History Main / ThirdLawOfGenderBending

'''Matsuri:''' It's only me and granpda, so [[RealMenWearPink I was doing these chores even when I was a guy]]!

It should be noted that this trope is not necessarily TruthInTelevision. In reality, gender presentation - the way a person dresses and behaves with respect to gender - is completely separate from assigned gender at birth or gender identity. While some UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} people do start wearing outfits and adopting the mannerisms of their gender identity after transitioning, this shouldn't be taken as a given. Some trans men and trans women choose a more androgynous presentation or one more in line with their assigned gender at birth - for example, some trans women are Main/{{tomboys}}.

This trope, where the characters acts and dresses to match their biology instead of their mind, is subverted in real life by people who are UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} and often dress according to their mental image of themselves. [[RealityIsUnrealistic Many transgender people]] ''do'' tend to wear outfits and adopt mannerisms (along with other [[TertiarySexualCharacteristics Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]]) of the gender they transitioned to, but even this generalization is not universal.

* One chapter of ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' has Ilulu turn Kobayashi into a man, believing Kobayashi would be [[ImAManICantHelpIt so overcome with lust]] that "he" would have no choice but to take it all out on Ilulu. While Kobayakashi acts ([[LadyLooksLikeADude and looks]]) no different than she did before, she notes that she's starting to feel [[AllMenArePerverts uncomfortably sexual instincts]] towards Tohru and Kanna, the latter of which terrified her, though she avoids acting on them.

** Getting harassed by guys causes Matsuri to develop some traits of a {{Sour Prude|s}}. When a pair of guys stare at his breasts, Matsuri ''literally forgets his own gender'' for a second. In a later incident, he has no reservation browbeating a group of guys for hitting on a female teacher, then insisting she not be lenient on "the boys", as Suzu mentally notes he seems to be forgetting something.

* ''Transjitter'' averts this hard with the protagonist. While the FTM lead is uncomfortable with her new body, she adjusts to life as a man. Meanwhile, the first night the protagonist learns he turned into a girl, he got ''severe'' dysphoria and began mutilating himself in the bathroom. The rest of the manga shows how much he doesn't like his new body, as male acquaintances take the opportunity to violate him nd he feels alienated and isolated.

* ''Transjitter'' averts this hard with the protagonist. While the FTM lead is uncomfortable with her new body, she adjusts to life as a man. Meanwhile, the first night the protagonist learns he turned into a girl, he got ''severe'' dysphoria and began mutilating himself in the bathroom. The rest of the manga shows how much he doesn't like hi new body, as male acquaintances take the opportunity to violate him nd he feels alienated an isolated in his new body.

** Literally the only change to his wardrobe are adding a sports bra and switching the slacks in his school uniform for a skirt (the shirt and blazer are the same design, though he needed a new pair to fit his altered body). However, the girl's school uniform is by far Matsuri's most shown outfit, as most of the manga takes place at or on the way to/from school, and he often [[ForgotAboutHisPowers forgets]] to change into his ninja gear when he should.

** Getting harassed by guys causes Matsuri to develop some traits of a {{Sour Prude|s}}. When a pair of guys stare at his breasts, Matsuri ''literally forgets his own gender'' for a second. In a later incident, he has no reservation browbeating a group of guys for hitting on a female teacher, then insisting she not to be lenient on "the boys", as Suzu mentally notes he seems to be forgetting something.

** ''Anime/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'' Anime adaptation, on the other hand, takes a pragmatic approach by depicting Ozma as a rambunctious TomboyPrincess, allowing her to be a genuine girl (Tomboy is just another aspect of the feminine, after all) without the unsettling LossOfIdentity implications of the original.

This trope, where the characters acts and dresses to match their biology instead of their mind, is subverted in real life by people who are {{Transgender}} and often dress according to their mental image of themselves. [[RealityIsUnrealistic Many transgender people]] ''do'' tend to wear outfits and adopt mannerisms (along with other [[TertiarySexualCharacteristics Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]]) of the gender they transitioned to, but even this generalization is not universal.

*** Justified to some extent with the revelation that [[spoiler:Tedd is [[{{Transgender}} gender-fluid.]]]]

* One chapter of ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' has Ilulu turn Kobayashi into a man. While she acts ([[LadyLooksLikeADude and looks]]) no different than she did before, she notes that she's starting to feel more uncomfortably sexual instincts towards Tohru and Kanna, the latter of which terrified her. It should be noted that Ilulu gender-bent her in the first place to enforce the trope; she believed that once turned into a man, Kobayashi would be so overcome with lust that "he" would have no choice but to take it all out on somebody, and Ilulu was perfectly willing to be that "somebody" when the time arose.

* ''Manga/KashimashiGirlMeetsGirl'': Hazumu was a walking feminine stereotype even before being turned female, and is quick to follow his female friends' advice as how to fit in as a girl. However, she mentions that she prefers male clothing, and occasionally wears them.

** Getting harassed by guys causes Matsuri to develop some traits of a {{Sour Prude}}s. When a pair of guys stare at his breasts, Matsuri ''literally forgets his own gender'' for a second. In a later incident, he has no reservation browbeating a group of guys for hitting on a female teacher, then insisting she not to be lenient "the boys", as Suzu mentally notes he seems to be forgetting something.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', when Timmy wishes to be a girl to be able to hang out with Trixie and find out what she wants, he gets the irresistible urge to watch soap operas and buy shoes--although he already did that first one ''before'' the gender-bend. He maintains his urge to read comic books like "Skull Squisher". ...because of the FanService. "Muscular guys in spandex fighting crime, cool!" Timmy also makes Cosmo and Wanda switch sexes while he's out, which turns Wanda into a surly FatSlob and makes Cosmo neurotically [[VanityIsFeminine obsessed with his looks]].

** Getting harassed by guys causes Matsuri to develop some trait of a {{Sour Prude}}s. When a pair of guys stare at his breasts, Matsuri ''literally forgets his own gender'' for a second. In a later incident, he has no reservation browbeating a group of guys for hitting on a female teacher, then telling her not to be lenient "the boys", as Suzu mentally note he seems to be forgetting something.
--->'''Matsuri''': ''(thinking)'' It’s so obvious where you’re looking. Do they think we can’t tell? [[HypocriticalHumor Guys are so stupid! Wait, I’m a guy.]]

** When a pair of guys stare at his breasts, Matsuri doesn't so much respond in a stereotypically feminine way as ''literally forget his own gender'' for a second.

* Inverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' where Batwoman switches her mind with Batman's. Switch into a ''man's'' body makes Batwoman go from somewhat feminine to ''absurdly'' {{Camp}}y and effeminate. Batman, meanwhile, acts the same in either body.

--> '''Melissa:''' Fine. One date. We'll see where things go from there.\\

Characters who change sex typically adopt — or are forced to adopt — gender appropriate dress and behavior. Most of the time this means dresses and makeup for a man turned woman and aggressive and macho behavior for a woman turned man. Frequently rationalized as being due to the ''characters'' having stereotypical views of gender roles, particularly when the character in question is depicted as being in need of a [[{{Aesop}} lesson]] in gender equality.

Like the [[SecondLawOfGenderBending second law]], this trope typically manifests in one of two forms:

More sophisticated applications of this trope will often try to find common ground somewhere between these two extremes. It may be as simple as characters wanting or needing to "fit in" (or at least not wanting to stick out), wanting to distance themselves from an identity or past behavior they've grown to dislike, or wanting to appear attractive to a potential love interest. Less sophisticated applications simply apply it without question or place the characters in an environment where clothing associated with their former sex simply isn't available. Behind the scenes, this trope may be applied to ensure that the characters' problems aren't simply solved by [[RecursiveCrossdressing crossdressing themselves back to their original sex]] and then acting like nothing's changed, thus preserving the drama.

Since most GenderBender characters are male-to-female, this frequently results in scenes where the newly minted girl is confronted with all of the requirements of his new sex, which can include [[TertiarySexualCharacteristics skirts, hose, makeup, high heels and other trappings of femininity]]. This can result in a a HardTruthAesop reinforcing stereotypical behavior. Some people may find the notion of underlying biological imperatives enforcing such behavior offensive or simply ridiculous, as nothing about being a woman inherently results in a need to wear the stereotypical outfit.

From a [[WatsonianvsDoylist literary perspective]], the reason this trope comes up is clear: if an author gender bends a character, and the crew acts normally and maturely until the situation is straightened out, the gender bending [[TheyWastedaPerfectlyGoodPlot didn't really matter]], did it?

This trope may result in BecomingTheMask or GoingNative depending upon surrounding circumstances. Often precedes the SecondLawOfGenderBending which may stem from this trope, and may result in a ShoppingMontage and/or MakeoverMontage as the new boy or girl (willingly or not) gets geared up for life in their new sex.

* ''Manga/HeavensLostProperty'': Tomoki will occasionally use a special device to turn himself into Tomoko so (s)he can act out various shoujo tropes.

* ''Manga/KashimashiGirlMeetsGirl'': Hazumu was a walking feminine stereotype even before his GenderBender. However, she mentions that she prefers male clothing, and occasionally wears them.

* ''Manga/SekainohateDeAimashou'': Despite a brief initial attempt to pass as a boy, it's pretty much all skirts and dresses for Ryouma, and everybody seems to accept it without comment.

* Example in this ''Webcomic/EerieCuties'' [[http://www.eeriecuties.com/strips-ec/such_a_happy_guy strip:]]
--> '''Melissa:''' Fine. One date. We'll see where things go from there.
-->'''female!Kade:''' Squeee! You've made me such a happy guy, Melissaaa!
-->'''Melissa:''' If you still think of yourself as a guy, why are you wearing a dress?
-->'''female!Kade:''' It matched these shoes that were just to ''die'' for! And it makes my butt look cute!

* ''Manga/ToLoveRu'': Most of the time Rito is turned into a girl, he ends up being [[DraggedIntoDrag forcibly dressed]] in something feminine and/or revealing. The first time, Mikan and Lala try to dress Rito up in Lala's spare clothes, and he runs away when Mikan pulls out a frilly bra. That eventually just leads to Saki, Rin, and Aya (who assume he's a stranger) [[UndressingTheUnconscious throwing away his male clothes while he's unconscious]], the shoving him in lingerie and a racy evening gown once he wakes up. In the following incidents, Lala puts him in a low-neck blouse with a miniskirt then a FrenchMaid outfit, Momo makes him join some girls dressed up as {{Hospital Hottie}}s, and Nemesis uses her shapeshifting powers to turn his school uniform into a girl's one.

* Initially played dead straight in ''Manga/KanojoNiNaruHi'': Mamiya's deep-seated needs to win at all things and always be the master of her emotions causes her to seize femininity with both hands, literally demanding her classmates regard her as a girl when she returns to school. Deconstructed later when she breaks down in front of her chief rival/best friend Miyoshi and reveals her bravado is just a brave front she put up because most of her male self-image was tied up in being the best at physical things she can no longer do thanks to some concealed GenderBender related health problems.

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Ranma is not generally more feminine [[SexShifter in female form]], but [[HypocriticalHumor where he'll undermine his own claims of manliness]]:
** Ranma is quite confident in his looks even as a man, but is ''particularly'' [[VanityIsFeminine vain]] about how his female form looks. He's complained about P-chan scratching his "perfect skin", gotten enraged at being called ugly, and [[BigBreastPride gloated about having bigger breasts than Akane]].

** Initially, Ranma completely hated wears girls' clothes in female form, though he occasionally ended up in them anyway. Eventually, he becomes very quick to pretend to be feminine, either as part of a disguise or to take advantage of people who don't know his true nature. He [[OverlyStereotypicalDisguise typically overdoes it]], becoming a loud FakeCutie, implying that he's consciously trying to act out stereotypes. When he hits his head in one episode and thinks he was always a girl, he becomes the ''epitome'' of this trope.

* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Despite pretending he was always a girl, Matsuri's behavior remains [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak primarily, even brazenly masculine]] ([[OreOnna he doesn't even change his first-person pronoun]]), but that makes the few feminine traits he displays more noticeable:
** Literally the only change to his wardrobe are adding a sports bra and switching the slacks in his school uniform for a skirt (the shirt and blazer are the same design, though he needed a new pair to fit his altered body). However, the girl's school uniform is by far Matsuri's most shown outfit, as most of the manga takes place at or on the way to/from school, and he often [[ForgotAboutHisPowers forgets]] to change into his ninja gear when he should.
** {{Discussed|trope}} when Shirogane first [[AdoptedToTheHouse moves in to the Kazamaki household]] and sees Matsuri serving breakfast:
--->'''Shirogane:''' You femininity has leveled up so much that you prepare breakfast in an apron! My Gender Swap Awakened in a cruel jutsu.\\
'''Matsuri:''' It's only me and granpda, so [[RealMenWearPink I was doing these chores even when I was a guy]]!
** When a pair of guys stare at his breasts, Matsuri doesn't so much respond in a stereotypically feminine way as ''literally forget his own gender'' for a second.
--->'''Matsuri''': ''(thinking)'' It’s so obvious where you’re looking. Do they think we can’t tell? [[HypocriticalHumor Guys are so stupid! Wait, I’m a guy.]]
* Zig-zagged in ''Kimo-Ota, Idol Yarutteyo'': Yousuke, a teenage IdolSinger FanBoy, [[JustWokeUpThatWay wakes up one day]] [[GenderBender as a girl]] named Yoko (which is how everyone else remembers "her" always being), and decides to use their [[AttractiveBentGender now-good looks]] [[AscendedFanboy to become an idol themself]]. However, despite having such a girly career goal, [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Yousuke/Yoko is just as masculine as when they were male]]. Off-stage, they initially didn't wear any feminine clothes besides a school uniform, not even at auditions or training (which makes performing in a short skirt and heels [[DifferentForGirls notably awkward]]). Yoko's bandmate eventually talks them into a GirlinessUpgrade as part of dressing more fashionably while on the job, though since Yoko [[HatesWearingDresses dislikes wearing skirts]], she compromises by buying Yoko [[ModestyShorts shorts that look like a skirt]].

* ''Manga/ToLoveRu'': Most of the time Rito is turned into a girl, he ends up being [[DraggedIntoDrag forcibly dressed]] in something feminine and/or revealing. The first time, Mikan and Lala try to dress Rito up in Lala's spare clothes, and he runs away when Mikan pulls out a frilly bra. That eventually just leads to Saki, Rin, and Aya (who assume he's a stranger) throwing away his male clothes and shoving him in lingerie and a racy evening gown. In the following incidents, Lala puts him in a low-neck blouse with a miniskirt then a FrenchMaid outfit, Momo makes him join some girls dressed up as {{Hospital Hottie}}s, and Nemesis uses her shapeshifting powers to turn his school uniform into a girl's one.

* Zig-zagged in ''Kimo-Ota, Idol Yarutteyo'': Yousuke, a teenage IdolSinger FanBoy, [[JustWokeUpThatWay wakes up one day]] [[GenderBender as a girl]] named Yoko (which is how everyone else remembers "her" always being), and decides to use their [[AttractiveBentGender now-good looks]] [[AscendedFanboy to become an idol themself]]. However, despite having such a girly career goal, [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Yousuke/Yoko is just as masculine as when they were male]]. Off-stage, they initially didn't wear any feminine clothes besides a school uniform, not even at auditions or training (which makes performing in a short skirt and heels [[DifferentForGirls notably awkward]]). Yoko's bandmate eventually talks them into a GirlinessUpgrade as part of dressing more fashionably while on the job, though since Yoko [[HatesWearingDresses dislikes wearing skirts]], she compromises by offering [[ModestyShorts shorts that look like a skirt]].

* Zig-zagged in ''Kimo-Ota, Idol Yarutteyo'': Yousuke, a teenage IdolSinger FanBoy, [[JustWokeUpThatWay wakes up one day]] [[GenderBender as a girl]] named Yoko (which is how everyone else remembers "her" always being), and decides to use their [[AttractiveBentGender now-good looks]] [[AscendedFanboy to become an idol themself]]. However, despite having such a girly career goal, [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Yousuke/Yoko is just as masculine as when they were male]]. Off-stage, they initially didn't wear any feminine clothes besides a school uniform, not even at auditions or training (which makes performing in a short skirt and heels [[DifferentForGirls notably awkward]]). Yoko's bandmate eventually talks them into a GirlinessUpgrade as part of dressing more fashionably while on the job, though since Yoko [[HatesWearingDresses dislikes wearing skirts]], she compromises by picking [[ModestyShorts shorts that look like a skirt]].

* Downplayed ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Ranma is not generally more feminine [[SexShifter in female form]], but there are many situations [[HypocriticalHumor where he'll undermine his own claims of manliness]]:
** Ranma is generally quite confident in his looks, but is ''particularly'' [[VanityIsFeminine vain]] about how his female form looks. He's complained about P-chan scratching his "perfect skin", gotten enraged at being called ugly, and [[BigBreastPride gloated about having bigger breasts than Akane]].

** Ranma quickly becomes willing to pretend to be feminine, either as part of a disguise or to take advantage of people who don't know his true nature. He [[OverlyStereotypicalDisguise typically overdoes it]], becoming a loud FakeCutie, implying that he's consciously trying to act out stereotypes. When he hits his head in one episode and thinks he was always a girl, he becomes the ''epitome'' of this trope.

* ''Manga/ToLoveRu'': Most of the time Rito is turned into a girl, he ends up being [[DraggedIntoDrag forcibly dressed]] in something feminine and/or revealing. The first time, [[MakeoverTorment Mikan and Lala try to dress Rito up in Lala's spare clothes to tease him]], and he runs away when Mikan pulls out a frilly bra. That eventually just leads to Saki, Rin, and Aya (who assume he's a stranger) throwing away his male clothes and shoving him in lingerie and a racy evening gown. In the following incidents, Lala puts him in a low-neck blouse with a miniskirt then a FrenchMaid outfit, Momo makes him join some girls dressed up as {{Hospital Hottie}}s, and Nemesis uses her shapeshifting powers to turn his school uniform into a girl's one.

* Downplayed in ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Despite pretending he was always a girl, Matsuri's behavior remains [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak primarily, even brazenly masculine]] ([[OreOnna he doesn't even change his first-person pronoun]]), but that makes the few feminine traits he displays more noticeable:

* ''Manga/ToLoveRu'': Most of the time Rito is turned into a girl, he ends up being [[DraggedIntoDrag forcibly dressed]] in something feminine and/or revealing. The first time, Mikan and Lala try to dress Rito up in Lala's spare clothes, and he runs away when Mikan pulls out a frilly bra. That eventually just leads to Saki, Rin, and Aya (who assume he's a stranger) throwing away his male clothes and shoving him in lingerie and a racy evening gown. In the following incidents, Lala puts him in a low-neck blouse with a miniskirt then a FrenchMaid outfit, Momo makes him join some girls dressed up as {{Hospital Hottie}}s, and Nemesis uses her shapeshifting powers to turn his school uniform into a girl's one.