# I don't quite get today's "Questionable Content" strip **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [April 13, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967 "2010-04-13T17:48:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 60
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1181 "2012-11-19T19:26:18Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > She may have taken advantage of hormones, surgery, etc. to more closely align her body with her gender identification or she may just do it with clothes/hairstyle etc. I think it’s pretty clear she’s had _some_ medical intervention, whether just hormones or surgery - her bathing suit top is too low cut to hold breastforms without being obvious, I think, so, she’s clearly got something up top - she’s well into the range it could just be hormones, so I think she’s pre-surgery. OTOH, that might just be Jeph goofing up a bit. (As an example of what I mean, [another strip about Clinton’s robot hand](http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2305). See where the neck of her bathing suit goes to? If her breasts weren’t real, the breastforms would be visible over the top. However, I mostly post this, because I am cracked up by Claire’s face when she chimes in and Clinton reacts.) It’s also possible she’s a transguy who’s about to begin her transition, but this doesn’t feel like that, because…well, for one thing, even if she wasn’t at the living as a man stage, I would imagine her to be presenting in a more masculine (though not obviously male) manner - short hair, and no [pink kitty bag](http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2272), for a start. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1182 "2012-11-19T19:32:41Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > I think it’s pretty clear she’s had _some_ medical intervention, whether just hormones or surgery - her bathing suit top is too low cut to hold breastforms without being obvious, I think, so, she’s clearly got something up top - she’s well into the range it could just be hormones, so I think she’s pre-surgery. > > OTOH, that might just be Jeph goofing up a bit. Hormones do grow breasts out like that, and that size is consistent with my experience (admittedly just helping one MtF through transition). She looks a hell of a lot like the trans girl I know, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1183 "2012-11-20T10:06:00Z")
The conversation continues! Marten continues to be awesome! One thing that struck me a little before the strip was posted… I wonder just why Claire decided to bring it up with Marten…maybe she’s got a crush on him, and wanted to make sure he knew, in case something came of it… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1184 "2012-11-20T11:01:58Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > I wonder just why Claire decided to bring it up with Marten…maybe she’s got a crush on him, and wanted to make sure he knew, in case something came of it… I think it’s just because he said she’s his friend, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1185 "2012-11-20T13:42:07Z")
I wonder what her name was pre-transition. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1186 "2012-11-20T14:28:02Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > (As an example of what I mean, [another strip about Clinton’s robot hand](http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2305). See where the neck of her bathing suit goes to? If her breasts weren’t real, the breastforms would be visible over the top. However, I mostly post this, because I am cracked up by Claire’s face when she chimes in and Clinton reacts.) I don’t really care about the trans storyline, pro or con, but I can’t look at that strip and not crack up when I hit that panel. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1187 "2012-11-20T15:26:09Z")
Maybe Clinton feels “betrayed” by the fact that Claire is a trans i.e. he liked having a brother to hang out with? Or he thinks it’s an attempt to grab attention, since he has a robot hand? Or perhaps I’m overthinking? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1188 "2012-11-20T15:36:27Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > The conversation continues! Marten continues to be awesome! Indeed. Last night I was thinking about it and my overriding thought was ‘How close am I supposed to keep this?’ and WHAM, that’s Marten’s first question. Good man! ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1189 "2012-11-20T15:42:01Z")
I’m going to go on record and say that Claire was previously Clarence. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1190 "2012-11-20T15:58:05Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Maybe Clinton feels “betrayed” by the fact that Claire is a trans i.e. he liked having a brother to hang out with? Or he thinks it’s an attempt to grab attention, since he has a robot hand? Or perhaps I’m overthinking? I’m thinking this might cast Clinton in a more favorable light. We’ve seen that both siblings have a sharp reaction to anyone thinking they’re twins. For Claire, we now see there’s a reason - she doesn’t like people suggesting she looks like a male version of herself. To Claire, being told she looks like Clinton is too uncomfortably close to being told she still looks like her old male identity. But why would Clinton have an [identical reaction](http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2277)? I think the most likely explanation is that it’s a defensive reaction on Claire’s behalf. While the two might bicker like typical siblings, he’s still defending her. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1191 "2012-11-20T16:38:00Z")
I like that theory, **Little Nemo**. Telling Claire that she looks like Clinton’s twin can be interpreted by either of them as “Claire, you’re not passing, you look like a long-haired boy.” I think they very much have a “only I can pick on my sibling” sort of relationship. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1192 "2012-11-20T19:43:51Z")
For an explanation on why Marten is so smooth compared to [his usual self](http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2307), look here: [The Inebriati](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIv96reVlAE) ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1193 "2012-11-20T20:12:55Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I’m going to go on record and say that Claire was previously Clarence. It really shouldn’t matter though. She’s Claire. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1194 "2012-11-20T21:30:09Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > So, interesting little turn of events today. I wonder if this is a cause for the bad relationship she has with her brother… Do they really have a bad relationship? I don’t have any siblings, so I don’t have a firsthand comparison, but they seem to engage in the standard amount of sibling squabbling, particularly for people in their early twenties. If anything, this makes their relationship look better: lots of trans people get disowned entirely by their families when they come out. Clinton doesn’t appear to have any issue with hanging out with Claire in social situations, and has generally been respectful of her gender identity. I’m sure its a source of some weirdness and friction between the two of them, but I know a lot of transpeople who would give their right hand (no pun intended) to have a relationship like that with their family. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1195 "2012-11-20T21:31:18Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > It really shouldn’t matter though. She’s Claire. In terms of creating character depth, it absolutely should - I have no doubt that Jeph has a rough guide of Claire’s history. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1196 "2012-11-20T21:39:17Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > In terms of creating character depth, it absolutely should - I have no doubt that Jeph has a rough guide of Claire’s history. In terms of Claire as a person, it shouldn’t. I guarantee you that as far as she’s concerned, her previous male identity no longer exists or is relevant in any way. From a character standpoint, there’s really no benefit in assigning her previous life a name, as it’s not relevant in any way to the character present in the comic. The only way it would be relevant is if she had been in the strip before pre-transition. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1197 "2012-11-20T21:43:06Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I’m going to go on record and say that Claire was previously Clarence. If we’re going to speculate on what name she was given at birth, I’d say Clarence is almost certainly not it. It’s very unusual for a trans person to take a name related to their birth name. Using myself as an example (I’m bigender, not trans, but the same general principle applies) - my masculine name is James, my feminine name Siubhan (which is the Scottish Gaelic equivalent of Joan). Most of my trans (and otherwise gender variant) friends are similar, but I don’t feel comfortable sharing their names… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1198 "2012-11-20T22:23:00Z")
At any rate, if you _were_ going to feminize Clarence, “Clarice” seems the more likely choice. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1199 "2012-11-21T00:27:49Z")
Yeah, but then everybody would be doing Hannibal Lechter impressions at you all the time, and that would get real old real fast. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1200 "2012-11-21T03:54:49Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I guarantee you that as far as she’s concerned, her previous male identity no longer exists or is relevant in any way. Except that she’s telling Marten about it this week. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967.md?page=59) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967.md?page=61)