption-reliant. I just think Fitz in drag is too good to pass up.

edited 7th Jul '12 6:55:00 PM by bananasloth

That's fantastic. I've never seen that picture before, but it's hilarious and I think that the caption does a good job of explaining things.

edited 7th Jul '12 7:50:52 PM by cfive

Both the current and #5 are decent.

Uh, I don't see anything in the definition that says anything about how well the crossdresser can "pass"; only that (s)he is accepted and a generally good person. (Yes, there's the second paragraph, but that's called out as a specific variant, not as the general definition.)

edited 8th Jul '12 12:35:16 AM by Leaper

I don't mind the current picture. but the F. Scott Fitzgerald one is good too.

How about these?

Do note that the first one is technically a SFW panel from an otherwise pornographic doujinshi. As for the second, it's actually three separate images, but I figured we could fuse them together.

edited 8th Jul '12 6:24:24 AM by MarqFJA

The first panel from the second sequence Works For Me (TM).

The current image is one that everybody else seems to like a lot more than I do. I still think this Jimmy Olsen image is perfect:

I don't mind the current. Fitzy is good, and the first and last panels of Marq's second suggestion are good too.

Lots of okay suggestions, but I don't really see how they're better than the current one.

I did like #12.

I like Fitzgerald and Jimmy Olsen.

An anime/manga image wouldn't be good IMO, because a lot of those characters look effeminate regardless of gender. It's that whole Only Six Faces thing.

edited 9th Jul '12 9:27:10 AM by redhed311

I think I like Marq's image best. Unlike the others, it actually explains in-panel the crossdressing.

I don't get what alibi the current image has. He'd pass as a perfectly normal prepubescent girl. Really, the caption's the only thing telling us he's a guy.

The only real explanation I've ever come up with is "Unacknowledged Grandfather Clause." It's not exactly JAFAAC, but it's awfully close. And the "theory" of the image/caption combo would work better in a trope like Attractive Bent-Gender or This Is A Great Disguise or somesuch.

I don't really care for Marq's images, to be honest. The first is kind of all over the place (and has that culture-specific nosebleed thing), and the second is kind of confusing. The dialogue's talking about how the person in the first image should cross-dress, as if she's stopped... but she clearly looks like a girl in that image!

edited 8th Jul '12 7:34:08 PM by suedenim

I agree with your second paragraph.

Hm, I thought the subtitles made it clear that the person was male, so I found it illustrative.

That part's clear(ish), but what's confusing is that the image is apparently a flashback or something, as he looks like a woman, but the subtitled dialogue is along the lines of "Hey, how come you don't dress like a woman anymore? I liked that!"

Anyway, I like the Jimmy Olsen one. There's a lot less text to read, and it's much simpler.

Agreed. I vote Olsen.

Plus, as I said before, many anime guys (at least to us non fans) tend to look effeminate regardless of gender, so it wouldn't be as effective to use an image from that medium.

Any other thoughts? Seems like there's some Jimmy Olsen momentum....

I'm going to go with Jimmy. Unlike the pictures where it's just a face and a caption of generic smiling anime woman #54923, you can see what's going on in the Jimmy Olson pic just by reading the dialogue. And as a bonus, Jimmy Olson is a recognizable character.

edited 15th Jul '12 1:46:34 PM by TailsDoll