History Main / EasySexChange

* In a metaphorical sense, the anti-transgender kids' book ''Literature/JohnnyTheWalrus'' is meant to be an {{allegory}} for gender transition and the harm it can cause to children, but the process happens so impossibly fast that it [[BrokenAesop makes the story's message fall apart]]. When Johnny's mom shares videos of him pretending to be a walrus online, she is pressured to take him to a doctor so he can transition into a "real" walrus. A "Woke Doctor" forces Johnny to wear makeup, eat worms, and even schedules a surgery to amputate his feet, all after a single check-up and without any input from Johnny himself. In reality, the process of medical transition, especially of a minor, would start with a several-months-long psychological evaluation during which it would quickly become evident that Johnny doesn't actually identify as a walrus (as he vocally complains about how much he hates the transition and wants it to stop).

* ''Series/NipTuck'' had an episode with an MTF transperson becoming male again after realizing she really felt more comfortable being a gay male. Christian Troy does the surgery ASAP, without any of the prerequisites. Even assuming that Troy is an unscrupulous and unethical doctor, sexual reassignment surgery still doesn't work that way.

In RealLife, UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} people who wish to pursue medical transition must undergo a lengthy process involving extensive hormone and psychological therapy. For example, in the United Kingdom, most doctors will not administer hormone therapy without a recommendation from a psychologist, who must first spend months evaluating the patient to make sure that they are mentally stable and won't have any regrets.[[note]]Some opt to skip on the psych evals by going straight to other countries, like Thailand, which has many surgeons specializing in transition surgery - but this still involves hormonal therapy.[[/note]] Getting genital surgery (and in some cases, chest surgery) requires ''at least'' a year of being on hormones and of living full-time as that gender, and once you meet these requirements, it's still no walk in the park: waiting times are often very long, and the surgery can be extremely costly (and is not covered by insurance in many places). Additionally, the physical changes brought about by hormones take several years to complete, as with puberty.

Surgeries are not necessarily the be-all-and-end-all aspect of transitioning, either. Not all trans people get them – plenty are happy with the results of hormones and/or social transitioning, or feel that the aforementioned difficulty of undergoing surgery wouldn't be worth it. Those who do undergo cosmetic procedures (such as facial, chest, or genital reconstruction) do not do them all at once, and some surgeries (such as phalloplasty) may be done in multiple stages spread out over several months. Recovering from each of these surgeries can potentially entail several days of hospitalization, weeks of close medical supervision, and potentially months of being physically impaired. A special hygiene routine may also be required; for example, a trans woman who has undergone a vaginoplasty will have to use dilators to stretch her vaginal canal every day for at least a year, and sometimes much longer, in order to shape it and prevent it from fusing shut.

Trans folks must also deal with other problems both before and during their transitions. They might lose some friends, family members, or partners after coming out. The results of transition are diverse, and the common saying is "your mileage may vary." Just like puberty, hormone therapy can yield vastly different results for different people, and some may be unsatisfactory.

Examples of this trope disregard all or most of the above. The character who wishes to transition will often be shown simply walking into a hospital, and leaving a few minutes later looking like their new gender, the surgeon having completely transformed their face, chest, and genitals all at once. Not only is the Easy Sex Change much faster, but the physical, psychological, and social complications are also minimized. While in real life, one must abstain from sex for months after bottom surgery, fictional characters will be able to take their new private parts for a spin the very same day, and maintenance routines such as dilation and douching are unlikely to be acknowledged at all. The physical transformation is usually highly effective and sometimes accompanied by MagicPlasticSurgery (particularly when the role is played by different actors pre-op and post-op.

AttractiveBentGender is a common result. Not that this can't happen in RealLife (feminizing or masculinizing facial and body features are common, as stated earlier), but recipients of the Easy Sex Change almost ''always'' come out looking like a Hollywood starlet or supermodel. This beautiful body will also rarely be marred by scars, as if their anatomy was magically molded or transformed rather than assembled from tissue borrowed from elsewhere on the body. Exceptions to this will usually be from works by less trans-supportive creators who want to portray the results of the surgery as unconvincing, ugly, and/or frightening.

While gender transition is frequently boiled down to nothing but surgery, some works choose to focus on hormone replacement therapy instead: in such cases, they will be shown as acting much more rapidly than they do in real life, causing a dramatic transformation of both mind and body. For example, someone assigned male at birth might grow breasts and start acting overly emotional within a month of taking estrogen.

Sex change surgery that is ''reversed'' is another common signifier of the Easy Sex Change. That being said, the "reversed sex change" is not ''completely'' unheard of in RealLife - see, e.g., the story of [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1327554/Charles-Kane-sex-change--hated-Samantha-man-Now-hes-getting-married-So-fiancee-crazy.html Iraqi millionaire]] [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4369636/The-London-lawyer-s-changed-gender-THREE-times.html Sam Kane.]]

Contrast TransTribulations.

While gender transition is frequently boiled down to nothing but surgery, some works choose to focus on hormone replacement therapy instead: in such cases, they will be shown as acting much more rapidly than they do in real life, causing a dramatic transformation of both mind and body. For example, someone assigned male at birth might be shown growing breasts and acting overly emotional within a month of taking estrogen.

While gender transition is frequently boiled down to nothing but surgery, some cases choose to focus on hormone replacement therapy instead: in such cases, they will be shown as acting much more rapidly than they do in real life, causing a dramatic transformation of both mind and body. For example, someone assigned male at birth might be shown growing breasts and acting overly emotional within a month of taking estrogen.

In some cases, surgery may not even need to be involved: a character might be shown undergoing a rapid and dramatic transformation in both body and mind simply from receiving a large dose of sex hormones matching the gender they're transitioning to.

Surgeries are not necessarily the be-all-and-end-all aspect of transitioning, either. Not all trans people get them – plenty are happy with the results of hormones and/or social transitioning, or feel that the aforementioned difficulty of undergoing surgery wouldn't be worth it. Those who do undergo cosmetic procedures (such as facial, chest, or genital reconstruction) do not do them all at once, and some surgeries (such as phalloplasty) may be done in multiple stages spread out over several months. Each surgery requires a recovery process, which can entail several days of hospitalization, weeks of close medical supervision, and potentially months of being physically impaired. A special hygiene routine may also be required; for example, a trans woman who has undergone a vaginoplasty will have to use dilators to stretch her vaginal canal every day for at least a year, and sometimes much longer, in order to shape it and prevent it from fusing shut.

AttractiveBentGender is a common result. Not that this can't happen in RealLife (feminizing or masculinizing facial and body features are common, as stated earlier), but recipients of the Easy Sex Change almost ''always'' come out looking like a Hollywood starlet or supermodel. Exceptions to this will usually be from works by less trans-supportive creators who want to portray the results of the surgery as unconvincing.

Surgeries are not necessarily the be-all-and-end-all aspect of transitioning, either. Not all trans people get them – plenty are happy with the results of hormones and/or social transitioning, or feel that the aforementioned difficulty of undergoing surgery wouldn't be worth it. Those who do undergo cosmetic procedures (such as facial, chest, or genital reconstruction) do not do them all at once, and they must go through a painful recovery process following each surgery, which depending on the procedure could entail several days of hospitalization, weeks of close medical supervision, and potentially months of being physically impaired. A special hygiene routine may also be required; for example, a trans woman who has undergone a vaginoplasty will have to use dilators to stretch her vaginal canal every day for at least a year in order to prevent it from fusing shut.

Surgeries are not necessarily the be-all-and-end-all aspect of transitioning, either. Not all trans people get them – plenty are happy with the results of hormones and/or social transitioning, or feel that the aforementioned difficulty of undergoing surgery wouldn't be worth it. Those who do undergo cosmetic procedures (such as facial, chest, or genital reconstruction) do not do them all at once, and they must go through a painful recovery process following each surgery, which depending on the procedure could entail several days of hospitalization, weeks of close medical supervision, and potentially months of being physically impaired.

Examples of this trope disregard all or most of the above. The character who wishes to transition will often be shown simply walking into a hospital, and leaving a few minutes later looking like their new gender. Not only is the Easy Sex Change much faster, but the physical, psychological, and social complications are also minimized. The physical transformation is usually highly effective and sometimes accompanied by MagicPlasticSurgery (particularly when the role is played by different actors pre-op and post-op.

Examples of this trope disregard all or most of the above. Not only is the Easy Sex Change much faster, but the physical, psychological, and social complications are also minimized. The physical transformation is usually highly effective and sometimes accompanied by MagicPlasticSurgery (particularly when the role is played by different actors pre-op and post-op).

AttractiveBentGender is a common result. Not that this can't happen in RealLife (feminizing or masculinizing facial and body features are common, as stated earlier), but recipients of the Easy Sex Change almost ''always'' come out looking like a Hollywood starlet or supermodel.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': In "Quagmire's Dad", the titular character goes in for surgery, and comes out a few (onscreen) minutes later looking like a mannish woman. No time needed to heal, and ready to have sex with an unknowing Brian right away!

In RealLife, UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} people who wish to pursue medical transition must undergo a lengthy process involving extensive hormone and psychological therapy. For example, in the United Kingdom, most doctors will not administer hormone therapy without a recommendation from a psychologist, who must first spend months evaluating the patient to make sure that they are mentally stable and won't have any regrets.[[note]]Some opt to skip on the psych evals by going straight to other countries, like Thailand, which has many surgeons specializing in transition surgery - but this still involves hormonal therapy.[[/note]] Getting genital surgery requires ''at least'' a year of being on hormones and of living full-time as that gender. Additionally, the physical changes brought about by hormones take several years to complete, as with puberty.

Surgeries are not necessarily the be-all-and-end-all aspect of transitioning, either. Not all trans people get them – plenty are happy with the results of hormones and/or social transitioning. Those who do undergo cosmetic procedures (such as facial or genital reconstruction) do not do them all at once, and they must recover from the procedures.

In RealLife, UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} people who wish to undergo medical transition must undergo a lengthy process involving extensive hormone and psychological therapy. For example, in the United Kingdom, most doctors will not administer hormone therapy without a recommendation from a psychologist, who must first spend months evaluating the patient to make sure that they are mentally stable and won't have any regrets.[[note]]Some opt to skip on the psych evals by going straight to other countries, like Thailand, which has many surgeons specializing in transition surgery - but this still involves hormonal therapy.[[/note]] Getting genital surgery requires ''at least'' a year of being on hormones and of living full-time as that gender. Additionally, the physical changes brought about by hormones take several years to complete, as with puberty.

In RealLife, gender transition for a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} person is a lengthy process involving extensive hormone and psychological therapy. For example, in the United Kingdom, most doctors will not administer hormone therapy without a recommendation from a psychologist, who must first spend months evaluating the patient to make sure that they are mentally stable and won't have any regrets.[[note]]Some opt to skip on the psych evals by going straight to other countries, like Thailand, which has many surgeons specializing in transition surgery - but this still involves hormonal therapy.[[/note]] Getting genital surgery requires ''at least'' a year of being on hormones and of living full-time as that gender. Additionally, the physical changes brought about by hormones take several years to complete, as with puberty.

* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird 3]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV 4]]'', you can get a sex change for just five hundred dollars at the plastic surgeon. And not only is it cheap, but it's also instantaneous! (You can also go from white to black, or black to Hispanic, or white to Asian, [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation green or blue]], change from being skinny as a nail to morbidly obese, or anything else you can think of.) In the third game, this is necessary if you play as a female Boss since one mission requires you to get plastic surgery to become Cyrus Temple and infiltrate a ship.

* ''Film/{{Deathstalker}}'': One of the mooks is transformed instantly into a woman via magic. He is sent to seduce and kill the Deathstalker, but Deathstalker feels something is not quite right and doesn't go thru with the love making.

* Deathstalker: One of the mooks is transformed instantly into a woman via magic. He is sent to seduce and kill the Deathstalker, but Deathstalker feels something is not quite right and doesn't go thru with the love making.

* In the much-derided ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Profit and Lace", Quark is forced to pretend to be a woman and conduct a meeting with an important Ferengi businessman (on the subject of women's rights on Ferenginar) while his mother is out of commission. Apparently, 24th-Century technology allows them to [[WeWillNotUseStageMakeupInTheFuture perform a complete sex change operation]] on him in just a few hours and then change him ''back'' to a man the following day (presumably they kept his... male parts in bio-stasis or something). The only nod to reality is a quick gag at the very end where his hormones are temporarily out of balance and it makes him emotional. Granted, this is ''Franchise/StarTrek'', where plastic surgery to make someone look like a different ''species'' is apparently an outpatient procedure.

* This trope is used in a very really bizarre (and squick-inducing) way in the Japanese-exclusive game ''Han-Seimei Senki Andorogynus'' for the MSX and PC-88 at the half of the game: After the titular, male-looking, protagonist is fatally wounded, he is [[WeCanRebuildHim "rebuild"]] as a beautiful woman, which she doesn't look like her previous male form ''at all''. Keep in mind his previous male form was [[http://www.mobygames.com/game/han-seimei-senki-andorogynus/cover-art/gameCoverId,382242/ this]] and her new female form is [[https://www.gamefaqs.com/msx/935994-andorogynus/images/180786 now this]]. The squick part came out with the fact ''we can see almost all of the sex-change surgery in its gory detail'' (well, only two images, one of them being having his face pulled, but the narration leaves nothing to the imagination).

* In the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' provides a few examples:

* ''Literature/{{Kane}}'': This happens to [[spoiler:Mina Rush]] in "Deep in the Depths of Acme Warehouse". However, it was probably magic, as the object that caused the change was [[spoiler:a dildo modeled after the plaster cast of Jimi Hendrix's penis]] found in the said Acme Warehouse.

* Discussed in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition''. Apparently magic makes it fairly easy to physically transform one's sex. The problem is that magic is heavily stigmatized in non-[[TheMagocracy Tevinter]] nations throughout Thedas, and even many Tevinter citizens are still incredibly wary of magic. Case in point: transgender character Krem (who is Tevinter) admits that he would never let magic go near his body to change "all the way".
* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'': The Makeover Mage will change your character's sex for a small price. One quest has a boss that can't be beaten by a male character and so you are forced to get a sex change to complete it. If you were male at the start of the quest then the quest giver will reimburse you for the sex change and give you a coupon to change you back for free when the quest is finished. The Mage themself frequently swaps their own gender.
* ''Videogame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' allows you to change your character's gender once you complete a side mission. Since [[spoiler:your body isn't human but rather a mimeosome]], Yardley's machine is easily capable of changing every appearance, including gender.

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 3}}'': Discussed. Apparently the physical process of a sex change is as easy as stepping into a Quick-Change Station (the same stations you use to re-spec your skills and change your skins), but Lorelei notes that there's a lot more to it than that. Since she's in the middle of a war, she doesn't have time for all the stuff that would come after and therefore chooses not to get the sex change yet.

* Discussed and averted in a ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' fic entitled "FanFic/{{Princess}}"; Kowalski, the resident MadScientist, quite easily ''could'' give Julien male anatomy, but they decide it's a bad idea because it would raise uncomfortable questions from the humans and because Kowalski's inventions have a tendency to go horribly wrong.