Third Law of Gender Bending: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"What? I'm wearing a skirt, and I have boobs. I'm going to start worrying about my manly image'' now''!"''|Elliot, ''[[El Goonish Shive]]''}}

CharactersSo reads the '''Thrid Law of Gender Bending''' - characters who change gender will adopt "gender appropriate" dress and behavior. The fact that this typically means dresses and makeup for a man turned woman and aggressive, macho behavior for a woman turned man makes this trope rife with [[Unfortunate Implications]]. Frequently rationalized as being due to the ''characters'' having stereotypical views of gender roles, particularly when the character in question is depicted as being in need of a gender equality [[Aesop|lesson]].

Since most [[Gender Bender|gender benders]]s are male-to-female, this frequently results in scenes where the newly minted "girl" is confronted with all of the "requirements" of his new gender, which can include [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics|skirts, hose, makeup, high heels and other trappings of femininity]] which, while common, are by no means mandatory in real life.

* Explored and played with in ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20181104183918/https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12327719/1/What-Do-You-Want What Do You Want?]'', a ''[[Ranma ½]]'' fanfic by "Polenicus". Over the course of the story, Ranma and those around him discover that in addition to two ''physical'' genders, he also has female and male mindsets that he can switch between, with corresponding personality and behavior changes, regardless of which body he's in at the time. (It's hinted that this is behind the canon behavior cited above, especially the "Am I Pretty?" incident.) Part of the plot explores his growing acceptance that he can ''choose'' to mentally be a girl without losing his boy aspect, and how that helps and alters his relationships with others. {{spoiler|Ultimately subverted when it's revealed that Ranma was born a ''girl'', raised as a boy with the help of some [[Brainwashed|psychological manipulation]], and ''deliberately'' taken to Jusenkyo for a ritual that would have permanently turned her into a boy in both body and mind -- all to satisfy parents who never wanted a daughter. Only Genma bungled the ritual...}}

** Susan starts acting macho and aggressive immediately after becoming male. It's transient, however: losing an arm-wrestling contest with the still-female Nanase is enough to snap her out of it. Sarah [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2005-10-17 points out] that Susan's reaction was more her being ''herself'', just over a different subject.

** A better example is Tedd; in fact, Grace has less dresses and skirts in her wardrobe than he does despite most of her first clothes being selected by [[Ordinary High School Student]] Sarah. He even [[The Tease|prides himself on how sexy he looks]] transformed. And [[Feminine Women Can Cook|cooks better while female]], just out of habit. It's in part Tedd's idea of having fun, and in part [//egscomics.com/comic/2017-09-01 Tedd's idea of how to twit his dad]. Amusingly, this in turn earns Tedd "[//egscomics.com/comic/2017-08-07 young lady]" from his fairy grand-godmother, though Tedd is fine with that.

* The T-Girls of the ''[[Jet Dream (webcomic)|Jet Dream]]'' [[Remix Comic]] follow this for the most part, though being [[Action Girl]]s, they also retain many traditionally "masculine" traits. Because the T-Girls are often [[MataSeductive HariSpy|covert operatives]], they have been extensively trained in all aspects of "feminine behavior." However, for the most part they also thoroughly ''enjoy'' their new female roles.