History Main / GenderIsNoObject

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', this is inverted in Magus' home universe because [[EasySexChange gender bending]] magic is commonplace. It is [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2018-03-30 implied]] that ''practically all'' roles are performed ''almost entirely'' by people who are or ''become'' the "best suited" gender for that role. If someone (like that universe's alternate of Tedd) insists on defying this, they are considered to be [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2007-01-01 wasting their potential]] by not optimizing their gender to their chosen role. This also implies that, in this society, everyone is ''expected'' to be [[{{Transgender}} genderfluid]].

** UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} seriously considered the change when the Crown Prince's daughter appeared likely to be his only child. Then his brother fathered a son, and the discussion ended.

** [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia The Russian monarchy]] traditionally had little objection toward women on the throne, starting [[UsefulNotes/KievanRus way back with]] [[TheHighQueen princess Olga]], though men usually held priority. Another early example was princess Sophia, the elder sister of Peter I and Ivan V, though she was technically a Regent to the still-minor co-Tsars, and not a ruling monarch. But it really shone during the XVIII century, which was [[FanNickname commonly dubbed]] "Бабье царство" or "Women Reign": the succession law left over by UsefulNotes/PeterTheGreat was very vague, as if intentionally inviting the adventurous princess to take a shot at the throne, and he himself died of illness rather suddenly without designating a successor. This led to his widow Catherine I succeeding him, and a whole bunch of women after that-his niece Anna Ioannovna, his daughter Elisabeth, and, finally, his granddaughter-in-law UsefulNotes/CatherineTheGreat. Most of these women were weak rulers, though, [[UnwittingPawn being easily manipulated]], except [[TheHighQueen the last one]]. UsefulNotes/CatherineTheGreat's son Paul I, though, was sick of the palace atmosphere, and being a [[ForeignCultureFetish great admirer of all things Prussian]] instituted a very strict male primogeniture in the Prussian fashion, which survived all the way to the end.

** Actually, this was attempted much earlier in England. Henry I's son died at sea and he made his daughter, Empress Matilda, his heir and made his baron's swear allegiance. However, upon his death, his nephew Stephen with support of some Barons usurped the throne. The lead to a long civil war known as The Anarchy. Matilda did manage to dethrone Stephen for a brief period, but ultimately he regained the throne. He was eventually, forced to name Matilda's son, Henry II, as his heir.

* ''Series/MotherlandFortSalem'': There are no visible gender restrictions in this society, with most witch soldiers being female (including the Army chief Alder, who founded this) and the US' current President is a women as well. If anything they seem slightly matriarchal.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': The films feature largely male-dominated militaries -- some of the Jedi are women, as is Princess Leia, but most women aren't close to combat at all in either trilogy. The Expanded Universe changes this. Admittedly there aren't a lot of non-clone humans in Clone Wars works period, but works set around and after the original trilogy integrate the ranks of the Rebellion / New Republic, and to a lesser extent the Empire. Gender really isn't brought up in the Rebellion / New Republic, but there are women in every position -- admirals and generals down to pilots and commandos. In the Empire, women fall into the [[FantasticRacism Nonhuman category, which includes women, cyborgs, nonhumans, and droids]], but some of them still claw their way up the ranks. There are more female Imperials than there are nonhuman Imperials. [[spoiler:In the New Galactic Empire as well as the Imperial Remnant, gender issues have been almost completely abolished.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', it varies from service to service in the Imperium of Man, but most governmental, religious, and (in some cases) noble positions are gender-blind, as are the Inquisition, the [[PsychicPowers Adepta Astra Telepathica]], TabletopGame/{{Rogue Trader}}s and the Adeptus Mechanicus. Some are segregated, though - the {{Space Marine}}s are all men, evidently due to the {{genetic engineering|IsTheNewNuke}} required to make them, while the [[ChurchMilitant Sisters of Battle]] are all women because the Ecclesiarchy is banned from maintaining "[[ExactWords men under arms]]". In the Imperial Guard, most regiments are single-gender, and men outnumber women roughly 9-to-1, but female officers and regiments are just as honored, and mixed-gender regiments are not unheard of. They are distinctly outnumbered in the higher ranks, though; one MauveShirt from the Literature/CiaphasCain series eventually reaches the exalted rank of [[FourStarBadass Lady General]] but is among the only ones in recent history to have done so.

* Archaeological research has recently uncovered evidence that women fought in the [[OlderThanDirt ancient Persian military]]. The Scythians, a neighboring people, also apparently had women warriors who fought alongside men with the same armor, weapons, soldiers' tattoos, and burial rites.

* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia,'' where being a woman in a world where many of the other characters are male doesn't make you any ''less'' of a badass and/or prominent figure. Even in the [[RuleSixtyThree Nyotalia]] version, the ladies are just as capable.

* Stated explicitly in [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/90939/shell-shock Shell Shock]], where soldiers are drawn and assigned without consideration of gender.
* ''FanFic/MobileSuitGundamStorm'' in general, but especially the {{Super Soldier}}s, who at their home base have mixed-gender barracks and showers. The downside is that the enhancement process also makes them {{Asexual|ity}} and infertile - in an early chapter, Athene is confused by how Shane's, uh, body reacts while they are changing clothes together.

For a related, video game-specific trope, see PurelyAestheticGender. Not to be confused with [[UsefulNotes/{{Bisexual}} a person for whom]] [[AnythingThatMoves gender is no object]].

** Zigzagged with the Royal Guards, where Princess Celestia seems to prefer an all-male military as her guards were exclusively male until late of Season 8, but is perfectly willing to integrate females into her military when the need arises such as needing the extra troops to fight King Sombra in a BadFuture or shore up her guard's numbers in the event of a heightened threat. [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Perhaps]] she just [[CovertPervert likes being surrounded by physically fit males in ass-less armor who follow her orders]].

** Played straight with the three [[OurElvesAreBetter Elven armies]] which have healthy doses of both male and female units.

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', there are plenty of female commanders in the military of both Britannia and (what we see of) [[Anime/CodeGeassAkitoTheExiled Europia]]. About half of the Knights of the Rounds (a Britannian military unit second only to the Imperial Family) that we see in the series are female. There are also many prominent female scientists, particularly in what we see of Europia. In the end, [[spoiler: there is no issue with the deceased emperor's sister inheriting the throne as opposed to one of the many surviving half-brothers.]]

* Odd variation in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'': not only is the Nova Corps (an armed force) gender-neutral, ''so is its prison'', the Kyln. [[ActionGirl Gamora]] and at least one other female prisoner are mixed in with the male prison population.

* In Western nations in ''Literature/DarkShores'' women work, fight, rule and are generally treated as equal to men -- empress Ereni is a ruler and a warrior, and the most accomplished general in Gamdeshi army is the sultan's daughter. {{Subverted}} in the East, where women are treated as property of their men (fathers, brothers, husbands).

* In ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'', the [[SpaceNavy High Guard]] was largely gender-equal, as demonstrated by Dylan's superior, the no-nonsense Admiral Constanza Stark. Averted by the [[NietzscheWannabe Nietzscheans]], whose pragmatic worldview means that women serve as breeders (and run damn near everything but combat and inter-clan politics; the leader is an alpha male, but the old women can depose him). Most prides kill sterile females. Surprisingly, the only pride that doesn't are one of the bad guys. The Drago-Kazov Pride instead sends sterile females to the military, where they can prove the genetic superiority of their relatives.

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime World Enough and Time]]", the Doctor says that fixed gender is a "petty human obsession", and the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E12TheDoctorFalls following episode]] has [[spoiler:the Saxon Master express surprise at eventually becoming Missy, but it is mild surprise. He's soon calling her "lady version" and he's more upset about the possibility of her (and thus him) turning good.]]

* This isn't present in mainstream lucha libre, such as the TropeMaker Wrestling/{{CMLL}} or LLI/UWA, where weight, height, and gender segregation tend to be strictly enforced, but luchadors fighting against luchadoras is a common sight on Mexico's independent lucha circuit, which is where Wrestling/{{Chikara}} and Wrestling/LuchaUnderground in the USA get it from. The closest to a mainstream example is Wrestling/{{AAA}}, which is usually just as segregated as the other majors but has specific divisions where mixed match ups are allowed. Fabi and Mari Apache also held AAA's Trio belts with their father.

* Luchadoras first appeared on opposite sides of a mixed tag team match of Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE's third volume (Cinthia Moreno and Fabi Apache), while two joshi(Hikaru and the mysterious Arisin Z) tagged with Ikuto Hidaka and Jun Kasai on the first Christmas special. It wasn't until next year, following ''I'm Called Yinling'', that they really headed into this trope when the eponymous woman not only entered into a feud with top {{face}} [[TheAce Ace]] Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa where she in one instance actually managed to pin him, but also brought together Arisin Z and others into an "Amazones" division of [[Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada Generalissimo Takada]]'s [[PowerStable monster army]] who mainly assaulted the male faces. Yinling's main opponent then became [[Creator/HardGay Razor Ramon HG]]. Among the faces, the most notable example was probably [[Wrestling/AjaKong Erica]] and [[Wrestling/AmazingKong Margarete]] winning the Super TagTeam Titles from Ryoji Sai and Wataru Sakata. It took no less than Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys to dethrone them. Unfortunately, not every woman excelled, as Kenzo Suzuki's wife Hiroko will admit.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': Male and female students and [=SeeDs=] at the [[MilitaryAcademy Gardens]] train and fight together.

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' mixes the genders readily, both in the army as a whole and within the different classes. Only a handful of classes are single-gender, including the all-women Pegasus Knight class.
** This got played straighter as of the ''Fates'' installments. All classes became available to all gender, with their names being changed, however, Pegasus Knight and Valkyrie, otherwise female only, became Sky Knight and Strategist, similarly, the otherwise male only Fighter class became accessible to female thanks to Charlotte and the Hoshidan equivalent to it (Oni Savage) had Rinkha as it's representative. However, there are some special DLC exclusive classes such as Witch, Starlode and Bride that are available only to a certain gender. The Dancer class is also only accessible by Azura.

** In the vast majority of nations and cultures women are allowed to serve alongside men in the military and become knights and other warriors such as [[KnightTemplar templars and Seekers]]. The Grey Wardens are mentioned as having fewer female members than other martial orders, [[spoiler:likely because women are made into broodmothers by the darkspawn]], but this seems to have been {{Retcon}}ned in later installments. HeirClubForMen is apparently nonexistent in the nobility and royalty, with the eldest offspring being the heir regardless of gender. Women can also be scholars, politicians, and leaders in the Circle of Magi without any protest. {{Justified}} as [[CrystalDragonJesus the setting's equivalent of Jesus Christ]] was a woman, and her status as a role model explains why a society that falls prey to many of the same social ills that plagued real-life medieval Europe is so gender-egalitarian.

** Zigzagged with the Royal Guards, where Princess Celestia seems to prefer an all-male military as her guards were exclusively male until late of Season 8, but is perfectly willing to integrate females into her military when the need arises such as needing the extra troops to fight King Sombra in a BadFuture or shore up her guard's numbers in the event of a heightened threat. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Perhaps]] she just [[CovertPervert likes being surrounded by physically fit males in ass-less armor who follow her orders]].

** Japan seriously considered the change when the Crown Prince's daughter appeared likely to be his only child. Then his brother fathered a son, and the discussion ended.

** Canada's military is fully integrated and has been since 2001 when the last holdout (submarine service, for the entirely practical reason they didn't have submarines equipped for female crew members until then) had its prohibition against women serving aboard lifted.

** Israel has one of the more gender-balanced armies in the world. It's also one of the few where women are subject to {{conscription}} like the men, though they are more likely than men to get an exemption, and have to serve a minimum of two years instead of the men's three. They are placed in combat units only if they volunteer to do so, though it should be noted that most combat units are male-exclusive due to potential problems with a unit's social dynamic (for example, tests have shown that male combatants tend to lose their better judgment when a female comrade is injured much more readily then if a male comrade is wounded). Female pilots are still allowed and are relatively common.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Wildling spearwives like Osha and Ygritte are just as welcome to take part in warbands as men.

*** It's also worth noting that [[Literature/DoctorWhoNovelisations the novelization]] states that One is acting like that to {{troll}} Twelve.

** The spirit of the Avatar has reincarnated into both male and female over the centuries. The Avatar is respected no matter which gender the current incarnation takes. However, the age and training level of the current Avatar WILL cause that respect to vary. Incidentally, of the seven incarnations, we learn any detail about the men were all conciliatory to a fault and the women were decisive and relatively ruthless.

** Not apocryphal, however, is Gygax's essay in the PHB talking about why players shouldn't be allowed to play monsters or female characters, because it would be too hard to play something they're not. Because, I mean, obviously, [[SarcasmMode no girls play D&D, and their mindset is completely alien.]]

* ''VideoGames/SaintsRow'' has done this throughout the series, with the second game featuring just as many male cops as female cops, as well as an equal amount of male gang members and female gang members, resulting in a rather very diverse cast for a gritty crime game.

For a related, video game-specific trope, see PurelyAestheticGender. Not to be confused with [[BiTheWay a person for whom]] [[AnythingThatMoves gender is no object]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' sort of uses this. While the Bretonnian knights are extremely chivalrous (in the protect-the-women-at-all-costs sense), their army's spellcasters are women, priestesses chosen by the Lady of the Lake, and there was a JeanneDArchetype with Repanse de Lyonesse. However, it's mentioned that the peasant women aren't particularly oppressed since Bretonnian peasants have such a crappy life they're pretty much equal in all aspects including rights. The RPG does establish that female adventures in Brettonia generally have to play SweetPollyOliver to be taken seriously (with a brief aside that the writers do not endorse this attitude).

** The Fire Nation's armies have men and women fight alongside each other -- one general's speech to his troops includes the line "We are the sons and daughters of fire." Even their prisons are unisex. [[EqualOpportunityEvil Despite being the primary antagonists,]] they are unique in this respect. The Earth Kingdom army has few if any women (nothing is specifically stated, but none of the shots of their armies seem to involve women fighting). The Northern Water Tribe explicitly forbids women from fighting, much to Katara's annoyance. And, before the Air Nomad Genocide, the air temples were also segregated (Eastern and Western for females, Northern and Southern for males). Zig-zagged for the Southern Water Tribe. There are also plenty of non-bending women who are fighters, namely the (exclusively-female) Kyoshi Warriors.

** Dwarfs, initially. It turns out to be more complicated than that later on; ''biological'' sex seems to be genuinely inconsequential except for procreative purposes, but traditional dwarf culture has no concept of femininity and both sexes look like men, so they're basically a OneGenderRace of men that just happens to have two different kinds of genitals. Traditionally, anyways. Midway through the series (beginning with ''Discworld/FeetOfClay''), some more modern female dwarfs begin to admit to being female and adopt human-style feminine behavior, which is controversial but increasingly popular. Whether this correlates with their biological sex depends on the dwarf; a female dwarf in ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'' is heavily implied to be biologically male.

* ''Disney/TheLionKingIISimbasPride:'' Kiara is the heir to Simba's throne despite being a lioness, and retains this status after later marrying, so it's not for a lack of a eligible male lion to rule. The film doesn't treat this as an issue even worth commenting on. Simba is simply a very fair king that doesn't discriminate.