Third Law of Gender Bending: Difference between revisions

 

* A masquerade wherein the character is forced by circumstances to adopt stereotypically masculine or feminine attire or behavior, sometimes under duress.

 

More sophisticated applications of this trope will often try to find common ground somewhere between these two extremes. It may be as simple as characters wanting or needing to be treated "like a normal person" and thus adopting stereotypically "gender appropriate" attire and/or behavior to conform with their perception of the new roles they've been forced to adopt.

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* Played with in ''[[Ranma One Half]]'': Ranma's ''actions'' are typically the same regardless of his form, but his ''reactions'' are often stereotypical, especially in responses to "perverted" behavior from the likes of Kuno or Happousai. In those cases his reactions usually differ very little from any of the real girls in the series. Also, whenever Ranma is in "disguise" as a female he typically overdoes it, implying that he's consciously trying to act out stereotypes. When he hits his head in one episode and thinks he was always a girl, he becomes the ''epitome'' of this trope.

* A mild version can be found in ''[[The Day of Revolution]]'': Megumi is not shown wearing any exclusively female clothing outside of her girls' school uniform, but since it is Japan her uniform has to be a stereotypical [[Sailor Fuku]] complete with a ridiculously short skirt. She also has her coach/therapist/BFF Motoko constantly reminding her to act more like a girl. Presumably she only puts up with this because she actually wants to be a girl, she's just riddled with second thoughts and self-doubts whenever she confronts one of the disconcerting aspects of girlhood.

{{quote| '''Motoko''' (looming over a prostrate Megumi): ...sooner or later, you're going to be looking up at someone '''like this'''.}}

* [[Virginia Woolf]] had...strong but hard to codify opinions about gender expression, but they result in [[Orlando: A Biography|Orlando]] getting very feminine 'naturally' after his/her genderbend.

** After leaving the gypsies, of course. Which is a bit of a [[Did Not Do the Research]], since the Rom tend to have serious taboos associated with womanhood, and a Romany encampment is ''not'' the best place to be if you're menstruating for the first time at thirty.

** While this can be handwaved by saying "[[A Wizard Did It|a sorceress did it]]" (not that the rest of the Oz magic made any sense), [[Fanfic]] occasionally deconstructs this by establishing that Tip is still Tip and the Ozma personality is just a mask put on for the sake of the people.

* [[Piers Anthony]]'s works frequently include gender bending, usually accompanied by this trope. He tends to write natural laws into his settings which force certain behaviors and responses onto characters based on their physical sexes. Several of his books also combine this with [[I'm a Man, I Can't Help It]]. A female will turn into a male and learn that males are such virile creatures possessed with such strong libido they must constantly struggle to contain those urges and not turn into rapists. Some specific examples:

* A demi-version: Chandler, of ''[[Friends]]'' spends time quitting smoking using a hypnosis tape while he sleeps. "You are a strong, confident woman who does not need to smoke". Over the course of the episode, Chandler becomes more stereotypically feminine. He puts on chapstick like lipstick, blotting off the excess. He starts throwing like a girl. He interrupts himself to compliment Rachel on a "stunning blouse".

** Of course, Chandler was metrosexual and the stunning blouse wasn't entirely out of character even before the hypnosis. "Well, don't we look pretty, all dressed up."

* ''[[Degrassi]]'' features an [[Inverted Trope|inversion]] where Adam, after briefly and uncomfortably detransitioning, burns his last remaining girls' clothing with family and friends present.

 

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

** 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.

*** Tedd does note that the first time gender bending their new genders thoughts are exaggerated, which played a part in everyone's storyline during the event, but the only one whose gender bending mental state was a major plot point was Susan, as it helped her recognize her hangups with men.

** Ash's mother, however, is doing her utmost to enforce this trope, including twice roping Ash into modeling events. Ash referred to seeking her help picking out a bridesmaid dress as "a deal with the powers of darkness."

** And of course, there's the fact that Ash still engages in illegal street racing. While a small amount is made of the best driver (Drivers, previously) in the area being female, for the most part it's just there.

* ''[[Spiderwebs]]'' uses variation one: After an ill-considered wish turns the protagonist into a girl she returns home to discover her bedroom redecorated and all of her clothes replaced by a "helpful" pooka.

* ''[[The Good Witch]]'': Playing with the third law is just one of the ways Angel torments her victims. Examples include making sure all of her older brother's transformations include uber-girly clothes, turning one classmate into a cheerleader (complete with outfit) and possibly turning another into an [[Wholesome Crossdresser|enthusiastic transvestite.]] However, the third law is also played straight with Angel herself, who as a former transgendered boy is absolutely thrilled to finally be able to buy the dress she always wanted. Since she can (and does) magically create any clothing she wants at will actually buying the dress appears to have been an act of affirmation on her part.

* ''[[Sailor Sun]]'': Bay is forced to dress as a [[Magical Girl]] for her acting job and later forced to act as surrogate mother for two successive [[Kid From the Future|Kids From The Future.]]

** It's worth noting that Bay was turned into a woman ''because'' the production crew wanted him/her to be a magical girl. Later in the webcomic, Bay is startled to realize that she genuinely likes guys (she used to think it was fascination with their muscles, since her female body was different).

* A major driving point in the furry webcomic ''Beyond the Veil'', in which the attractive, busty young rat girl is in fact the latest body for a deposed intergalactic '''emperor'''. "She" takes to her new body very well, more than happy to have her similarly [[Grand Theft Me|body-riding]] male second-in-command as a lover, with a lot of privileges.

 

** Largely subverted with Bladedancer too. She's fully female, and still wants to go back to being a boy. She dresses as close to boyish as she can get away with in what amounts to a [[Super-Hero School]] with prep school clothing rules. On the other hand, she now listens to some of the music her girlfriend Molly likes (in addition to still liking what she listened to as a boy).

** So the rule holds for Chaka and Generator (who were transgendered before they changed) and Fey (who has a female spirit in her head helping her to become feminine). But it fails for Phase and Bladedancer and Jobe. And it's really mixed with Tennyo, who just doesn't seem to care, and Carmilla, who doesn't really have a human viewpoint anymore.

* This happens a ''lot'' in stories in the Transsexuals and Crossdressers section of [[Literotica]], though it's usually superficial stuff like buying dresses.

* Similarly, it happens in most of the stories on the TG-transformation fiction site [http://www.fictionmania.tv/ Fictionmania], willingly or not.

** Although he already did that first one ''before'' the gender bend, and after said gender bend he still has the urge to read comic books like "Skull Squisher". ...because of the [[Fan Service]]. "Muscular guys in spandex fighting crime, cool!"

* Not actual gender bending, but in ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'', a faulty DNA test has Skipper convinced he's a female. At first he thinks it won't interfere with his job, but then he does things like wait for the others to open the door for him and - horror of horrors! - ask for directions. So he quits the team, [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics|puts on a pink bow]] and moves in with Marlene, who is not amused with his outdated ideas of femininity.

** In the episode "Neutopia", the guys eagerly act girly and giggly when their genders get flipped by a [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]]. When the girls-turned-guys force them to make a swimsuit calendar, they enjoy it a lot more than the real girls did when the real guys forced ''them'' to take cheesecake pictures.

* In the Jimmy Neutron Episode Trading Faces, Jimmy and Cindy trade bodies through a freak accident and Jimmy has this start to happen him.