History Main / Elfeminate

* More-or-less averted in ''{{Rift}}'': Although smooth-faced and clearly intended to be attractive, elven men are too sinewy and rawboned to be called [[{{bishonen}} bishōnen]].

* More-or-less averted in ''{{Rift}}'': Although smooth-faced and clearly intended to be attractive, elven men are too sinewy and rawboned to be called {{bishōnen}}.

With the rest of FiveRaces set this may vary, but there's a distinctive trend to portray the [[OurElvesAreBetter elves]] as rather [[DudeLooksLikeALady androgynous]], in range from {{Bishonen}} to AmbiguouslyGay.

* ''Labyrinths of Echo'' by Max Frei -- there's a known tendency of elves' descendants to be bisexual... though it's supposedly because their brains are wired in such a way that they just don't think in dichotomies (unless actively trying to).

* In ''TalesOfMU'', elves seem to be near universally bisexual by cultural norm. This extends to half and quarter-elf characters.

* The two principle characters of the ''{{Nightrunner}}'' books are [[OurElvesAreBetter Aurenfaie]]. Both of them are bisexual. Although with Alec, it may be more of an IfItsYouItsOkay toward Seregil.

** Similarly, Fenris of DragonAgeII. He's more masculine than some examples, but between the lean elven body model and pretty face, he hits the {{Bishonen}} mark.

* In "A.R.R.R Roberts"' parody of ''TheHobbit'', ''The Soddit'', Wood Elves and High Elves become Wild Elves and Coward Elves. The accompanying illustration makes it clear that the Wild Elves are based on Oscar, and the Coward Elves on Noel.

"No facial hair" clause helps, but it's only a little part of the image -- other beardless peoples are immune to this even while wearing [[BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins braids and beads]] ''and'' being one of [[FantasyCounterpartCulture prototypes]] for elves. One of probable reasons why androgynous qualities of elves are played up is the [[{{Foil}} intentional contrast]] between Elves and [[ElvesVsDwarves their traditional opposites]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarves]], who are basically hypermasculine: big (as in stout and muscular), bearded, axe-swinging drunks (which depending on the portrayal may apply to female dwarves as well).

** Similarly, Fenris of DragonAgeII.

"No facial hair" clause helps, but it's only a little part of the image -- other beardless peoples are immune to this even while wearing [[BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins braids and beads]] ''and'' being one of [[FantasyCounterpartCulture prototypes]] for elves. One of probable reasons why androgynous qualities of elves are played up is the [[{{Foil}} intentional contrast]] between Elves and [[ElvesVsDwarves their traditional opposites]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarves]], who are basically hypermasculine: big (as in stout and muscular), bearded, axe-swinging drunks.

* ''OrderOfTheStick'' uses AmbiguousGender of the Elves as a {{running gag}}, to the extent that, in the subtitles, the Elvish children refer to their parental units as "parent" and "other parent" rather than "mother" and "father".
** worth entioning that V (one of the children in questions parents) AmbiguousGender has been a running joke for a long time (even if it wasn't meant to be ambiguous at first). Also the children are adopted so any of the four gender combinations for 2 people is possible for V and his/her spouse.
* Just look at ''WorldOfWarcraft'' entry in {{Bishonen}} page. Yes, the one with "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?" one-liner.

* Bisexual elf Zevran from ''DragonAge'' mentions this as the reason he and other elves were chosen as assassins. Most humans found them pleasing to look at, which increased the chances they'd be successful in their jobs. Zevran himself is a prime example of this trope at work.
* A source of many jokes in Martin Pearson's musical ''LordOfTheRings'' parody, ''The Ufinished Spelling Errors of Bolkein''.
* Averted with ''MagicTheGathering'''s burly [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=45442 Eighth Edition Elvish Champion]].

* Elves in QuantumGravity tend to be thin and delicate-looking. Do not mistake this for weak. Elves are still fulfilling TheArcher [[IncrediblyLamePun archetype]] fairly often, and the author does recognize how much strength it takes to pull a decent-to-large-sized bow back.
* In TalesOfMU, elves seem to be near universally bisexual by cultural norm. This extends to half and quarter-elf characters.
* Elves in ''{{Majesty}}'' are androgynous-looking, tend to have {{Gender Blender Name}}s, and have voices somewhere between tenor and contralto.

->'''Tychus:''' I'd love to know why you have a rule for that.

* In TaleOfMU, elves seem to be near universally bisexual by cultural norm. This extends to half and quarter-elf characters.

* ''OrderOfTheStick'' uses AmbiguousGender of the Elves as a {{running gag}}.