History Main / DifferentForGirls

''Grammatical'' gender can complicate things in many languages such as when a character is talking about himself/herself. Adjectives and/or nouns might have different endings depending on the grammatical gender of the antecedent. For instance, consider a sentence like [[Film/RainMan "I'm an excellent driver."]] The words corresponding to "excellent" and "driver" might change if the speaker is male or female. A few languages ([[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns Japanese most prominently]]) have gender-specific ''first-person pronouns''. English is an unusually gender-neutral language, and thus very forgiving to victims of sudden gender changes (maybe/often motivated by sex changes) and those in need of last-minute opposite-gender disguises. Some languages are even more gender-neutral than English, without any gendered word forms or even gendered pronouns, such as Mandarin Chinese, which has no he/she distinction, but uses the same word (''tā'') for both. This makes avoiding issues even easier.

A character is subject to a GenderBender, DisguisedInDrag, or SweetPollyOliver scenario, and now has to appear in public as the "opposite" gender. Their problem is they haven't had the benefit of the years of acculturation that members of the other gender with "fitting" sex assigned at birth (cisgender) have had, and/or are blind to the differences in social rules for members of the other gender. HilarityEnsues.

''Grammatical'' gender can complicate things in many languages such as when a character is talking about himself/herself. Adjectives and/or nouns might have different endings depending on the grammatical gender of the antecedent. For instance, consider a sentence like [[Film/RainMan "I'm an excellent driver."]] The words corresponding to "excellent" and "driver" might change if the speaker is male or female. A few languages ([[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns Japanese most prominently]]) have gender-specific ''first-person pronouns''. English is an unusually gender-neutral language, and thus very forgiving to victims of sudden gender changes (maybe/often motivated by sex changes) and those in need of last-minute opposite-gender disguises. Some languages are even more gender-neutral than English, without any gendered word forms or even gendered pronouns, such as Mandarin Chinese, which has no he/she distinction, but uses the same word (''ta'') for both. This makes avoiding issues even easier.

''Grammatical'' gender can complicate things in many languages such as when a character is talking about himself/herself. Adjectives and/or nouns might have different endings depending on the grammatical gender of the antecedent. For instance, consider a sentence like [[Film/RainMan "I'm an excellent driver."]] The words corresponding to "excellent" and "driver" might change if the speaker is male or female. A few languages ([[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns Japanese most prominently]]) have gender-specific ''first-person pronouns''. English is an unusually gender-neutral language, and thus very forgiving to victims of sudden gender changes (maybe/often motivated by sex changes) and those in need of last-minute opposite-gender disguises. There are even more gender-neutral languages without any gendered word forms or even gendered pronouns, which make avoiding issues even easier.

* ''Manga/CheekyAngel'' combines the two approaches: Megumi's aggressive and violent nature is played as comically unfeminine for most of the series, but [[LampshadeHanging several lampshades are hung]] on [[ThirdLawOfGenderBending how well Megumi manages to otherwise function as a girl]].

* In the short animation ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vErJFmUF7DM Geraldine]]'', a man wakes up to find that he's spontaneously [[GenderBender become a girl]]. The short is about him adjusting to the change. Then, [[spoiler: just as he's gotten into the swing of life as a woman (at the altar, no less), he changes back, with as little explanation as the change that started the short.]]

The TropeNamer, though not an example, is a Joe Jackson song. There's also a film called ''Film/DifferentForGirls'' that ironically features few examples of this trope as its main character underwent her gender transition years before the time depicted in the movie.

* This happened to a fair share of folks on the transgender spectrum. While they identify as their gender, that doesn't mean they necessarily "act like" a boy or girl (or know the social differences). This could be because their personality is just [[{{Tomboy}} boyish]] or [[CampStraight feminine]], they weren't raised as their gender, or various other reasons.

* A [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse Myth]] involves Thor's hammer being stolen by a giant and ransomed for Freya's hand in marriage. The Aesir decide to feign cooperation... by sending Thor and Loki to the wedding disguised as women. Thor, disguised specifically as Freya, is told to keep his veil on and his mouth shut, which he does (Loki, an experienced ShapeshiftingTrickster, doesn't need similar instruction). Thor doesn't, however, get the point that a woman wouldn't scarf down most of the wedding feast and drink most of the beer in the least delicate way possible. Only Loki's frantic fast-talking ("She hasn't eaten much recently; too excited, you know") kept anyone, especially the groom, from catching on until Thor retrieved the hammer. He then proceeded to KillEmAll. Thor was not fond of giants.

* Surprisingly averted by most of Creator/JackChalker's GenderBender characters, as Chalker tended to rely on the TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody instead. [[InvoluntaryTransformation Different for Aliens]], now...
** The exception is Chalker's ''Literature/TheIdentityMatrix''. When the newly [[GenderBender gender-bent]] protagonist experiences a lot of these moments before she's given FalseMemories by a GovernmentConspiracy--only to experience it all over again [[PerspectiveFlip from another perspective ]] when her old, male memories are reloaded on top of her now thoroughly female persona by LaResistance two years later and she finds her former male persona's motivations and thought processes inscrutable.

* ''Anime/ChouKuseNiNarisou'': An idol singer disguises herself as a boy and enrolls in the toughest junior high school she can find in the hope of attracting a new heir for her family dojo.

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* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' plays with this trope. On one hand, Ranma [[ShamelessFanserviceGuy has no "feminine modesty"]] because he was raised to be a manly man. On the other hand, he's ''just'' savvy enough to take advantage when indulging [[RealMenHateSugar in ice cream, candy, and other sweets that might carry an "unmanly" stigma]]. Plus he's savvy and shameless enough to charm waiters into giving him free food just 'cause he's a [[IHaveBoobsYouMustObey cute girl]]. In one episode, this trope was gender-flipped; he suffers a concussion and starts to think that he's primarily female. HilarityEnsues because he temporarily forgets how to act like a man.

* ''VisualNovel/OtobokuMaidensAreFallingForMe'': Mizuho is forced to attend an all-girls school in disguise to fulfill the terms of his grandfather's will

* Played with, and ultimately averted for the OnceASeason DraggedIntoDrag episodes of the ''Anime/{{Slayers}}'' anime; most of the situations that Gourry is thrown in in the first season did not require the gender-specific UsefulNotes/{{Japanese Pronoun|s}} gap and most of the dialogue that occurs during it and the second season is gender-neutral. In the second season, Zelgadis manages to get around the aforementioned gap with polite speech and a less-formal introduction. Given that the series is a comedy, feminine gestures weren't required, and in the third season, Gourry is in a mermaid getup for less than two minutes, so nothing applies there.
* ''Manga/CheekyAngel'' combines the two approaches: Megumi's aggressive and violent nature is played as comically unfeminine for most of the series, but [[LampshadeHanging several lampshades are hung]] on [[ThirdLawOfGenderBending how well Megumi manages to otherwise function as a girl]].
* ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' when Keiichi is turned into a girl by Skuld, she isn't able to keep the illusion up very long.
* The plot of the two-volume series ''Manga/TheDayOfRevolution'' revolves around this trope, though it's focused more on the internal/psychological aspects than the social/cultural aspects.
* Subverted in ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'', as [[WholesomeCrossdresser Haruhi]] has already started using the masculine "ore" by the second chapter (much to the chagrin of Tamaki).

* ''Manga/PrincessJellyfish'' features WholesomeCrossdresser Kuranosuke, who's been in this game for many years, to the point where he's a natural at pretending to be a cool hipster girl and even his male-clothing wardrobe is very feminine. And yet he still peppers his speech with the ''very'' masculine first-person pronoun 'ore'. The humour, however, comes from Tsukimi's hugely conspicuous attempts to distract people from it, despite, ironically, drawing the audience's attention to it.

* Matsuri of ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' doesn't generally ''try'' to act any different than from when was he was male, blithely earning a reputation as a {{tomboy}} (and just strange in general). Arguably, he ''benefits'' from this, as it's why [[GenderBenderFriendship his two new female friends]] think Matsuri is [[FreakyIsCool cool]] and guys [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon rarely go after]] Matsuri despite [[AttractiveBentGender "her" good looks]]. [[DoubleSubversion He still initially struggled with the few concession he does make]] (keeping the skirt on his school uniform down, using the right bathroom, remembering he has breasts when getting too close to someone) and when he does try to act feminine once (as a disguise), he [[OverlyStereotypicalDisguise really overdoes it]]. One of the odder consequences is that Matsuri remains very casual with his one male friend Soga, unknowingly [[StupidSexyFlanders sexually confusing him]] and making people think they're dating ([[ShipperOnDeck or should be]]).

* During his "Warrior" days, [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Guy Gardner]] was once briefly transformed into a woman, and [[HilarityEnsues various hijinks ensued]]. He for instance found it very difficult to cross his arms with his [[MostCommonSuperpower voluminous bosom]] in the way.
** In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague3000'', Guy Gardner's personality is injected into a female body. He's not exactly thrilled about this.

%%* ''Just One Of The Guys''
%%* ''Film/{{Yentl}}''

* Subverted by ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'', whose acting career (especially his specialty in voice acting) enabled 'her' to pass quite well and the illusion is only occasionally spoiled by the main character's hatred of [[RomanticFalseLead the new love interest]] in his ex's life. It also helped that he wasn't trying to portray a young/sexy woman (as that probably would have raised more questions), instead acting as a world-traveled, wise grandma-type character.
%%* ''Sorority Boys''
* In ''Film/AllOfMe'', Edwina's soul gets trapped in Roger's body, with her controlling the right of the body and him the left. However, when Roger gets knocked out, Edwina finds herself in control of the entire body. In an attempt to stop anyone noticing anything strange, she starts acting in what she thinks is a masculine manner, including scratching, spitting, and standing with legs wide apart. She does this while appearing as a lawyer in a courtroom.

%%* In ''Literature/{{Celeste}}'' by Creator/VCAndrews, Celeste is forced by her mother to dress as a boy and take her brother's place after he dies. %%But does it include examples of her struggling with the different gender expectations?

* The body swap segment of ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'' has one with Olga trying to give Anton a quick primer on how to behave while he is borrowing her body, finishing with a comment that it is a good thing the timing worked out in such a way that she didn't have to teach him about dealing with the menstrual cycle. Anton's reply is hilarious in deliberately showing men's perceived ignorance on the subject. He says that, like every other TV-watching man, he knows that you hold a tampon in your fist and pour dark blue liquid on it (Anton's reply was cut out from the English translation). Even with this crash course, Anton doesn't quite manage since his body language is still distinctly masculine. However, no one suspects that an attractive woman might be a man (except Zabulon, who figures it out using magical means), but one woman at a restaurant does point out to her husband that "Olga" and Svetlana are obviously a lesbian couple with "Olga" being the butch one.

* The children's novel ''Literature/BillsNewFrock'' has Bill wake up and find himself a girl. Bill finds no difference. None at all.
* Surprisingly averted by most of Creator/JackChalker's GenderBender characters, as Chalker tended to rely on the TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody instead. [[InvoluntaryTransformation Different for Aliens]], now...
** The exception is Chalker's ''Literature/TheIdentityMatrix''. When the newly [[GenderBender gender-bent]] protagonist experiences a lot of these moments before she's given FalseMemories by a GovernmentConspiracy--only to experience it all over again [[PerspectiveFlip from another perspective ]] when her old, male memories are reloaded on top of her now thoroughly female persona by LaResistance two years later and she finds her former male persona's motivations and thought processes inscrutable.

* One of the ''Literature/JiggyMccue'' children/young teen stories, ''The Toilet of Doom''. The titular toilet is a website where, if you feel your life has 'gone down the pan', get someone in the room who's got it better, and hit the F key. Hilarity and mild Squick ensues when the protagonist accidentally tries this with his female second-best friend Angie. Suddenly, the pair wake up having swapped bodies overnight. The trope comes in when they hilariously try to adapt to life as the opposite sex, let alone learn all the behavioral nuances of each other they'd never noticed. Surprisingly, after a couple of days swapped, they find that aside from a couple of glitches, they are kind of perfectly suited for life as the opposite sex (said glitches mostly involve Angie-as-Jiggy beginning to hoard cushions, which thrills his mother). Some of the mishaps they encounter:
** Boys have to be more careful with trousers. ("The ''free extra attachment'' got caught in the ''zip''!")
** Having to watch when the only exposure to the naked female body you've had is sex education class.
** Angie getting abnormally aggressive from a mixture of Jiggy's muscle tics, testosterone, and Angie's infamously short temper.
** Learning how the opposite sex walk and move without having paid attention before.
** Finding an uncanny knack for opposite-sex sports classes.

* In the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode "Out of Their Minds," Rygel runs into this problem. He's stuck in another male's body (Crichton's), but he is not used to a humanoid body. When he has to relieve himself, he does not know how to hold it and then has to get [[HowDoIShotWeb instructions]] on how to go in the corner.

* ''Series/QuantumLeap'' had Sam jumping into women's bodies in multiple episodes. As with all leaps, Sam still perceived his body as his own and not the body of the person he leaped into. (It always took the reveal of looking into a mirror or reflective surface to tell what he looked like this time.) Only others saw him as his leaped-into persona. He therefore didn't have to deal with any of the biological aspects of womanhood (usually) but still had to deal with the social aspects. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BEji-uAYuU In one such episode]], "What Price Gloria?", he uses the inverse to his advantage to strike back at his leapee's sexist, womanizing boss: the leapee is a stunning blonde woman, but Sam manages to convince her boss that "she" is really a man by describing in gleeful detail a number of uniquely male experiences that a woman could not possibly have had, such as what it feels like to be kicked in the groin. The UnsettlingGenderReveal that ensues is pure {{Schadenfreude}}.
* On ''Series/FamilyMatters'', when Laura went to buy her first car, she observed that boys got deals she wouldn't normally. She disguised herself as a boy to see if that would get her the same treatment a real boy would get. She got a quick course from ''Steve Urkel'' in how to behave as a boy, and returned to the dealer. It started out working, but her disguise broke down at some point... only for her to discover that ''girls'' have their ''own'' means of manipulating the price should they choose to use it.
* ''Series/{{Lalola}}'': A GenderBender dramady from Argentina centres around Lalo, a HandsomeLech who is under a witches curse that has turned him into a woman (Lola.) Much of the comedy and reactions from other characters comes from Lola trying to adapt to the cultural 'rules' of femininity, under instruction from Grace. Especially early on Lola, even when dressed in very feminine clothing and makeup, tends to have ''very'' masculine body language, has no idea how to wear heels and always sits with her legs in male fashion (either wide apart or with with the ankle of one leg resting on the other knee.) she also manages to mix up her Gender pronouns a few times to in-universe bemusement.
* ''Series/LifeWithBoys'': After Tess complains at a Halloween party how easy boys have it when it comes to dating, a witch transforms her into a boy and says she will only be transformed back once she gets a girl to dance with her. Tess quickly discovers that boys have their own problems when it comes to dating.
* ''Series/EmeraldCity'': [[spoiler:Tip has to struggle with being in a girl's body after reverting to his natural sex, when Mombi's potion wears off, and still identifies as a boy.]] At a tavern, he doesn't understand why people keep staring at him, before the waitress tells him to cover up his breasts unless he's advertising himself.

* The point of the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}''. Not only has the main character gone on a semi-permanent GenderBender, the world has been retroactively changed so that he has ALWAYS been a girl. Ash soon finds out that it's a lot easier to [[http://www.misfile.com/?date=2004-07-23 get service in stores]], [[http://www.misfile.com/?date=2005-02-23 get away with starting fights in school]], and so on. The difference in his/her relationship with his/her parents is a chapter all its own. Unlike most examples, Ash finds the FlawlessToken aspects just as disturbing as the negative ones because they serve as a constant reminder that he's now on the distaff side of the DoubleStandard. Taking advantage would only serve to further erode what remains of his beleaguered manhood.

* Highlighted in ''Webcomic/TheGoodWitch'' by deliberately contrasting it to TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody in the form of Roxanne, a formerly male basketball player transformed into a female cheerleader. Roxanne doesn't think of himself as a girl but his new body appears to have come with a full set of built-in female living skills at the subconscious level which cause him some cognitive dissonance every time he automatically does something feminine, [[http://tgw.smackjeeves.com/comics/636305/ch-2-pg-31/ like wrapping his towel girl-style the first time he gets out of the shower.]]
* Played with in ''Webcomic/EerieCuties'': Poor Ace hasn't yet to figure out that some things [[http://www.eeriecuties.com/strips-ec/premium_set are not so different for girls.]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* It's in most of the origin stories for the TG characters of the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. The extent snd duration varies from author to author and from character to character.
* The title character in ''Literature/TheSagaOfTuck'' averts this in the beginning, as Tuck is so scared of discovery when his girlfriend dresses him up that he acts like a demure, shy young girl. Later, as other women in the story sharpen his imitation, this trope is lampshaded. Some girls who admit they find dresses and makeup intimidating also lampshade this.
* There are literally thousands of original [[GenderBender TG]] stories posted on the web (The FictionMania site alone has more than 15,000 stories on it) and most of them are based entirely on this trope -- and little else, unfortunately.
* Many {{JustForFun/Bowsette}} comics (long story short, an item that turns Toadette into Peachette in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' was applied by the Internet at large to Bowser, turning him from a giant scaly dragon-turtle into a giant angry horned woman) feature Bowsette kidnapping Peach, not to marry her but because she desperately needs help about her new body's functions. And that' not getting into the ones where she ''takes off'' the crown...

* An early episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', "[[Recap/TheFairlyOddParentsS2E12TheBoyWhoWouldBeQueen The Boy Who Would Be Queen]]". After Timmy mocks the idea of becoming a girl so he could figure out the perfect present to get for [[TheOjou Trixie Tang]], Wanda takes advantage of his wording and turns him into one. After Cosmo and Wanda have a laugh at his expense, he leaves to find the gift, but not before wishing they would switch genders, resulting in Cosma and Wando.
-->'''Timmy:''' Why would ''I wish I was a girl''? *laughs* *changed*

* Parker of ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' isn't usually charged with the girlie girl roles, since she's the thief and {{Cloudcuckoolander}} of the group, and they already have the quite feminine Sophie on the team for those cons. But in "The Runway Job" Parker has to go undercover as a supermodel. The audience is primed for a big reveal of how beautiful she looks dressed up ... except that Parker can't walk in heels, so she wipes out big time on the catwalk.

* Mark Twain's ''Literature/AdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'': In chapter 11, Huck disguises himself as a girl when he goes ashore hunting for information about what has transpired in town while he's been on the river. His disguise, which includes a face-concealing bonnet, could have been successful, had Huck known how to behave like a girl, but Mrs. Loftus, the woman he tries to deceive, sees through him quickly and tests him. For example, she tosses him a ball of yarn to see whether he knows how to catch things in the skirt of the dress he's wearing.

* ''Series/QuantumLeap'' had Sam jumping into women's bodies in multiple episodes. As with all leaps, Sam still perceived his body as his own and not the body of the person he leaped into. (It always took the reveal of looking into a mirror or reflective surface to tell what he looked like this time.) Only others saw him as his leaped-into persona. He therefore didn't have to deal with any of the biological aspects of womanhood (usually) but still had to deal with the social aspects. In one such episode, "What Price Gloria?", he uses the inverse to his advantage to strike back at his leapee's sexist, womanizing boss: the leapee is a stunning blonde woman, but Sam manages to convince her boss that "she" is really a man by describing in gleeful detail a number of uniquely male experiences that a woman could not possibly have had, such as what it feels like to be kicked in the groin. The UnsettlingGenderReveal that ensues is pure {{Schadenfreude}}.

* Matsuri of ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' doesn't generally ''try'' to act any different than from when was he was male, blithely earning a reputation as a {{tomboy}} (and just strange in general). Arguably, he ''benefits'' from this, as it's why [[GenderBenderFriendship his two new female friends]] think Matsuri is [[FreakyIsCool cool]] and guys [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon rarely go after]] Matsuri despite [[AttractiveBentGender "her" good looks]]. [[DoubleSubversion He still initially struggled with the few concession he does make]] (keeping the skirt on his school uniform down, using the right bathroom, remembering he has breasts when getting too close to someone) and when he does try to act feminine once (as a disguise), he [[OverlyStereotypicalDisguise really overdoes it]].

* Subverted in ''Manga/NozomuNozomi'': Nozomu, as a young would-be crossdresser, actually wants to experience how things are different for girls but being forced to conceal a spontaneous GenderBender makes his forays into girlhood just as brief and furtive as if he remained a boy. Doubly subverted as he's forced to experience how different it is to ''be'' a girl (or a least female) without learning how different it is to been ''seen'' as one.

* A [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse Myth]] involves Thor's hammer being stolen by a giant and ransomed for Freya's hand in marriage. The Aesir decide to feign cooperation... by sending Thor and Loki to the wedding disguised as women. Thor, disguised specifically as Freya, is told to keep his veil on and his mouth shut, which he does (Loki, an experienced shapeshifter and TheTrickster, doesn't need similar instruction). Thor doesn't, however, get the point that a woman wouldn't scarf down most of the wedding feast and drink most of the beer in the least delicate way possible. Only Loki's frantic fast-talking ("She hasn't eaten much recently; too excited, you know") kept anyone, especially the groom, from catching on until Thor retrieved the hammer. He then proceeded to KillEmAll. Thor was not fond of giants.

* ''VisualNovel/OtomeWaBokuNiKoishiteru'': Mizuho is forced to attend an all-girls school in disguise to fulfill the terms of his grandfather's will

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Highlighted in ''WebComic/TheGoodWitch'' by deliberately contrasting it to TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody in the form of Roxanne, a formerly male basketball player transformed into a female cheerleader. Roxanne doesn't think of himself as a girl but his new body appears to have come with a full set of built-in female living skills at the subconscious level which cause him some cognitive dissonance every time he automatically does something feminine, [[http://tgw.smackjeeves.com/comics/636305/ch-2-pg-31/ like wrapping his towel girl-style the first time he gets out of the shower.]]
* Played with in ''WebComic/EerieCuties'': Poor Ace hasn't yet to figure out that some things [[http://www.eeriecuties.com/strips-ec/premium_set are not so different for girls.]]

* The second episode of ''Manga/KashimashiGirlMeetsGirl'' deals with this -- and then for the rest of the series, the ''absence'' of these sorts of incidents is used to [[LampshadeHanging point out]] how naturally feminine Hazumu is.

* ''Series/{{Lalola}}'': A GenderBender dramady from Argentina centres around Lalo, a HadsomeLech who is under a witches curse that has turned him into a woman (Lola.) Much of the comedy and reactions from other characters comes from Lola trying to adapt to the cultural 'rules' of femininity, under instruction from Grace. Especially early on Lola, even when dressed in very feminine clothing and makeup, tends to have ''very'' masculine body language, has no idea how to wear heels and always sits with her legs in male fashion (either wide apart or with with the ankle of one leg resting on the other knee.)

* ''Series/{{Lalalola}}'': A GenderBender dramady from Argentina centres around Lalo, a HadsomeLech who is under a witches curse that has turned him into a woman (Lola.) Much of the comedy and reactions from other characters comes from Lola trying to adapt to the cultural 'rules' of femininity, under instruction from Grace. Especially early on Lola, even when dressed in very feminine clothing and makeup, tends to have ''very'' masculine body language, has no idea how to wear heels and always sits with her legs in male fashion (either wide apart or with with the ankle of one leg resting on the other knee.)