Fandom question: Why genderbend?

[fresica]

Alright, so, earlier I got totally sucked into a Torchwood genderbend WIP, and when I finished, I started thinking about how popular the genderbend genre is. I mean, I know I'm not the only one who has clicked through the genderfuck tags, nor the first to leap on a fic that turns one of our boys (from whatever fandom) into a girl

Comments

[auroraprimavera]

Not sure bb, but it is a good question.

I've read some genderbend here and there, but have never been able to get into it. I just - I really can't imagine it when I much prefer my men to be well, men. I admit however that Merlin fandom has some pretty well written genderbend, but other than that, just not my cup of ta, yea know?

[fresica]

I'm a total genderbend!whore. I cannot resist them. My initial justification for reading them is curiosity: I want to see if the author manages to stay true to the character. But that doesn't explain why I keep reading them. And there's been more than one Merlin genderfuck I leaped at - with unholy glee, even - just because it said girl!Merlin. (And you know what my muse is trying to do with that girl!Draco thing...)

And I really and truly don't know why...

[starsparkle333]

I am totally guilty of jumping at gender-bend fic every so often, but I never really thought about why.

It's a fairly common theme, just look on 4chan and rule 63 is easy to come by.. and not just around guys who potentially just want to see moar boobz.

In a way, it becomes more relatable as a female if one of the characters suddenly has the same parts as you.. but also still appealing as fic because the personality stays mostly intact if the fic is written right. For me personally, slashing depends heavily on character interaction (and often clashing... which explains why H/D appeals to me) so if the personality and interaction stays.. then genderbend is just as awesome.

I dunno.. I shouldn't try to word at 2:30am

[fresica]

ACK! YOU BROUGHT 4CHAN ONTO MY JOURNAL! You're absolutely right, though. Pick any fandom in the world - literally - and you'll find genderbend for it. A lot of times it's humour or completely shameless porn, but it still exists! Hell, Rumiko Takahashi made freaking bank on it with Ranma 1/2.

In a way, it becomes more relatable as a female if one of the characters suddenly has the same parts as you
I suppose that's true... *ponders*

[starsparkle333]

>.>;; I DIDNT MEAN TO! I SWEAR!

Ranma 1/2 is... awesome crack.

The nature of gender vs sex and how people choose to explore it definitely adds to the discussion though. I mean.. sometimes genderbend happens to turn it into a slash pairing. (Thinking specifically of KyonxHaruhi in the Suzumiya.. art-dom?)

*ponders too* Although it looks like plenty of people really get nothing from it at all too.

[alaana_fair]

Argh... it's the one genre I really don't like. I don't mind them dressing up as girls, or even growing girl bits to procreate, but I still want them to be MEN. Otherwise, yeah, what's the point. I should be reading Draco/Astoria. Blah. :-D So no, I've never understood the reasoning behind it.

The only one close was Jolene by romaine, but even then, Draco was definitely a man - at least part of the time. *G*

[randomb33]

I'm with you on pretty much everything. Genderbend has never really pulled my strings, and I doubt it ever will. And Jolene was amazing. I've read it at least three times through. *g*

[alaana_fair]

Agreed! I know some people classify it as a genderbender, but I never really saw it as such.

Of course there are some funny ones where one or the other gets turned into a girl by a potion - but then the idea us usually how to get them back to normal and their personality never changes... I guess I don't think of those as genderbenders either. *G* Although, I suppose they technically are. I guess if it's humor, it's okay. :-D

[randomb33]

Erk, you're reading my mind or something! I do like genderbending as a plot device, but only to build some lovely tension between the boys. 9/10 times they start out fighting over their manly dignity and loss thereof and end up playing tonsil hockey, I've learned.

[aki_hoshi]

The only genderbending fic I've ever gotten into was Ranma1/2, and well...um...he really WAS a girl half the time. lol!

I'm not sure why. I've always wondered too. I don't mind cross-dressing, but MPreg (which to me, is a form of genderbending, even in HP) and generally turning out boys into girls thing just never appealed to me, so I probably have no suitable answer for you.

I can understand, as a woman, it becoming more relatable to us as readers and writers, but I look at breaking into the psyche of a guy more of a challenge myself as a writer. I always wonder, how different do we think, really? Hmmm...

[thoracopagus]

That's one of the questions it poses though--do they still have a guy psyche? Does the transition to female require a change to who they are? And if so, dealing with that change sounds just as challenging as writing them as a guy to begin with.

[fresica]

I wuold think that a change - a complete change - from male to female would mean a change in the way their brain works. I mean, with the change in hormonal balance, it would be expected, wouldn't it...?

[thoracopagus]

That's what the author is given to figure our or comment on within the device, is what I mean--the nature vs. nurture of gender identity, and also how much that has to do with the person as a whole. In a lot of genderswap fic (that I read, as it is my preference), the male character transitions to female while retaining their memories and sense of self. Therefore, the question becomes, how much does the change to female biology impact a personality built through male biology and experience? How much does it NOT change that personality, and what does that say about our identities and the gap between the sexes? I propose no answer to these questions as that would be speculative and not the point, I just believe them to be as challenging (if not more so) than tapping into the "opposite" experience.

[clancy_s]

In case you're keeping count: I can't tell you why because I don't. I'm a slasher through and through and prefer my boys to stay boys.

Most mpreg leaves me cold too, partly because of the boys as boys thing, partly because I have no general interest in babies / children.