# The Morality of Stripping Elves **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087 "2010-08-12T21:47:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/1 "2010-08-12T21:47:20Z")
The Scenario: A set of highly skilled people have been conjured from Earth to a fantasy universe, to save the world from an evil sorcerer. They successfully accomplish this task, saving all of the Elves, Humans, mer-people, and other races from a tyrannical dictatorship. The woman who conjured them into this realm messes up the incantation to send them back to Earth, however. As a result, the spell has fractured into some number of parts that have spread across the face of the fantasy realm, stamped like tattoos on the skin of female Elves. The only way for our group of saviors to return home is to search down and collect the fragments of the spell. The catch, however, is that female Elves are amazingly private when it comes to any physical imperfections. They would never reveal that they had such markings on their person to anyone. They certainly wouldn’t volunteer the information to a group of people they don’t know, heroes or not. The only way for our group of saviors to return to Earth is to hunt down and forcedly strip every Elven woman that they come across. They will never cause that person any real physical harm in doing this, nor do they gain any personal satisfaction from making women strip. Morally, as saviors of the planet, do they have the right to strip any Elven woman they come across? Does it help that they perform further heroic acts as they go along searching the planet? And does it help that out of their group of 4, 3 are women? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/2 "2010-08-12T21:52:08Z")
I have that anime! Everyone involved was a moron. Aside from the fact that the travelers were stupid enough to never, _ever_ explain what they were doing (they just apologized as they stripped the elves), the elves both knew the situation from the start, and took _forever_ to get around to realizing that they merely needed to get off their duffs and find the marked elves themselves, using less tactless means. When they _did_ get around to it, they found the last two marked elves in, apparently, a matter of days. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/3 "2010-08-12T21:53:24Z")
I’m not sure that they have any better options in the [Those Who Hunt Elves](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Those_Who_Hunt_Elves) universe. The guardians of the elven world know what’s happened, but don’t seem to have any better ideas on what to do. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/4 "2010-08-12T21:59:10Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > I have that anime! Technically, it’s a manga that had its jokes imported into an anime that abridged some of the story and character development. The differences are very subtle, but whereas the anime get a few chuckles, the manga is actually quite endearing. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/5 "2010-08-12T22:00:46Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > I’m not sure that they have any better options in the [Those Who Hunt Elves](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Those_Who_Hunt_Elves) universe. The guardians of the elven world know what’s happened, but don’t seem to have any better ideas on what to do. Oh, I dunno about _that_. If _nothing_ else they could have had the women do the stripping, rather than having the one man to do pretty much all of it. (Yes, he was a bit hard to control when he got moving. No, the others didn’t even try.) The series is pretty much built from the foundation up on “this is unjustifiable”. That aside, though, it’s not bad at all. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/6 "2010-08-12T22:02:01Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > > [@begbert2](#): > > > > I have that anime! > > Technically, it’s a manga that had its jokes imported into an anime that abridged some of the story and character development. The differences are very subtle, but whereas the anime get a few chuckles, the manga is actually quite endearing. I never read the manga - I don’t read much manga at _all_. I’m much more prone to spend $35 on a box set of something than $15 a _volume_ on a comic. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/7 "2010-08-12T22:02:54Z")
God, I’m glad regular old porn does it for me. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/8 "2010-08-12T22:04:21Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > God, I’m glad regular old porn does it for me. Actually, this technically isn’t porn. As best I can tell, it’s regular old TV. And it’s not all that explicit, either, as these things go. (Speaking about the anime version, of course. I dunno about the manga.) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/9 "2010-08-12T22:08:08Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > > > God, I’m glad regular old porn does it for me. > > Actually, this technically isn’t porn. As best I can tell, it’s regular old TV. And it’s not all that explicit, either, as these things go. Maybe not, but I surmise from the cover image that it’s intended (at the very least) to titillate— as is the “moral” hypothetical presented by the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/10 "2010-08-12T22:08:31Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > (Speaking about the anime version, of course. I dunno about the manga.) A man who had been in jail for 20 years would still struggle to use TWHE as porn. Anyways, this isn’t intended as a discussion of the series, but of the morality of the scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/11 "2010-08-12T22:13:19Z")
I’d say no, they don’t have the right. They aren’t faced with imminent death, and realistically running around assaulting women one by one is more likely to get you mobbed and hacked to tiny pieces long before you find what you are looking for. Which means you are sexually harassing elves and aren’t even accomplishing anything in the process. Well, except for possibly improving the gene pool by killing yourself off… ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/12 "2010-08-12T22:13:53Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Maybe not, but I surmise from the cover image that it’s intended (at the very least) to titillate— as is the “moral” hypothetical presented by the OP. Yeah, but this is anime/manga - that’s pretty much par for the course. > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > A man who had been in jail for 20 years would still struggle to use TWHE as porn. > > Anyways, this isn’t intended as a discussion of the series, but of the morality of the scenario. The morality of the scenario is shot completely to hell, in my personal opinion. Though, as noted, that’s not entirely due to the scenario itself - it is in large part based on the fact that none of the participarts seem to notice the many other varyingly-less-immoral courses of action they could pursue. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/13 "2010-08-12T22:15:59Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > The morality of the scenario is shot completely to hell, in my personal opinion. Though, as noted, that’s not entirely due to the scenario itself - it is in large part based on the fact that none of the participarts seem to notice the many other varyingly-less-immoral courses of action they could pursue. Like? If only the women did the strip-searches, would it be moral? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/14 "2010-08-12T22:16:02Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I’d say no, they don’t have the right. They aren’t faced with imminent death, and realistically running around assaulting women one by one is more likely to get you mobbed and hacked to tiny pieces long before you find what you are looking for. Which means you are sexually harassing elves and aren’t even accomplishing anything in the process. Well, except possibly improving the gene pool by killing yourself off… They had certain advantages against being mobbed and hacked up, including but not limited to having both high-powered magic and high powered weaponry in a mideval setting, including a tank. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/15 "2010-08-12T22:17:10Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > > [@begbert2](#): > > > > The morality of the scenario is shot completely to hell, in my personal opinion. Though, as noted, that’s not entirely due to the scenario itself - it is in large part based on the fact that none of the participarts seem to notice the many other varyingly-less-immoral courses of action they could pursue. > > Like? See post 2. In the anime, at least, the elves _exercised_ a faster and more moral route…when they were getting close to the end of season 1 and needed to wrap things up. ETA: and post 5. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/16 "2010-08-12T22:18:56Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > running around assaulting women one by one is more likely to get you mobbed and hacked to tiny pieces long before you find what you are looking for. Which means you are sexually harassing elves and aren’t even accomplishing anything in the process. Well, except for possibly improving the gene pool by killing yourself off… The group saved the planet from its single greatest threat. They have (via dramatic license), the power to win against the largest army, essentially. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/17 "2010-08-12T22:23:34Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > > I’d say no, they don’t have the right. They aren’t faced with imminent death, and realistically running around assaulting women one by one is more likely to get you mobbed and hacked to tiny pieces long before you find what you are looking for. Which means you are sexually harassing elves and aren’t even accomplishing anything in the process. Well, except possibly improving the gene pool by killing yourself off… > > They had certain advantages against being mobbed and hacked up, including but not limited to having both high-powered magic and high powered weaponry in a mideval setting, including a tank. Then send only elven women against them. They can’t open fire without risking destroying what they are looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/18 "2010-08-12T22:24:30Z")
I am only here to state, for the record, that I have nothing whatsodamnever to do with starting this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/19 "2010-08-12T22:32:40Z")
I will put on my Evil Overlord hat to answer this question: The most likely reason the runes or whatnot are on the bodies of the Elvenwomen is to provoke mortal Men into doing something stupid like stripping them for this information. That’s why I would do it. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087/20 "2010-08-12T22:46:08Z")
Eeeeexcellent, Skald. Give in to your hatred… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morality-of-stripping-elves/550087.md?page=2)