History Main / RaisedAsTheOppositeGender

* ''Anime/RomeoXJuliet'': Juliet Fiamatta Asto Capulet is self-identified as a girl since birth, but has been presented as a boy to everyone outside her closest confidantes since the other members of her family were murdered when she was just two-year-old; it is common knowledge that the SoleSurvivor of the massacre was a girl, so under the disguise of a boy named Odin, Juliet arouses less suspicion. When she learns her true identity as a Capulet on her DangerousSixteenthBirthday, she presents as a boy to those outside her closest social circle, but begins wearing dresses in private; when her true gender is publically revealed (which includes a scene in which Juliet is "presented" to the BigBad while wearing her hair down and a simple dress), she switches her cross-dressing for a tomboyish skirt over slacks look, occasionally complemented by a TomboyishPonytail.

* ''Manga/SetonAcademyJoinThePack'' has a variant where the child mistakenly raised their self as the wrong gender rather than the family. Yena grew up mistakenly thinking that they were male because, due to being a hyena, they have a false penis. She somehow completely missed the fact that in this universe, female animals look LittleBitBeastly, while males are BeastMen. Yena's family wasn't trying to raise Yena as a boy and just thought they were a tomboy and didn't realize that Yena was mistaken about her gender. They actually did refer to Yena as female in front of her, but this only confused her until she found out the truth.

* ''Manga/SetonAcademyJoinThePack'': Yena grew up thinking that they were male because, due to being a hyena, they have a false penis and they somehow never figured out why their family members called them female. They also somehow completely missed the fact that in this universe, female animals look LittleBitBeastly, while males are BeastMen.

* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': Nagisa Shiowatari's father raised him as a girl just because he wanted to fulfil his promise to have a daughter to marry Fujinami's son ([[FridgeLogic and apparently never thought about how to keep the son from protesting that his "bride" was actually another guy]]). Nagisa knows he's a boy and identifies as such but he just prefers to act like a girl, coming off as a CreepyCrossdresser.

* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': Nagisa Shiowatari's father raised him as a girl just because he wanted to fulfil his promise to have a daughter to marry Fujinami's son ([[FridgeLogic and apparently never thought about how to keep the son from protesting that his "bride" was actually another guy]]). Nagisa knows he's a boy and identifies as such but he just prefers to act like a girl, coming off as a CreepyCrossdresser (especially given he's a "living ghost" and so can do stuff like walk through walls).

-->'''Ryuunosuke:''' [[CatchPhrase I AM A WOMAN!]]

* ''Film/Berlin36'': Marie Ketteler was born male and raised female by an abusive mother who lost a daughter a few months before his birth and wanted a replacement. He was based on the real world Heinrich Ratjen, who was intersex and had corrective surgery at birth to approximate female genitalia and was raised as a girl. He transitioned to male later in life.

* There is a rare genetic disorder found in some African villages as well as the Dominican Republic (where it is called ''guevedoce'' or "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin penis at twelve]]") that causes male children to be born with genitals that look female until puberty, whereupon they start to grow a penis. The discovery that they were male all along often comes as a relief to these children, who in many cases felt that they fit in better with boys.

* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'': [[spoiler:Akito Sohma]]. Due to a [[MindRape complicated]] sort of reverse {{Oedip|usComplex}}al power struggle, [[JealousParent her mother]] [[spoiler:[[EvilMatriarch Ren Sohma]]]] is to blame for it. The reason why this decision was made is probably the main reason why [[spoiler: Akito]] hates her mother so much. She was always aware of her true gender, but other than that, only some of the old family servants and the oldest Zodiac members--Ayame, Hatori, Shigure and Kureno--know about it [[spoiler:until she goes through a HeelFaceTurn and then willingly reveals herself as the girl she is, via showing up in a very feminine kimono instead of the manly ''yukata'' robes she usually wears]].

* ''Series/PepperChocolate'': There was a woman who suffered from a serious illness and promised to St. Bernardette she'd adopt a girl if she was cured. A maid working for the woman had a son and desired for him a better life so she passed the boy as a girl with no family and claimed the "girl's" name to be Bernardette. Not caring about her foster child more than required to keep good on her promise, she spent years unknowingly raising a boy until the truth came out and Bernardette renamed himself "Bernardo". The woman then started to think everything bad that happened to her was divine punishment for not keeping her promise.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer David Reimer]] had his penis destroyed as a baby during a botched circumcision. John Money, a psychologist, then encouraged and oversaw David being sexually reassigned to female and raised as such. John Money reported the case as a success and used it as evidence that gender identity is environmental. However, it was later revealed that David had never identified as female and began living as a male at age 15. He suffered from suicidal depression starting at 13, and eventually killed himself at 38. Money, for his part, took absolutely no responsibility for David’s suicide. Saying that it was David’s fault for not accepting the gender identity he was assigned with.

%%* ''Manga/{{Genzo}}'':
%%** [[spoiler:Chiyomaru/Kiyone]]
%%** While Princess Kiku's gender wasn't concealed at all, her father raised her like a boy and a warrior [[spoiler:in order to defeat Yasuke and the Yamiganemaru]].

* One ''Franchise/RipleysBelieveItOrNot'' book had a story about a middle-aged person in China who thought they were biologically male finding out they were biologically female after going to a hospital for a swelling in their abdomen. The confusion was caused by an extremely rare combination of a condition causing them to look male and Turner Syndrome, a genetic disorder causing female bodies to lack traits normally associated with them, such as a menstural period and the ability to become pregnant.

* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'': Bridget was raised as a girl because of a superstition in his village about having same gender twins. His story mode actually has him setting off to become a bounty hunter to actually prove that he wouldn't be a curse on those he loved.

* ''Series/Mental'': In "House of Mirrors", the key to a patient-of-the-week's self-immolation attempt lay in his disgust for his female body.

->'''Beverly Hofstadter:''':Oh, yes, the waitress-slash-actress with the unresolved father issues. Has he finally come to terms with his little slugger growing breasts?\\
'''Beverly Hofstadter:''': If you want to have intercourse with that girl, find out what kind of cologne her father wore.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureJoJolion'': Firstborn sons of the Higashikata family are raised in girls' clothing until a certain age due to a superstition to ward off evil spirits. The tradition is actually caused by an unknown hereditary disease that slowly turns them to stone unless someone else is willing to take on the disease for them. Currently this is done with Tsurugi Higashikata, as only family members and close family friends refer to him as a boy.

%%* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'': [[spoiler:Robin Newman]]. Why exactly her parents did this is left uncertain, but she is pretty happy when [[spoiler:Athena reveals her secret to the court, allowing her to openly live as a girl]].

* ''Manga/SetonAcademyJoinThePack'': Yena grew up thinking that they were male because, due to being a hyena, they have a false penis and they somehow never figured out why their family members called them female. They also somehow completely missed the fact that in this universe, female animals look LittleBitBeastly, while males are {{Beastmen}}.

* ''Series/SavingHope'': The team is working on gender-reassignment surgery for a transman but have to stop due to a new medical issue that they can't quite figure out. It turns out the patient was born intersex and, while the doctors advised waiting to see which gender the child identified with before performing surgery, the mother decided to make the child female. This is a huge source of guilt later when it turns out that mom made the "wrong" choice when her daughter decides that she'd rather be male.

* ''Manga/TweenyWitches'': [[spoiler:"Lennon's True Identity" reveals that Lennon is actually a boy but has lived as a witch since he was separated from his father on the Interdimensional Sea. This makes sense given that only the witches send undesirables to the Human Realm.]]

* ''Starless'', by Jacqueline Carey: Khai was born female but as per the regulations of being a Shadow, had to be raised by male warriors. Khai doesn't find out that he was born a girl until there's a change in management. This turns out to be convenient once Khai joins Zariya so they can stay in the same location in a way they would not have been if Khai had a penis. Khai does go back and forth with regards to gender presentation as they please as time goes on.

* ''Anime/RomeoXJuliet'': Juliet Fiamatta Asto Capulet is self-identified as a girl since birth, but has been presented as a boy to everyone outside her closest confidantes since the other members of her family were murdered when she was just two-year-old; it is common knowledge that the SoleSurvivor of the massacre was a girl, so under the disguise of a boy named Odin, Juliet arouses less suspicion. When she learns her true identity as a Capulet on her DangerousSixteenthBirthday, she presents as a boy to those outside her closest social circle, but begins wearing dresses in private; when her true gender is publically revealed (which includes a scene in which Juliet is "presented" to the BigBad while wearing her hair down and a simple dress), she switches her cross-dressing for a tomboyish SkirtOverSlacks look, occasionally complemented by a TomboyishPonytail.