History Main / Bifauxnen

* Elly Jackson of LaRoux often invokes this.

* LaRoux singer Elly Jackson. [[BlondieIsABand Yes, she's not the only person involved.]]

* ''Manhwa/HesDedicatedToRoses'' features [[{{Meganekko}} Choi Ida]], who masquerades as [[BoisterousBruiser Choi Yodah]] in order to vent the frustrations of being under the thumb of [[ManipulativeBitch Manipulative]] RichBitch Mimi. As Choi Yodah she accidentally attracts a female bully after rescuing her and a {{Bishounen} named Naru because [[spoiler:she resembles his dead little brother]]. [[PlotHole If Ida's so poor and her room so small, where did she get and stash all those flashy male clothes? And where did she get them to begin with, or is Asian fashion that androgynous?]]

The major distinction between them and {{Tomboy}}s is a direct association with elegance and style, and they often appear [[YoungerThanTheyLook older than they really are]]. Tomboys are often associated with playfulness and immaturity, but are still clearly female. While it is common to have both types of characters in a series, two bifauxnen are less common, and tend to become play or [[FoeYay sexy]] rivals.

* [[http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/PH6U3q6OJIF/Meredith+Kercher+Trial+Draws+Close/VchmmwoxpVT/Giulia+Bongiorno Giulia Bongiorno]], the Italian defense attorney for Amanda Knox.

Bifauxnen, however, do not include trans men, as the latter ''are'' men (mentally if not physically) and not simply 'mistaken' for men. Usually they can be distinguished by how they identify, such as Takatsuki from ''WanderingSon''.

* Yuri Ishtar from ''Manga/AnatoliaStory''. She was mistaken to be an attractive young boy while she was pretending to be a dancer. She's also mistaken for a boy when one of Kail's brothers comes to visit. HilarityEnsues.
** Played more seriously later, when a local queen is told that "a young boy" is conquering several territories for the Hittites... and sends her pre-teenage daughter to "serve" said "boy", implicitely [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar in a]] [[SexSlave sexual manner]]. Yuri herself is [[OhCrap shocked at this]], then explains the deal to the young princess and makes her one of her ladies-in-waiting instead.

** ''Undefined Fantastic Object'' introduced Minamitsu ([[MemeticBadass Motherfucking]]) Murasa, a boyish-looking ghost sailor, and Shou Toramaru, whose boyish name, appearance, and career caused more ViewerGenderConfusion.
** It gets better: ''Ten Desires'' has Toyosatomimi no Miko, who's based on a real male historical figure, with a hefty dose of masculine arrogance.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Disney/{{Mulan}}''. Pretty as a girl, she passes for a feminine looking boy.

* [[spoiler: Rei Ijuin]], of ''Franchise/TokimekiMemorial 1'', who has to pose as a boy in front of everybody due to a family custom, and this until her coming of age. It's a well-kept secret the [[spoiler: Ijuin]] family zealously protects, to the point that even her ''little sister'' [[spoiler: Mei]] doesn't know she's actually a girl!

* ''Anime/MaiHiME'': Chie in had hints of this. Her ''Anime/MaiOtome'' version turned this up even more with her husky voice, [[ChivalrousPervert flirty manner]], predilection to [[SomethingAboutARose blue roses]], and association with the [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl much-more-girly Aoi]]. It's even more obvious in ''Anime/MaiOtomeZwei'', where her Robe is a suit with a top hat rather than the standard dress.

* ''Manga/IceRevolution'': Tomboy Masaki is getting tired of constantly being mistaken for a boy (her short AnimeHair, preference for tracksuits, masculine speaking style, aggressive nature, amazing strength and fighting skills, in-denial dojo-owning father and two brothers, one of whom [[HalfIdenticalTwins looks just like her]] don't help) gets inspired by ''figure skating'' after trying to find the only boy who's seen her in a girl's uniform in order to thank him after he [[CrashIntoHello saves her from a truck]]. Unfortunately the coach who discovers her believes he's found the next great ''male'' figure skater. It takes another two chapters before that's cleared up and [[spoiler: a WholesomeCrossdresser gives her beauty advice]].

** Rei Asaka, who Rei usually wears a black suit with lacy shirt. While her friend Kaoru wore clothes tend to be almost vaguely unisex, she was [[BifauxnenAndLadette more of a]] {{tomboy}}. Besides, [[spoiler: Kaoru got a GirlinessUpgrade [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians after marrying Takehiko]] [[BabiesEverAfter in the end]] while Rei remained a bifauxnen until [[BringOutYourGayDead the end.]] ]]

** After [[ImportantHaircut cutting off her long braids]], Lichtenstein can pull of a rather convincing Bifauxnen, despite being a ProperLady personality-wise. She's not very pleased by such a prospect, though, since it outlines [[ACupAngst her lack of endowments.]]

* ''Manga/WJuliet'': You would never know Miura Ito was a girl unless she told you, especially at the beginning of the manga. Likewise, [[DudeLooksLikeALady her boyfriend Makoto makes a gorgeous woman]], to the point where [[spoiler:all of his male classmates are in denial when they find out the truth at the end of the manga.]] Ito is constantly given male roles in the school drama club (their teacher is apparently a huge Takarazuka fan), and the one time she was cast as the female lead it was supposed to be a comedy version of Swan Lake, with Makoto as the hansom prince.

* Yuri Ishtar from ''Manga/AnatoliaStory''. She was mistaken to be attractive young boy while she was pretending to be a dancer. She's also mistaken for a boy when one of Kail's brothers comes to visit. HilarityEnsues.

* Both Yayoi and Lin from ''LightNovel/{{Kure-nai}}''. It's no wonder that they always end up fighting each other.

* Both Yayoi and Lin from ''[[LightNovel/{{Kurenai}} Kure-nai]]''. It's no wonder that they always end up fighting each other.

* The [[ViewerGenderConfusion viewers weren't the only ones who were confused with the gender]] of the boyish Otto from ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha''. In the [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary manga]] that featured the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Numbers]], it's revealed that most of the Numbers themselves were also unsure whether Otto's a man or a woman, and [[SmugSnake Quattro]] ordered the few who do know to keep a tight-lip about it. Also in the post-StrikerS TimeSkip, [[spoiler:she's now working as a [[BattleButler butler]] for the Belkan Saint Church]], complete with matching suit.

* The [[ViewerGenderConfusion viewers weren't the only ones who were confused with the gender]] of the boyish Otto from ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha''. In the [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary manga]] that featured the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Numbers]], it's revealed that most of the Numbers themselves were also unsure whether Otto's a man or a woman, and [[SmugSnake Quattro]] ordered the few who do know to keep a tight-lip about it. Also in the [=post-StrikerS=] TimeSkip, [[spoiler: she's now working as a [[BattleButler butler]] for the Belkan Saint Church]], complete with matching suit.

* [[spoiler:Yui Goido]] becomes one in ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'' after her capture.

* King from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters''. She dressed as a man in the original ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'', due to an incident regarding her gender and childhood training in Muay Thai, (which back then didn't accept female practitioners), as well as being forced to be a bouncer by a local gang. In that game, she is presented as a male at first (besides baring her bra if beaten with a super move and having different dialogues when this happened), but future games acknowledge her as a woman who chooses to wear male clothes both for personal taste [[KickChick and practical reasons]]. She continues to dress is masculine clothing in almost all her later appearances; the closest concession, clothing-wise, is either wearing dresses in artwork and in her ending in ''The King of Fighters XI'' (and the last one is [[JustifiedTrope because she is in a date]]) or showing up in two-piece swimsuits in the {{Dating Sim}}s.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', one of the main characters, [[spoiler: Naoto Shirogane, the masculine, pistol-wielding, uniform-wearing, amateur detective-turned high school student]] is a biological woman dressing as a man [[spoiler: because she believes she won't be taken seriously in a mostly male field of work. After her gender and identification are revealed, Naoto decides to keep the boyish looks and behavior -- unless she's specifically asked otherwise by the Protagonist, and only when they are alone.]]

* Leo from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6''. Short hair, check. Masculine name, check. Masculine outfit, big check (includes a white masculine tuxedo).

* The dancers in the video for "Blame It on the Girls" by Mika are ''half''-Bifauxnen: their costumes and wigs make their right half look like a girl in a dress with a BobHaircut, while the left half looks like a man in a tux with [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] hair. See it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsO-V6bqiDE here]].

* [[spoiler:Chihiro]] from ''Anime/BattleSpiritsHeroes. She seems like a {{Bishonen}} boy but is revealed to be a girl in episode 31. [[IKnewIt Fans had speculated]] this for a while.

* Souseiseki from Rozen Maiden

* Chris in ''VisualNovel/PrincessWaltz''. She not only dresses like a boy, and has the interest of all the girls; she was told she was supposed to be born a boy and [[GenderBender plans to become one through magic]]. Even after she starts [[{{H-Game}} sleeping with the main character]], her ultimate goal doesn't change. Somehow Chris' gender isn't obvious to Arata after the second chapter. No, not even after seeing her in the bath.

* '''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'',:

* Hikaru of ''PowerInstinctMatrimelee'' is a almost a parody of characters like Bridget from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' (like many characters in the game). Her gender is so well hidden that nothing in the game itself actually mentions it, not even in her ending. The only way someone would be able to determine her true gender is from other documentation.

* Asha from ''Webcomic/{{Kubera}}''. So much that Ran still thinks she's a guy even though she is wearing a dress. Yes, he thinks of her as some weird guy who dresses up in women's clothing.

* ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'':
** Maria Tachibana and Kanna Kirishima are tall and have husky voices, so they usually play male roles in their musical productions.
** Later we get Leni Milchstrasse, who is petite and waifish and talks like a boy.
** Subaru Kujou from ''Sakura Taisen V'' sits squarely between Bifauxnen and {{Transsexual}} territory. She occasionally refers to herself with female pronouns and does not mind when others do the same, but she staunchly refuses to actually identify as female or male, and her gender is questioned at various points throughout the game without a clear answer ever being supplied. The word ''genderqueer'' was invented for people like her.

* ''Manga/{{Gintama}}':

* ''Anime/MaiHiME'': Chie in had hints of this. Her ''Anime/MaiOtome'' version turned this up even more with her husky voice, [[ChivalrousPervert flirty manner]], predilection to [[SomethingAboutARose blue roses]], and association with the [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl much-more-girly Aoi]]. It's even more obvious in ''Anime/{{Mai-Otome Zwei}}'', where her Robe is a suit with a top hat rather than the standard dress.

* ''Manga/MinamiKe'': Touma Minami (no relation) is first persuaded to pose as a brother, then later insists on being called a boy, even though she's not, probably because all three of her elder siblings are [[AloofBigBrother Aloof Big Brothers]] (to varying degrees). This provides some nice contrast to WholesomeCrossdresser "Mako-chan".

* ''Anime/MaiHiME'': Chie in had hints of this. Her ''Anime/{{Mai-Otome}}'' version turned this up even more with her husky voice, [[ChivalrousPervert flirty manner]], predilection to [[SomethingAboutARose blue roses]], and association with the [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl much-more-girly Aoi]]. It's even more obvious in ''Anime/{{Mai-Otome Zwei}}'', where her Robe is a suit with a top hat rather than the standard dress.

* ''Manga/{{Minami-ke}}'': Touma Minami (no relation) is first persuaded to pose as a brother, then later insists on being called a boy, even though she's not, probably because all three of her elder siblings are [[AloofBigBrother Aloof Big Brothers]] (to varying degrees). This provides some nice contrast to WholesomeCrossdresser "Mako-chan".

* ''[[LightNovel/MariaSamaGaMiteru Maria-sama ga Miteru]]'': Rei Hasekura is a subversion. She happens to be a KendoTeamCaptain, tall, and short-haired, but this is the extent of her boyish qualities; [[MoeMoe her short, delicate-looking]] ''petite soeur'' Yoshino is the actual tomboy of the [[MoeCouplet pair]]. Rei also tends to wear male (or at least male type) clothes when out of uniform, though this could be due to having difficulty find clothes in her size.

* Juliet Fiamatta Asto Capulet in ''Anime/RomeoXJuliet'' dresses as a boy named Odin to disguise her connection to the Capulet family line, as the last surviving member is known to be female. Subverted in that, after Juliet learns of her heritage, she's allowed to wear dresses and let her hair down when she's in the Capulet headquarters and away from intruders, and she takes it on stride. (Then again, when she pulled a RecursiveCrossdressing stunt at the start, she ''did'' like [[SheCleansUpNicely wearing a fancy gown.]]) [[spoiler: And once Juliet's identity is revealed to the public and ''everyone'' knows who she truly is, she just doesn't bother with disguises anymore and wears either simple dresses or tomboyish clothes depending on the situation.]]

* ''VisualNovel/TheyAreMyNobleMasters'': Averted was Natose, who is a semi-bifauxnen, the only thing is she has boobies (huge ones in fact), and she wears panties under her clothes.
* ''Manga/IceRevolution'' - tomboy Masaki is getting tired of constantly being mistaken for a boy (her short AnimeHair, preference for tracksuits, masculine speaking style, aggressive nature, amazing strength and fighting skills, in-denial dojo-owning father and two brothers, one of whom [[HalfIdenticalTwins looks just like her]] don't help) gets inspired by ''figure skating'' after trying to find the only boy who's seen her in a girl's uniform in order to thank him after he [[CrashIntoHello saves her from a truck]]. Unfortunately the coach who discovers her believes he's found the next great ''male'' figure skater. It takes another two chapters before that's cleared up and [[spoiler: a WholesomeCrossdresser gives her beauty advice]].

** In ''Negima?! Neo'', they swap roles: Setsuna is the YamatoNadeshiko in a luxurious kimono and Konoka is the Bifauxnen and in a [[TheShinsengumi Shinsengumi uniform]]. But nobody makes any comment, because the only other girl around turns out to be [[PsychoLesbian Tsukuyomi]]...