First Law of Gender-Bending

A gender bender is a person who disrupts, or "bends", expected gender roles. Bending expected gender roles may also be called a genderfuck. Gender bending is sometimes a form of social activism undertaken to destroy rigid gender roles and defy sex-role stereotypes, notably in cases where the gender-nonconforming person finds these roles oppressive. It can be a reaction to, and protest of, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny or misandry. Some gender benders identify with the sex assigned them at birth, but challenge the societal norms that assign expectations of particular, gendered behavior to that sex. This rebellion can involve androgynous dress, adornment, behavior, and atypical gender roles. Gender benders may self-identify as trans or genderqueer. [view link] Not only are male-to-female Gender Benders a lot more common than their female-to-male counterparts, they are also a lot more permanent. One might think that the same Applied Phlebotinum that can change a male into a female should just as easily be able to do the opposite, but that's rarely the case in fiction— most characters who try to reverse a male-to-female Gender Bender will learn that Failure Is the Only Option. There are many reasons for this. Even if the phlebotinum is ordinarily reversible there will be a Phlebotinum Breakdown or something else will prevent the character from simply switching the gender-bender into reverse. Perhaps he's become the only person who can protect the Earth with her gender-based superpowers. Perhaps she's fallen in love with his best friend after Jumping the Gender Barrier (the mind is a plaything of the hormones, after all). Maybe a Kid from the Future triggered her inner Mama Bear and she doesn't want to do anything that would prevent that child from being born (the possibility that he could have been the kid's father all along is almost never considered). Or maybe the Evilutionary Biologist responsible for overprinting half of his DNA simply forgot to make a backup copy of that pesky Y chromosome. Regardless of its in-universe rationale, the First Law is usually enforced because Status Quo Is God: When the original sex change is a central tenet of the premise, then it will never be (permanently) reversed because the series simply wouldn't have happened without it. If the series has a finite length, such an event might be saved for its Grand Finale ... or not. On the other hand, if the sex change is not a central element of the series, it's probably just the plot of one-off episode and will be reversed quickly (perhaps to deliver a An Aesop about walking a mile in another "man's" shoes). If the work is a webcomic called The Amazing Girl-Boy's Adventures in Femininity, expect the First Law to be enforced. If one episode of a Kid Com called Homeroom Genie involves the Jackass Genie turning Zach into Zoe to teach him a lesson? Not so much. Many applications of the first Law carry Unfortunate Implications by trading on the assumption that becoming a woman carries an inherent demotion, punishment, or loss of status. Even the most feminist Take That! against men may unconsciously support this Double Standard if it assumes that a Humiliation Conga is inevitable if you put a Handsome Lech in skirts. (In these cases expect the author to avert No Periods, Period in unfortunately graphic detail.) In contrast, female-to-male gender benders are not only less common, but are typically resolved quickly and easily, ultimately reinforcing the woman's original femininity because Women Are Wiser. And since Most Writers Are Male and Beauty Is Never Tarnished the very forces aiding the restoration of her gender will work against him restoring his because just that much more pulchritude to go around if she gets restored and he doesn't. And if the gender-bent man refuses to act in gender-appropriate ways, then who cares? Tomboys have always been more popular than sissies. [view link] SJG