History Main / GenderBender

* In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', the Chaos God [[EvilisSexy Slaanesh]] typically uses the pronoun "He". However, he in fact is neither male nor female yet both at the same time (the Eldar who created hir use "She Who Thirsts"). He assumes whatever form the person viewing him would find most attractive, which means that he can either be a fully functioning male, female, hermaphrodite or whatever else a person finds attractive at any given time. His traditional form is a weird sort of hermaphrodite, being split down the middle vertically as a woman on the right side of the body and a man on the left. The same goes for his/her breeds of daemon, including the more animalistic ones, and the cultists s/he shows favor to.

* In ''Webcomic/WhenIWokeUpIBecameABagelGirl'', obese {{Otaku}} Bong Gi, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well…]]

* The central premise of ''Webcomic/YouWokeUpAsAGirlThisMorning'' revolves around the trope, however, [[spoiler:it is [[FirstEpisodeTwist subverted at the end of chapter 1]], when it is revealed the main character [[DisguisedInDrag just wore the female uniform to school]] and claimed a genderbend occurred overnight.]]

* In one Mountain Dew commercial, a guy finds out his car remote can transform objects. Since he just broke up with his girlfriend, he conveniently uses it to turn his best friend [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlR_fwcU3MU into a hot girl.]] The implications of said commercial are very disturbing.

** The Foundation also has a character named Agent Diogenes, who has been exposed to it so much that they either now have no gender, or are both genders. In either case, they can't remember which gender they originally were.

* ''Webcomic/{{Exiern}}'' is about a mighty barbarian who went to save the DamselInDistress princess from the evil wizard. Accidentally nullifying his own ability to cast dark magic, the wizard resorts to pouring all the power he can into a light magic spell, transforming the barbarian into a beautiful woman.

Contrast with UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} and {{Hermaphrodite}}, which are real-life phenomena (though on rare occasions, a Gender Bender character might ''turn into'' a hermaphrodite instead of, strictly speaking, the "opposite sex"; also, Gender Bender stories can intersect with transgender characters, by having someone transition unexpectedly by magic, or have the experience of being gender-changed bring a transgender character out of denial. Not to mention all the possibilities of using Gender Bender stories as metaphors for transgender identity...). Also contrast with EasySexChange, which deals with idealized but ''somewhat'' realistic takes on the UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} experience. Compare ReincarnatedAsTheOppositeSex, where someone is born in their next life as the opposite sex. Not related to WasOnceAMan. When a trans shapeshifter uses their powers to do this it falls under SelfPerceptionShapeshifting.

If the character belongs to a species that does this as a regular thing or explicitly has a superpower that grants them that same property, see SexShifter.

Contrast with UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} and {{Hermaphrodite}}, which are real-life phenomena (though on rare occasions, a Gender Bender character might ''turn into'' a hermaphrodite instead of, strictly speaking, the "opposite sex"; also, Gender Bender stories can intersect with transgender characters, by having someone transition unexpectedly by magic, or have the experience of being gender-changed bring a transgender character out of denial. Not to mention all the possibilities of using Gender Bender stories as metaphors for transgender identity...). Also contrast with EasySexChange, which deals with idealized but ''somewhat'' realistic takes on the UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} experience. Compare ReincarnatedAsTheOppositeSex, where someone is born in their next life as the opposite sex. Not related to WasOnceAMan.

If the character belongs to a species that does this as a regular thing or explicitly has a superpower that grants them that same property, see SexShifter.

** The gods hired a contractor to build their heavenly city. They let him name his price after he did the work, he asked for the goddess of love's hand in marriage, and the sun and moon to boot (it's unclear if he meant the gods Sól and Máni, or the actual celestial objects). He was a giant, with a giant horse, so they had to distract the horse and get him outa town. How'd they distract the horse? Why, by having the trickster god Loki, noted male, transform into a hot mare, of course! [[MisterSeahorse Loki actually got pregnant from this]] and bore the eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, who Odin nicked to be his warhorse. Loki didn't mind, presumably wanting to drown the memories in mead as quickly as possible and never see a reminder again. Another version of the myth has the Giant getting Odin's wife if the work is completed by a certain date, and Loki distracts the Giant's horse as above to delay the work past the due date so she doesn't have to pay up.

* WebVideo/{{Benzaie}} of ''Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses'' winds up being turned into a woman [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/bt/benzaie/top-5/31722-top-5-brutal-murder-attempts-in-jem in this video]] as a side effect of watching ''WesternAnimation/JemAndTheHolograms'' too much.

* ''WebVideo/{{AFK}}'': Players of an online game (similar to ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' or ''VideoGame/{{Skyrim}}'') suddenly find themselves living in the game world as their in-game avatars. While any number of avatar characters might be a different gender from the real-world players, there are three such players that we actually know for certain:
** In season 1 episode 1 (patch 1.1) Wizard Brendon saves a ChainmailBikini clad warrior maiden from (more than likely) being raped. Her initial main goal is to find pants. [[spoiler: In episode 2 (patch 1.3), we learn that her player's name is Steven. Later in episode 2 (patch 1.4) Steven explains that he thought if he's going to spend hours looking at an ass, it might as well be a nice one.]]
** Meanwhile, also in season 1 episode 1 (patch 1.2), we meet a male gnome named Maybel. [[spoiler: It isn't until episode 3 (patch 1.5) that we learn Maybel's player is a girl who created her male gnome avatar to avoid frequent propositions from male gamers.]]
** In season 2 episode 1 (patch 2.1) we meet a female member of the Devil's Cheerleaders. [[spoiler: Later in episode 1 (patch 2.2) we learn this is Steven, who met a wizard that changed his avatar.]]
** Also in season 2 episode 1 (patch 2.1) we meet male adventurer Quinn. [[spoiler: Later in episode 1 (patch 2.2) we find out that Quinn is an alt for female elf Q from season 1 (still extant). The gender of the real-world player has not been definitively determined, so exactly which one of them is gender swapped is unknown, but one of them must be.]]

** Averted/Misdiagnosed once by ComicBook/AmbushBug in ''ComicBook/Supergirl1982'' #16. The Bug spends most of the story trying to cure Franchise/{{Superman}} of the dastardly plot that transformed him into a young blonde woman. Despite his {{Genre Savv|y}}iness, he somehow was completely unaware of the existence of [=SuperGIRL=]. He does, however, turn out to be GenreSavvy enough to figure out ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s secret identity at the end.

** Believe it or not, ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'s dog, [[ComicBook/KryptoTheSuperDog Krypto]], had not one, but ''two'' Red Kryptonite Gender Bender adventures!

*** Supporting character Courier has the power of complete control of his body's cells, allowing for shapeshifting as well as other abilities. While undercover as a woman, he was discovered by [[EvilutionaryBiologist Mr. Sinister]] and injected with drugs that would cause his body to break down. Gambit made a deal with Sinister to have Courier stabilized, and Sinister kept up his end of the bargain -- but didn't know Courier was originally male. The female form is now Courier's default form.
*** Due to a consciousness transfer to a cloned body gone slightly askew, Sinister himself is now ''Miss'' Sinister.
*** And now Misters Sinister. And then back to a Miss, this time in a stolen body. At this point Sinister is more of a consciousness that occupies whatever body (or bodies) it needs.

** ComicBook/IronMan is even subjected to this; his armor (which, at this point, is partially fused with his body) gets hijacked by Ultron and reshaped into the image of Janet van Dyne, Ultron's "mother". After it's undone, the entire [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Mighty Avengers]] team teases him about it.

* In the 1959 stage play ''Literature/GoodbyeCharlie'' by George Axelrod, notorious womanizer Charles Sorel is killed by a jealous husband and reincarnates as a woman. Though a flop on Broadway, the play was the basis for a more successful 1964 movie ''Film/GoodbyeCharlie'', as well as the subsequent movies, ''Film/CleoLeo'', ''Film/Switch1991'', ''Film/TheSexTrip'', and ''Film/{{Sam}}''. There was also a failed 1985 television pilot ''Series/GoodbyeCharlie'' not to mention the Argentine telenovela ''Series/{{Lalola}}'' and all its variousinternational remakes.

* In the 1959 stage play ''Literature/GoodbyeCharlie'' by George Axelrod, notorious womanizer Charles Sorel is killed by a jealous husband and reincarnates as a woman. Though a flop on Broadway, the play was the basis for a more successful 1964 movie ''Film/GoodbyeCharlie'', as well as the subsequent movies, ''Film/CleoLeo'', ''Film/{{Switch}}'' (1991), ''Film/TheSexTrip'', and ''Film/{{Sam}}''. There was also a failed 1985 television pilot ''Series/GoodbyeCharlie''.

* ''WebAnimation/ManiManiPeople'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW1d9axjtwc Keita]] gave Ritsuki and Haru pills that supposedly turns men into women. Haru took the pill and it transformed him into a woman. Ritsuki even managed to get Haru pregnant with his child. They became HappilyMarried and they are trying for a second child.

* ''WebVideo/{{AFK}}'': Steven and Maybel both played characters of the opposite sex. Upon waking up to discover they have become their characters, the result was obvious. Maybel in particular is very uncomfortable with peeing as a male, and Jack has to listen while she does this, then vents about it.

* [[http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/ BigCloset]] is a large site hosting Gender Bender fiction, but differs from [=FictionMania=] in that most stories are [[NotSafeForWork Safe For Work]]. Many stories are novel-length, and the writing quality is generally better.

* Website/DeviantArt in general has entire communities surrounding this trope. Just put "TG" into the search engine and enjoy.
* [[http://www.fictionmania.tv/enter.html FictionMania]] (NSFW) is a ''massive'' archive specializing in gender bending stories of all kinds. The site isn't limited to this trope, however, as it also accepts RealLife (or VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory) stories of [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} sexual reassignment and transitioning]], [[{{Crossdresser}} Crossdressing]], and EasySexChange fiction.
* The premise of ''Literature/TheFiniteLifeOfADatingSimHeroine'', which is a WebSerialNovel about a boy who gets sent into a DatingSim and forced into the body of the game's heroine.

** In a strip aptly titiled ''Butterflies'', a woman is selling the "potion of transformation" which turns you into a smoking hot babe. A guy buys and drinks it, and turns into a [[spoiler: pupa, complete with the shopkeeper explaining that [[TransformationHorror his skin is hardening and his digestive juices will melt his insides and rearrange him into his new form]], all the while he's [[PainfulTransformation]] screaming in agony. SmashCut to 8 months later when the guy is now a]] smoking hot babe, checking himself out in the mirror and commenting that his new form is not really his type.

** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-113 SCP-113]], a piece of jasper that turns anything with sex chromosomes that touches it into the opposite gender. Although, the change is rather [[PainfulTransformation painful]], there is a 25% chance of the subject's [[GroinAttack genitals being obliterated]] and multiple exposures may cause [DATA EXPUNGED]. The Foundation has forbidden its use as a method of sex change by transgender people, both inside and outside the foundation, as the risk for harm and death is too great.

* This is the main power of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Tiresias Orb]] (see the "Mythology" section) from ''Webcomic/EerieCuties'', which [[LovableSexManiac Blair]] steals, uses irresponsibly, and [[spoiler:accidentally breaks, [[FirstLawOfGenderBending leaving Ace stuck long-term]]]]; much, much later, [[spoiler:kissing Kade after touching Blair causes Ace to transfer the curse to him for a while, until Chloe figures how to use this effect to break the curse completely]].

** Elliot is transformed into a girl by Tedd very early on in the comic, and uses an enchanted diamond to break the curse. The diamond ends up creating an OppositeSexClone of him named Ellen, and granting them both magic related to the original transformation. Ellen can fire beams that transform men into women (and eventually other beams) while Elliot can transform into a woman, which he doesn't actually want to do. Naturally, Elliot winds up with excess magic and has to spend as much time as possible as a girl to burn it off, lest he spontaneously transform at school. Since magic tries to fit your personality and it can't figure out why Elliot hates all of his spells, it eventually overcompensates and gives him the ability to turn into a FlyingBrick [[SuperGenderBender superheroine]]. [[spoiler:Elliot eventually realizes that he doesn't actually mind being a girl (he refers to himself as "gender casual"); what he hates is being ''forced'' to transform, or it happening involuntarily.]] ''EGS'' also gives us this wonderful line when Sarah and Susan are arguing over whether it's healthy or not when Elliot "[[AllMenArePerverts fails at perversion]]":

** Grace is a VoluntaryShapeshifter who can turn into or mix-and-match any form she's had previously, which includes several male forms. Although, she rarely has actual reason to do so.
** Every main character aside from Ellen spends the evening as the opposite sex at Grace's birthday party. A later party involves more general transformations (mostly to do with size and hair colour), although [[StraightGay Justin]] turns into a woman. [[spoiler:A haywire magic mirror at said party ends up turning almost everyone into each other's transformed forms, with Justin turning into ginger Nanase and Elliot turning into blonde Ashley.]]

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequential_hermaphroditism Some fish]] will start out as male, but then change genders if their female mate dies. Others do the opposite. Clownfish are one of them (male changes to female.) This led to a lot of ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' [[StockParodyJoke jokes.]]

* An example from [[FrancoBelgianComics French Comics]] appears in ''Paulette'' by Georges Wolinski and Georges Pichard (1970): the old Joseph, a ''clochard'' that saved the eponymous protagonist, is suddenly magically transformed in a stunningly [[AttractiveBentGender attractive]] brunette (with the same age of the [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl blonde Paulette]]) and becomes her companion in a ton of misadventures. Though now Joseph is very younger, healthier and in a [[IncrediblyLamePun better physical shape]], she is absolutely [[BlessedWithSuck not pleased to be female]], she has still the mindset of an old ''clochard'' (with a little bit of mischief added) and she [[LampshadeHanging talks]] frequently as a [[OldSoldier veteran]] of the UsefulNotes/FirstWorldWar (still in a very female and young body). She likes to repeat "''I could be your grandpa''" and similar other sentences. Also [[InnocentFanserviceGirl naked]]. We have to punctuate that this comic is a hurricane of FanService. At the end of the first adventure with Paulette, Joseph is able to become the old man again: however he has a ton of photos and PinUp of his nude stunning female self (with dedication... to Joseph!) When [[TheIdealist Paulette]] is kidnapped again, Joseph is [[MostWritersAreMale transformed]] [[FirstLawOfGenderBending definitively]] in the brunette and forced to be involved in [[LonelyRichKid Paulette]]'s endless surreal misadventures.