Gender Switch Essay
To Be or Not to Be (female)
Where gender switch fics tend to go wrong
I was reading a gender switch fic, and had one of those moments when I realized why I'm not enthralled with the genre. I really want to like gender switch fics since it pings on my alternate universe kink. I like fics that push the envelope, but something about the genre in general usually leaves me bemoaning the missed opportunities and horrible plots.
To me, where most of these fics fall down is that they're trying to exacerbate the gender differences on the physical level, and miss the subtlety possible when it comes to psychological differences. There's many, many studies that show males and females think in different ways. A male character isn't going to be exactly the same as a female character, even if put into the same situations. Here's some generalizations which might piss a couple of people off:
*Females are physically weaker than men.
*Females face conflict differently than men.
*Females are more open with their emotions.
*Males are more likely to react with physical activity, rather than discussing things.
*Female and male rivalries and relationships are structured in entirely different ways.
*The society-approved gender roles are different, and people are going to view a male different than a female.
*Females and males view sex differently.
So gender switch fic should be about more than sticking a pair of tits on a male and having him freak out. It's more than about creating a societally acceptable male/female relationship. To me, gender switch should be about the concept of character identity.
On of the obvious problems with gender switches is that some writers use them to "justify" a character pairing. There's some fandoms that seem really bad about that - D. Gray-man writers see to like a female Allen, Gundam Wing likes a female Duo, Naruto likes female Naruto, Gundam Seed likes a female Kira... in some fandoms, I start questioning the character's canon gender since fans seem so besotted with swapping them around.
When a male character is flipped, it's almost always one that's already effeminate or is "more female" than others - usually the one the fangirls would label the sub/uke. It's easier to transition into believing this character acts like a female. The character then becomes an author avatar. That raises the whole issue on yaoi, and what attracts females to it, but that's an entirely different soapbox.
Without significant proof, I will state that it appears to be mainly younger writers who go for this tactic. It's writers who either want to create a Mary Sue-esque lead (for example, making Duo of Gundam Wing into a weepy, needy girl who is obsessed with teeny bopper music), or who want to avoid the whole slash/yaoi question. I've seen several fics where the gender-swap is used by clearly homophobic writers.
Gender switches also seem to occur because people like the roles characters are in - they want to keep the dynamics the same, or open the possibility of having children. I'd say gender switches are the twin-sister genre to male preg.
I've also seen relatively few female-to-male gender switches. This is likely, in part, because fandom doesn't love the female characters in the same ways as it does the males. Females are more likely to generate character-hate than males (which is again another subject too long to get into right now).
I think what disappoints me most is that gender switches rarely explore the question of gender identity. It's almost always assumed, that when something magic happens to flop a character's identity, that there is period of flipping out, then some kind of acceptance. If it's a pairing fic, it leads to sex.
If a gender switch is what I consider a "true" alternate universe, and the character has always been female, there's other issues that arise. There's the cliché of "hiding gender for some ulterior motive," or a "the character's the same, he just has boobs." While there's a lot of potential with these, I rarely see them spun in a unique way. I've seen people do rewrites of entire series where one of the characters has gender switched, and been disappointed that there's no real change in what happens. Which makes me wonder what the whole point of it was.
I also really dislike the "feminism hammer" that a lot of longer gender switches seem to be determined to bring down. Yes, being on the rag and having cramps sucks, bras can be a bitch, and being looked at as weak or incapable is disheartening. However after a while it gets very boring to read about a previously male character trying to cope with being female.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each gender.
Some gender switches I like:
Returning Echoes by silkendreammaid, Full Metal Alchemist, Roy/Ed
Al brings Ed back after the anime, but accidentally gets it wrong and turns his brother into a sister. Probably the best exploration of a gender change on a character, and what roles and assumptions being female vs being male has upon an entire cast.
Grade School Fight by Triste, Hikaru no Go, Hikaru/Akira
Interesting thing about this one is that both of the characters have undergone a gender-swap, instead of just one. It's a complete AU, rather than a mid-canon swap, so the differences brought out in characterization are subtle without feeling like getting hit over the head.
The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop by Merlin Missy, Justice League
This fic is one of those that takes a lot of the gender switch cliches and runs with them as usual - the writing, though, is good enough that it's an engaging tale. The gender switch is the plot device, but there's a B-plot with enough action to move the story forward. Gender switch doesn't need to be deep.
Genma's Daughter by Deborah Goldsmith, Ranma ½, Ranma/Ryouga
A very good exploration of gender identity. Ranma lends itself well to this since the series plot is about the conflicts a boy faces when forced to switch back and forth between sexes. This fic is very interesting because of the evolutionary process Ranma goes through.
Untitled Drabble by biztheinsane, Death Note, Raito/L
Sometimes gender switch can be used in a short fic, to very good effect. I remember this three years later, so obviously the writer did something right.
Some fics where gender identity is explored without a physical gender switch:
Searching for Sanity by Miko no da, Please Save My Earth, Issei/Jinpachi, NC-117
One of my current favorites, it features transsexuality that fits very well into canon. Issei is another natural target for this, considering he has a female soul in a male body. I find his choice in the end particularly interesting, and not what I was expecting.
The Saki-chan verse by Askerian and others, Naruto, Naruto/Sasuke, NC-17
The first fic in the series, "Lace and Strawberries" is fetishistic and not for everyone, but the universe spins in an interesting way. The basic concept is Sasuke using a female identity to "cope" with all the shit he goes through.
So... anyone have any thoughts? Or any particularly good gender switch fics to recommend?
Where gender switch fics tend to go wrong
I was reading a gender switch fic, and had one of those moments when I realized why I'm not enthralled with the genre. I really want to like gender switch fics since it pings on my alternate universe kink. I like fics that push the envelope, but something about the genre in general usually leaves me bemoaning the missed opportunities and horrible plots.
To me, where most of these fics fall down is that they're trying to exacerbate the gender differences on the physical level, and miss the subtlety possible when it comes to psychological differences. There's many, many studies that show males and females think in different ways. A male character isn't going to be exactly the same as a female character, even if put into the same situations. Here's some generalizations which might piss a couple of people off:
*Females are physically weaker than men.
*Females face conflict differently than men.
*Females are more open with their emotions.
*Males are more likely to react with physical activity, rather than discussing things.
*Female and male rivalries and relationships are structured in entirely different ways.
*The society-approved gender roles are different, and people are going to view a male different than a female.
*Females and males view sex differently.
So gender switch fic should be about more than sticking a pair of tits on a male and having him freak out. It's more than about creating a societally acceptable male/female relationship. To me, gender switch should be about the concept of character identity.
On of the obvious problems with gender switches is that some writers use them to "justify" a character pairing. There's some fandoms that seem really bad about that - D. Gray-man writers see to like a female Allen, Gundam Wing likes a female Duo, Naruto likes female Naruto, Gundam Seed likes a female Kira... in some fandoms, I start questioning the character's canon gender since fans seem so besotted with swapping them around.
When a male character is flipped, it's almost always one that's already effeminate or is "more female" than others - usually the one the fangirls would label the sub/uke. It's easier to transition into believing this character acts like a female. The character then becomes an author avatar. That raises the whole issue on yaoi, and what attracts females to it, but that's an entirely different soapbox.
Without significant proof, I will state that it appears to be mainly younger writers who go for this tactic. It's writers who either want to create a Mary Sue-esque lead (for example, making Duo of Gundam Wing into a weepy, needy girl who is obsessed with teeny bopper music), or who want to avoid the whole slash/yaoi question. I've seen several fics where the gender-swap is used by clearly homophobic writers.
Gender switches also seem to occur because people like the roles characters are in - they want to keep the dynamics the same, or open the possibility of having children. I'd say gender switches are the twin-sister genre to male preg.
I've also seen relatively few female-to-male gender switches. This is likely, in part, because fandom doesn't love the female characters in the same ways as it does the males. Females are more likely to generate character-hate than males (which is again another subject too long to get into right now).
I think what disappoints me most is that gender switches rarely explore the question of gender identity. It's almost always assumed, that when something magic happens to flop a character's identity, that there is period of flipping out, then some kind of acceptance. If it's a pairing fic, it leads to sex.
If a gender switch is what I consider a "true" alternate universe, and the character has always been female, there's other issues that arise. There's the cliché of "hiding gender for some ulterior motive," or a "the character's the same, he just has boobs." While there's a lot of potential with these, I rarely see them spun in a unique way. I've seen people do rewrites of entire series where one of the characters has gender switched, and been disappointed that there's no real change in what happens. Which makes me wonder what the whole point of it was.
I also really dislike the "feminism hammer" that a lot of longer gender switches seem to be determined to bring down. Yes, being on the rag and having cramps sucks, bras can be a bitch, and being looked at as weak or incapable is disheartening. However after a while it gets very boring to read about a previously male character trying to cope with being female.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each gender.
Some gender switches I like:
Returning Echoes by silkendreammaid, Full Metal Alchemist, Roy/Ed
Al brings Ed back after the anime, but accidentally gets it wrong and turns his brother into a sister. Probably the best exploration of a gender change on a character, and what roles and assumptions being female vs being male has upon an entire cast.
Grade School Fight by Triste, Hikaru no Go, Hikaru/Akira
Interesting thing about this one is that both of the characters have undergone a gender-swap, instead of just one. It's a complete AU, rather than a mid-canon swap, so the differences brought out in characterization are subtle without feeling like getting hit over the head.
The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop by Merlin Missy, Justice League
This fic is one of those that takes a lot of the gender switch cliches and runs with them as usual - the writing, though, is good enough that it's an engaging tale. The gender switch is the plot device, but there's a B-plot with enough action to move the story forward. Gender switch doesn't need to be deep.
Genma's Daughter by Deborah Goldsmith, Ranma ½, Ranma/Ryouga
A very good exploration of gender identity. Ranma lends itself well to this since the series plot is about the conflicts a boy faces when forced to switch back and forth between sexes. This fic is very interesting because of the evolutionary process Ranma goes through.
Untitled Drabble by biztheinsane, Death Note, Raito/L
Sometimes gender switch can be used in a short fic, to very good effect. I remember this three years later, so obviously the writer did something right.
Some fics where gender identity is explored without a physical gender switch:
Searching for Sanity by Miko no da, Please Save My Earth, Issei/Jinpachi, NC-117
One of my current favorites, it features transsexuality that fits very well into canon. Issei is another natural target for this, considering he has a female soul in a male body. I find his choice in the end particularly interesting, and not what I was expecting.
The Saki-chan verse by Askerian and others, Naruto, Naruto/Sasuke, NC-17
The first fic in the series, "Lace and Strawberries" is fetishistic and not for everyone, but the universe spins in an interesting way. The basic concept is Sasuke using a female identity to "cope" with all the shit he goes through.
So... anyone have any thoughts? Or any particularly good gender switch fics to recommend?