Iz totally important poll!
So, I am writing something that involves a genderqueer character. And I have some problems I hope y'all can solve.
Firstly... the, uh, nature of this. It's set in the same 'verse as Alan-Edward-Natalya (which I might as well start referring to as Queers IN SPAAAACE if this keeps up), which is Some Significant Time In The Future. Gender reassignment surgery and hormones are fairly easy to get in most nations - the exception being the North American Union, 'cause NAmU are conservative dicks - even elective. Nico, our genderqueer character, was the eldest child in a Russian family. Unfortunately, said family were nutters who believed in preserving the purity of the Rus' people, and possibly blowing stuff up/killing people to do so. As the eldest, Nico was raised to fight the good fight, and breed a nice big Rus' family of their own. Nico, to say the least, had a very unpleasant growing-up. They come out of it an abused mess. BUT then they get away, and have a chance to come to grips with themselves, and get (not enough) therapy and surgery and hormones, and we get to where the story starts. (Nico's other notable traits include being a smartass and a snappy dresser).
It's the, uh, nature of the surgery that I'm hung up on. I had originally written them as being biologically male, but with breasts - though Nico, in story, is very coy about what they were - partly because, well, that's how I imagined them, partly because it gives more them more opportunity to fuck around with perception, and partly because it gave me an opportunity to do the following monologue.
(Nico is addressing their new partner, Agent Ekua Ba, who has just met them and has been trying really hard not to stare and guess).
Nico: "But have you considered it's for cosmetic reasons? Maybe I was a woman who started hormones because," (drops voice) "I thought it sounded all sexy like this. Maybe I was a man who thought the boobs flattered my lovely figure. Maybe I had this girlfriend, and I really really wanted to fuck her, and -"
Ekua: "Krushic, your sex life is not germane to this investigation!"
Only, then this voice in my head went, "chicks with dicks." And now it won't leave. And I'm terrified that that will happen to the readers, too, and they won't buy Nico as a character. So, dear readers, did it happen to you before I put it into your head?"
Now, you will have noticed that I have used the pronoun "they" when talking about Nico! That's because I'm not sure what pronoun set to use. I started out with sie/hir just because it's the one I'm most familiar with, but it didn't seem quite right and kuzujuk agreed. So, dear readers, will you vote on which of the choices you prefer? If it helps, the gender-neutral honorific is Mir (both in the sense of "Mir Krushic" and "Please come this way, Mir.").
Poll What pronoun set sounds best?
Firstly... the, uh, nature of this. It's set in the same 'verse as Alan-Edward-Natalya (which I might as well start referring to as Queers IN SPAAAACE if this keeps up), which is Some Significant Time In The Future. Gender reassignment surgery and hormones are fairly easy to get in most nations - the exception being the North American Union, 'cause NAmU are conservative dicks - even elective. Nico, our genderqueer character, was the eldest child in a Russian family. Unfortunately, said family were nutters who believed in preserving the purity of the Rus' people, and possibly blowing stuff up/killing people to do so. As the eldest, Nico was raised to fight the good fight, and breed a nice big Rus' family of their own. Nico, to say the least, had a very unpleasant growing-up. They come out of it an abused mess. BUT then they get away, and have a chance to come to grips with themselves, and get (not enough) therapy and surgery and hormones, and we get to where the story starts. (Nico's other notable traits include being a smartass and a snappy dresser).
It's the, uh, nature of the surgery that I'm hung up on. I had originally written them as being biologically male, but with breasts - though Nico, in story, is very coy about what they were - partly because, well, that's how I imagined them, partly because it gives more them more opportunity to fuck around with perception, and partly because it gave me an opportunity to do the following monologue.
(Nico is addressing their new partner, Agent Ekua Ba, who has just met them and has been trying really hard not to stare and guess).
Nico: "But have you considered it's for cosmetic reasons? Maybe I was a woman who started hormones because," (drops voice) "I thought it sounded all sexy like this. Maybe I was a man who thought the boobs flattered my lovely figure. Maybe I had this girlfriend, and I really really wanted to fuck her, and -"
Ekua: "Krushic, your sex life is not germane to this investigation!"
Only, then this voice in my head went, "chicks with dicks." And now it won't leave. And I'm terrified that that will happen to the readers, too, and they won't buy Nico as a character. So, dear readers, did it happen to you before I put it into your head?"
Now, you will have noticed that I have used the pronoun "they" when talking about Nico! That's because I'm not sure what pronoun set to use. I started out with sie/hir just because it's the one I'm most familiar with, but it didn't seem quite right and kuzujuk agreed. So, dear readers, will you vote on which of the choices you prefer? If it helps, the gender-neutral honorific is Mir (both in the sense of "Mir Krushic" and "Please come this way, Mir.").
Poll What pronoun set sounds best?