History Main / Bifauxnen

* Creator/NoomiRapace as Lisbeth Salander in the ''Film/TheMillenniumTrilogy'''s adaptation of ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' is another dark example.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* In ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'', Mr. Rooney finds who he believes is Ferris at the arcade, but turns out to be a girl.

* Creator/AngelinaJolie in ''Film/GirlInterrupted'' was wonderfully Johnny Deppish. She was also androgynous in her role as [[http://www.proyouthpages.com/jolie-foxfire.jpg Legs]] in ''Film/FoxFire'', and spends the last act of ''{{Film/Salt}}'' with a short haircut, wearing men's clothes [[spoiler:while she's in disguise as a man, complete with facial prosthetics which she removes, while keeping the hair and clothes]].
* Creator/NoomiRapace as [[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy Lisbeth Salander]] in the original film version of ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' is another dark example.

* Creator/ChloeSevigny from [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206036/ If These Walls Could Talk 2]]

** Jame is mistaken for a boy on a regular basis, is declared to be officially a boy in a fair few contexts throughout the books, and is mistaken constantly for her twin brother (in low-visibility situations). She's flat-chested and androgynous, though she has very long hair (which she tends to wear hidden under her cap).

** Jame, Rue, and Caldance--a fairly diverse group of people--all call Brier "handsome", and with her short hair and neat, military dress, she falls right in the bifauxnen aesthetic. She's Jame's NumberTwo, and they have a BifauxnenAndLadette thing going on.
** Kirien is ''almost'', but not quite, a SweetPollyOliver--she never actually ''claims'' to be male. But she looks (and dresses) like a handsome boy, and lets people go with their assumptions.
* [[spoiler:Kitai]] from Jim Butcher's ''Literature/CodexAlera'', partly to do with the fact that she's an underage Marat with vaguely boyish features (until they come of age, Marat wear baggy tunics and aren't acknowledged to actually have any biological sex except in the academic sense). Tavi doesn't much care for her initially, because she was kind of hostile for little apparent reason, but once he realizes she's a girl, he starts to notice she's kind of pretty.

* In ''Literature/MonaLisaOverdrive'' by Creator/WilliamGibson, Kumiko muses that [[ActionGirl Molly]] greatly resembles the stereotype of the Japanese bishonen: "elegant, deadly and fey."
* Many female fans were ''extremely'' pissed off to discover that Maladict from ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'' is, in fact, a girl. [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer Others were delighted.]]
* Played with (and subverted) in Diana Gabaldon's ''Literature/{{Outlander}}'' series. Secondary protagonist Bree is a six-foot-plus, strapping Scottish redhead who waltzes around in the 18th century in trousers-- but only passes for a man if you're really not looking, and is goggled at, flirted with (with cracks about stepladders) and [[EternalSexualFreedom horrifies her father.]]
* Leisl in the ''Literature/{{Ravenloft}}'' novel ''Vampire of the Mists'' is a thief who dresses as a boy to survive better on the streets.
* In "A Scandal in Bohemia," Irene Adler admits to Literature/SherlockHolmes that she frequently dresses as a man to go out in public because of the freedom that male costume allows her. As shown in theatrical versions of the story, the result is apparently {{Bishonen}}esque.

* In Anne Rice's ''[[Literature/TheVampireChronicles The Vampire Lestat]]'' the vampirized Gabrielle, Lestat's mom, usually adopts male clothing and hair style to be free to do as she wished. During the time (late 18th century) it was difficult for women to get away with living so independently, so she does this for practical reasons.
* ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'': Eugénie Danglars is all but outright stated to be a lesbian, and dresses up convincingly enough as a man when eloping with her friend and music teacher Louise d'Armilly. She also obtains a passport in a man's name from the Count, explaining that he think it'd be a good way to avoid unwanted attention while abroad.

* ''Film/SomeKindOfWonderful'': Watts is just a raggedly dressed {{tomboy}} for most of the film, but becomes this in the last act after donning a male chauffeur's outfit.

** She played the technically sexless Angel Gabriel for the movie ''Film/{{Constantine}}''.

* Laure from ''Film/{{Tomboy}}'' is androgynous looking. She's able to pass herself off as a boy, and normally she looks like a boy.. It helps that she's only ten, so a haircut and boys clothes is really all she needs to pass as male.

Masculine female characters who resemble [[{{Bishonen}} pretty, androgynous boys]]. They are ''faux Bishonen''. Swooned over by [[UnsettlingGenderReveal confused females]] as much as outright lesbians. Sometimes in the episode they're introduced, they're confused for men until the other characters recognize and treat them as girls. Occasionally, it's also a roundabout way of adding a stereotypically "male" role to a show that doesn't have (or [[ImprobablyFemaleCast want]]) one. Frequently subject to at least one StupidSexyFlanders gag, sometimes even after TheReveal of their sex.

* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. As an 'out' lesbian Kate Kane normally adopts a butch BikerBabe look, but takes on this trope whenever SheCleansUpNicely for formal events.

* In ''Film/BlueIsTheWarmestColor'', Emma at the second part of the film where she has blonde hair and wears more sophisticated clothing that is expected of a well-respected artist. It also symbolizes the passage of time between the two chapters and how much her character has other priorities aside from her domestic life.

Bifauxnen, however, do not include trans men, as the latter ''are'' men and not simply "mistaken" for men. Usually, they can be distinguished by how they identify, such as Tetsuo from ''Manga/{{Yuureitou}}'', though it may be {{ambiguous|GenderIdentity}} for some characters. Trans women are included, but examples of transfeminine bifauxnen are rare.

A SubTrope of AttractiveBentGender and LadyLooksLikeADude. If the story portrays her as more attractive than gender-conforming characters, it overlaps with TransgenderFetishization. The male equivalent is {{Bishonen}}. Not to be confused with SweetPollyOliver, who only dresses like a man to achieve a goal that requires her to seem male. Compare to SamusIsAGirl, where the gender simply isn't discernible until TheReveal. Can also be a case of BifauxnenAndLadette if there's more than one in a particular work or EverybodyWantsTheHermaphrodite if she just happens to have a few male bits in the end. See also TheLadette. May involve a GenderReveal.

* Happened to ComicBook/JubileeMarvelComics of the ComicBook/XMen at least once. In a slightly odd turn of events, the dinosaur-riding tribe who made the mistake actually had her half-way to the altar with a choice bride standing by before the misunderstanding could be cleared up.

This type of character in Japanese media often prompts [[WildMassGuessing speculation]] from Western fans that she's either a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} man or a lesbian, particularly the latter, since in much of European and North American works in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, having a female character wear men's clothing is a common way of [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar implying that she's not heterosexual]] when open acknowledgment and depiction of her sexuality, even in a negative way, would have been forbidden by taste-and-decency standards. In reality, the ubiquity of the Bifauxnen archetype in Japanese media can likely be traced back to the influence of the Creator/TakarazukaRevue {{note}} to elaborate shortly, Takarazuka performers are all women, and so they play male roles too. Naturally that means that the men in their productions look unusually pretty. {{/note}}.

This type of character in Japanese media often prompts [[WildMassGuessing speculation]] from Western fans that she's either a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} man or a lesbian, particularly the latter, since in much of European and North American works in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, having a female character wear men's clothing is a common way of [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar implying that she's not heterosexual]] when open acknowledgment and depiction of her sexuality, even in a negative way, would have been forbidden by taste-and-decency standards. In reality, the ubiquity of the Bifauxnen archetype in Japanese media can likely be traced back to the influence of the Creator/TakarazukaRevue [note] to elaborate shortly, Takarazuka performers are all women, and so they play male roles too. Naturally that means that the men in their productions look unusually pretty. [/note].

This type of character in Japanese media often prompts [[WildMassGuessing speculation]] from Western fans that she's either a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} man or a lesbian, particularly the latter, since in much of European and North American works in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, having a female character wear men's clothing is a common way of [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar implying that she's not heterosexual]] when open acknowledgment and depiction of her sexuality, even in a negative way, would have been forbidden by taste-and-decency standards. In reality, the ubiquity of the Bifauxnen archetype in Japanese media can likely be traced back to the influence of the Creator/TakarazukaRevue.

This type of character in Japanese media often prompts speculation from Western fans that she's either a transgender man or a lesbian, particularly the latter, since in much of European and North American works in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, having a female character wear men's clothing is a common way of [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar implying she's not heterosexual]] when open acknowledgment and depiction of her sexuality, even in a negative way, would have been forbidden by taste-and-decency standards. In reality, the ubiquity of the Bifauxnen archetype in Japanese media can likely be traced back to the influence of the Creator/TakarazukaRevue.

Bifauxnen, however, do not include trans men, as the latter ''are'' men and not simply "mistaken" for men. Usually, they can be distinguished by how they identify, such as Tetsuo from ''Manga/{{Yuureitou}}'', though it may be {{ambiguous|gender identity}} for some characters. Trans women are included, but examples of transfeminine bifauxnen are rare.

* Dee from ''Fanfic/DJINNWayToHome'' is short-haired and fairly flat (she's only fourteen), so she looks a lot like a boy, albeit a cute one. One of her future teammates teases [[GenderBlenderName Will]] (the woman who plans to adopt her) about her much younger "boyfriend," even when said boyfriend is wearing a DangerouslyShortSkirt.

Masculine female characters who resemble [[{{Bishonen}} pretty, androgynous boys]]. They are ''faux Boshonen''. Swooned over by [[UnsettlingGenderReveal confused females]] as much as outright lesbians. Sometimes in the episode they're introduced, they're confused for men until the other characters recognize and treat them as girls. Occasionally, it's also a roundabout way of adding a stereotypically "male" role to a show that doesn't have (or [[ImprobablyFemaleCast want]]) one. Frequently subject to at least one StupidSexyFlanders gag, sometimes even after TheReveal of their sex.

Masculine female characters who resemble [[{{Bishonen}} pretty, androgynous boys]]. Swooned over by [[UnsettlingGenderReveal confused females]] as much as outright lesbians. Sometimes in the episode they're introduced, they're confused for men until the other characters recognize and treat them as girls. Occasionally, it's also a roundabout way of adding a stereotypically "male" role to a show that doesn't have (or [[ImprobablyFemaleCast want]]) one. Frequently subject to at least one StupidSexyFlanders gag, sometimes even after TheReveal of their sex.

* Shane from ''Series/TheLWord''. And in RealLife, Creator/KatherineMoennig, the actress who plays Shane. In fact, fans of the show often conflate the actress with her role, which is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in this tongue-in-cheek [[http://www.afterellen.com/blog/trishbendix/this-just-out-video-season-3-episode-1 interview]].

Masculine female characters who resemble [[{{Bishonen}} pretty, androgynous boys]]. Swooned over by [[UnsettlingGenderReveal confused females]] as much as outright SchoolgirlLesbians. Sometimes in the episode they're introduced, they're confused for men until the other characters recognize and treat them as girls. Occasionally, it's also a roundabout way of adding a stereotypically "male" role to a show that doesn't have (or [[ImprobablyFemaleCast want]]) one. Frequently subject to at least one StupidSexyFlanders gag, sometimes even after TheReveal of their sex.

* Brooke Lynn of ''Webcomic/EerieCuties'' is one complete with 'That guy from summer camp.' Cue CrossPoppingVeins and possible BerserkButton.

A subtrope of AttractiveBentGender and LadyLooksLikeADude. If the story portrays her as more attractive than gender-conforming characters, it overlaps with TransgenderFetishization. The male equivalent is {{Bishonen}}. Not to be confused with SweetPollyOliver, who only dresses like a man to achieve a goal that requires her to seem male. Compare to SamusIsAGirl, where the gender simply isn't discernible until TheReveal. Can also be a case of BifauxnenAndLadette if there's more than one in a particular work or EverybodyWantsTheHermaphrodite if she just happens to have a few male bits in the end. See also TheLadette. May involve a GenderReveal.

!!Examples:

* And, of course, there's ''ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}'', who wears a very masculine magician's tuxedo and top hat, and looks gorgeous in it!

* Laure from ''Film/{{Tomboy}}'' is androgynous looking. She's able to pass herself off as a boy, and even normally she looks like a boy.. It helps that she's only ten, so a haircut and boys clothes is really all she needs to pass as male.

* In the world of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', whores service women. Many of them try to look as much like men as they can, and it's to be noted that men in this world are seen as soft, beautiful, graceful creatures. These wear ivory strap-ons [[DoubleEntendre called bones]] at their groins to complete the look.

* The entire TwinSwitch plot of ''VisualNovel/LadykillerInABind'' hinges on the fact that PlayerCharacter the Beast, being the [[HalfIdenticalTwins Half-Identical Twin]] of the Prince, is a dead ringer for her brother while wearing one of his suits.

* Some female readers of ''Webcomic/TheMeek'' were shocked to learn that Soli was a girl...and even more shocked when [[StupidSexyFlanders they realized how little they cared.]] And now she's [[GenderReveal surprised]] at least [[http://www.meekcomic.com/2010/12/30/3-20/ one person in-universe.]]

%%* In Andrew Loomis's ''Drawing the Head & Hands'', he talks about how artists have more leeway in drawing masculine-looking women than [[DoubleStandard feminine-looking men]] (keeping in mind this was in the early 20th century, before {{Bishonen}} characters became popular).

This type of character in Japanese media often prompts speculation from Western fans that she's either a {{transgender}} man or a lesbian, particularly the latter, since in much of European and North American works in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, having a female character wear men's clothing is a common way of [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar implying she's not heterosexual]] when open acknowledgment and depiction of her sexuality, even in a negative way, would have been forbidden by taste-and-decency standards. In reality, the ubiquity of the Bifauxnen archetype in Japanese media can likely be traced back to the influence of the Creator/TakarazukaRevue.

* Happened to ComicBook/{{Jubilee}} of the ComicBook/XMen at least once. In a slightly odd turn of events, the dinosaur-riding tribe who made the mistake actually had her half-way to the altar with a choice bride standing by before the misunderstanding could be cleared up.

This type of character in anime/manga and Japanese video games often prompts speculation from Western fans that she's either a {{Transgender}} man or a lesbian, particularly the latter, since in much of European and North American works in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, having a female character wear men's clothing is a common way of [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar implying she's not heterosexual]] when open acknowledgment and depiction of her sexuality, even in a negative way, would have been forbidden by taste-and-decency standards. In reality, the ubiquity of the Bifauxnen archetype in Japanese media can likely be traced back to the influence of the Creator/TakarazukaRevue.