History Main / SecondLawOfGenderbending

* Averted with Laharl in ''VideoGame/DisgaeaD2''. Laharl talks about how hard it is for him to move around in a well-endowed female body throughout the whole chapter. This especially gets Etna [[ACupAngst pretty pissed about it]].

** Played straight with Akira. Even though him being turned from female to male was an accident, he's completely comfortable with staying as a guy, with his father wholeheartedly supporting his new son and getting him legally recognized as such. Unlike Asuka, who's searching for the sorceress who accidentally genderbent them in order to reverse the change, Akira's searching for her to make him ''even manlier.''

** Matsuri barely minded living as a girl in the first place, and it directly lead to him [[GenderBenderFriendship repairing his friendship with Suzu, improving his social life]], and [[spoiler:[[LoveEpiphany realizing]] he was in love with Suzu]]. In a subversion, this doesn't make him like being a girl, and the last point ''intensified'' his GenderBenderAngst, as now Matsuri thinks he's missing out [[IncompatibleOrientation stuck as Suzu's "girl friend"]]. [[DramaticIrony He is not aware]] that Suzu [[IfItsYouItsOkay has seriously considered]] dating Matsuri even if he were to remain female, leaving obvious potential for a DoubleSubversion. [[spoiler:Except once Suzu reveals she's eager to hook up with girl Matsuri, Matsuri insists they can't date until he changes back on the [[HonorBeforeReason questionable logic]] that his girl self is "not the real him".]]\\

* The ''Literature/LandOfOz'' books have Tip. ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'' stars a boy named Tip who works for an evil witch named Mombi. Near the end, it's revealed that Tip is [[ReallyRoyaltyReveal actually the lost Princess Ozma]]. She was RaisedAsTheOppositeGender in order to prevent people from finding her. Tip is very against the idea of being turned into a girl and wants to stay a boy, but once he's transformed back into Ozma he shows no discomfort at being a girl. Ozma is completely content with being female and develops a RomanticTwoGirlFriendship with Dorothy.

* Shouko Aihara from ''Gakuen Saimin Reido''. He is originally a male bully and playboy known as Akira Aihara. As a revenge by the protagonist whom he used to bully, he is hypnotized into crossdressing and receiving breast implants. Though he tries to resist, Akira is then hypnotized again to act more feminine and gets his sexual orientation twisted. Afterwards, he falls in love with the protagonist, changes his name to Shouko, voluntarily takes female hormones offered by the protagonist, and eventually chooses to undergo sex change surgery.

** Matsuri barely minded living as a girl in the first place, and it directly lead to him [[GenderBenderFriendship repairing his friendship with Suzu, improving his social life]], and [[spoiler:[[LoveEpiphany realizing]] he was in love with Suzu]]. In a subversion, this doesn't make him like being a girl, and the last point ''intensified'' his GenderBenderAngst, as now Matsuri thinks he's missing out [[IncompatibleOrientation stuck as Suzu's "girl friend"]]. [[DramaticIrony He is not aware]] that Suzu [[IfItsYouItsOkay has seriously considered]] dating Matsuri even if he were to remain female, leaving obvious potential for a DoubleSubversion.\\

** At one point, Reo and Suzu [[DiscussedTrope wonder if Matsuri might eventually identify as female]], and discuss how that would [[TransRelationshipTroubles affect their feelings for him]]. Reo is completely undisturbed, not basing her attraction to Matsuri at all on gender. Suzu initially agrees, even if she clearly finds Matsuri more attractive a guy. But seeing Matsuri dressed up in a very feminine way--[[ClingyJealousGirl and]] Soga [[StupidSexyFlanders awestruck]] at the sight of him--makes Suzu think she has to change Matsuri back before that can happen.

** Tedd is a straight example. He likes this form of shapeshifting because his androgynous face becomes an advantage while close enough to Tedd's own form and he likes to feel attractive. Once this problem became moot [[FirstLawOfGenderBending it was revealed]] that BodySwap is [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2006-08-07 #37 on his fetish list]]. Later strips established he's actually genderfluid, he just didn't know the term.

* Heavily downplayed in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Even though Ranma [[SexShifter can easily make himself male again whenever made female]], he still wants to make it so he'll be male full-time, though he does stop complaining about it. That said, Ranma starts to bring his macho approach to acting girly and cute. As seen in his competition with Tsubasa, Ranma's competitive streak is so hardwired that he even refuses to lose in a contest of femininity. He also becomes increasingly willing to use his girl form's good looks to his advantage, either to manipulate and trick his enemies, or simply to acquire FavorsForTheSexy. The very last chapter of the manga addresses this in a comically mean-spirited fashion: Ranma realizes he'd forgotten about a cure entirely when trying to save Akane, and takes it as a sign his transformation wasn't a curse and his girl side was always a part of him... which the next page implies could have just sour grapes over a cure seemingly being lost forever.

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'': Despite her life being much improved in several aspects, Ash is still vehemently trying to go back to being a boy, even if it means that all the good things she achieved in the meantime disappear. Keeping a firm grasp of "his" male identity remains top priority over all else.

** Matsuri barely minded living as a girl in the first place, and it directly lead to him [[GenderBenderFriendship repairing his friendship with Suzu, improving his social life]], and [[spoiler:[[LoveEpiphany realizing]] he was in love with Suzu]]. In a subversion, this doesn't make him like being a girl, and the last point ''intensified'' his GenderBenderAngst, as now Matsuri thinks he's missing out [[IncompatibleOrientation stuck as Suzu's "girl friend"]]. [[DramaticIrony He is not aware]] that Suzu [[IfItsYouItsOkay has seriously considered]] dating Matsuri even if he were to remain female, leaving obvious potential for a DoubleSubversion.

* Heavily downplayed in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Even though Ranma [[SexShifter can easily make himself male again whenever made female]], he still wants to make it so he'll be male full-time, though he does stop complaining about it. That said, Ranma starts to bring his macho approach to acting girly and cute. As seen in his competition with Tsubasa, Ranma's competitive streak is so hardwired that he even refuses to lose in a contest of femininity. He also becomes increasingly willing to use his girl form's good looks to his advantage, either to manipulate and trick his enemies, or simply to acquire FavorsForTheSexy.

* Mai Natsume of ''Manga/{{Blazblue Remix Heart}}'' was originally a boy, but got magically transformed into a girl right before the manga started. Mai was at first uncomfortable with her new gender and tried to find a way to change back, but later on she came to enjoy her life as a girl and even fell in love with a male classmate. The manga ends with Mai fully accepting her change in life and seeing herself as a girl.

* Averted in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' porn parody ''Charly XXX''. The female {{Body Surf}}ing alien uses her powers to take over Captain Quirk and the Enterprise, but quickly discovers a drawback in that men get tired after BoldlyComing. She body-surfs back into a BridgeBunny so she can have more sex, enabling Quirk to take back his ship.

** At one point, Reo and Suzu [[DiscussedTrope wonder if Matsuri might eventually identify as female]], and discuss how that would [[TransRelationshipTroubles affect their feelings for him]]. Reo is [[IfItsYouItsOkay completely undisturbed]]. Suzu initially agrees, even if she clearly finds Matsuri more attractive a guy. But seeing Matsuri dressed up in a very feminine way--[[ClingyJealousGirl and]] Soga [[StupidSexyFlanders awestruck]] at the sight of him--makes Suzu think she has to change Matsuri back before that can happen.

* Heavily downplayed in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Ranma never, ever, ever stops looking for a cure for his curse (except for one filler episode after he hits his head) though he does stop complaining about it. That said, Ranma starts to bring his macho approach to acting girly and cute. As seen in his competition with Tsubasa, Ranma's competitive streak is so hardwired that he even refuses to lose in a contest of femininity. This doesn't stop him from exploiting the advantages of his female form for one minute, however. ''Anything Goes'' Martial Arts, after all. He also enjoys using his female form to eat sweet girly desserts that would be too embarrassing for him to order as a guy, especially as shopkeepers tend to give him extra for being so cute.

** Matsuri barely minded living as a girl in the first place, and it directly lead to him [[GenderBenderFriendship repairing his friendship with Suzu, improving his social life]], and [[spoiler:[[LoveEpiphany realizing]] he was in love with Suzu]]. In a subversion, this doesn't make him like being a girl, and the last point ''intensified'' his GenderBenderAngst, as now Matsuri thinks he's missing out stuck as Suzu's "girl friend". [[DramaticIrony He is not aware]] that Suzu [[IfItsYouItsOkay has seriously considered]] dating Matsuri even if he were to remain female, leaving obvious potential for a DoubleSubversion.

Of the three laws of gender-bending, this one has become the most DiscreditedTrope. With growing awareness of UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} people, portraying gender identity changing along with physical sex is increasingly viewed as having UnfortunateImplications regarding gender dysphoria. Thus, it's become more prevalant for writers to justify such a reaction in pre-existing gender identity: Being in such a situation may make a character [[LGBTAwakening realize they were already transgender]], or [[ComingOutStory come out of the closet]] if they were already aware (in which case the trope can have applicability as WishFulfillment). Alternatively, the character had little personal attachment to any gender and/or physical sex, and enjoy changes that were only incidental to them.

* Subverted in ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Matsuri barely minded living as a girl in the first place, and it directly lead to him [[GenderBenderFriendship repairing his friendship with Suzu, improving his social life]], and [[spoiler:[[LoveEpiphany realizing]] he was in love with Suzu]]. Far from causing him to like being a girl, the last point ''intensified'' his GenderBenderAngst, as now Matsuri thinks he's missing out stuck as Suzu's "girl friend". [[DramaticIrony He is not aware]] that Suzu [[IfItsYouItsOkay has seriously considered]] dating Matsuri even if he were to remain female, leaving obvious potential for a DoubleSubversion.

* In contrast to ''Kanojo Ni Naru Hi Another'' the {{ecchi}} manga ''Manga/NyotaiKa'' uses YouCantGoHomeAgain to offer a very "base view of human nature" take on this trope because Manaka finds sex is so much more pleasurable for women (soft sensitive skin! exquisitely delicate genitalia! multiple orgasms! boobies!} that he cannot accept the pale imitation of sexual pleasure that men experience.

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'': Despite her life being much improved in several aspects, Ash is still vehemently trying to go back to being a boy, even if it means that all the good things she achieved in the meantime disappear. Keeping a firm grasp of "his" male identity remains top priority over all else. Indeed, suddenly waking up as a girl and dealing with the loss of masculinity that living as a girl comes with is played more for horror than comedy.

Of the three laws of gender-bending, this one has become the most DiscreditedTrope. With growing awareness of UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} people, portraying gender identity changing along with physical sex is increasingly viewed as having UnfortunateImplications regarding gender dysphoria. Thus, it's become more prevalant for writers to justify such a reaction in pre-existing gender identity: Being in such a situation may make a character [[LGBTAwakening realize they were already transgender]], or come out of the closet if they were already aware (in which case the trope can have applicability as WishFulfillment). Alternatively, the character had little personal attachment to any gender and/or physical sex, and enjoy changes that were only incidental to them.

* Common restriction in regards to those who seek sex reassignment surgery is to obtain a psychiatrist's approval (or ''several'' psychiatrists' approvals) following a lengthy evaluation period, before the surgery can be performed. This intended as a means of enforcing this trope, making sure that the person is likely to be happy after the procedure, rather than come to regret it. In practice, the difficulties in getting a sex change are a leading cause of suicide among trans people, possibly averting this trope.

* Averted in VideoGame/SNKHeroinesTagTeamFrenzy; [[VideoGame/FatalFury Terry Bogard]] doesn't take kindly to his GenderBender.

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}''. Despite her life being much improved in several aspects, Ash is still vehemently trying to go back to being a boy, even if it means that all the good things she achieved in the meantime disappear. Keeping a firm grasp of "his" male identity remains top priority over all else. Indeed, suddenly waking up as a girl and dealing with the loss of masculinity that living as a girl comes with is played more for horror than comedy.
* Averted in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''. Roy doesn't seem to terribly mind being female for a dozen strips or so (it helps him get perspective on [[KnightTemplar the kind of person]] Miko Miyazaki is), but he'd much rather have his [[ICallHimMisterHappy "Trouser Titan"]]. The fact that he's just as bald female as he is male probably also helps.

* Very, ''very'' averted with the main character of ''Webcomic/{{Exiern}}'', and played emphatically straight with [[spoiler: one of the priests]]. The latter example started as a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} before [[CerebusRetcon becoming]] a [[{{Transgender}} solid counterpoint]] to the main character's plight.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer David Reimer]] case is a famous aversion. When doctors botched a circumcision and cut off the baby's penis, some [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Money psychologist]] thought he would use this opportunity to prove that gender is wholly based on nurture rather than nature, and had the parents raise this child as a girl, expecting that he would just accept his new gender. This did not work, as the child always felt confused and grew to intensely hate the psychologist who was using "her" as his personal guinea pig. Eventually David Reimer underwent treatment to reverse this, making himself as close physically to a man as he could. Sadly his life started to fall apart a decade later and he was DrivenToSuicide.
* Another aversion is in the case of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporus Sporus]], a slave boy whom Emperor Nero [[CripplingCastration castrated]] and [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe took as a "wife"]] (because Sporus physically resembled Nero's dead wife). Sporus was then forced to marry Nero's next two successors, until Nero's third successor planned to [[HumiliationConga have Sporus raped by gladiators as entertainment]] by which point [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled Sporus killed himself]].

* [[spoiler: Xion]] from ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' is an iffy example. [[spoiler: She is physically male or genderless but was treated as female throughout the game.]] Regardless, she considers herself female even after the reveal.
-->'''[[spoiler:Xion]]:''' [[spoiler:Now its time for the puppet to play her part.]]
** [[spoiler: Her anatomy is clearly female at the start of the game and clearly male when she fights Roxas. Given that she is literally created from Sora's memories though, which in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' universe affects how you are seen by others, Xion's actual gender is difficult to pin down.]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]
* Inverted ''twice over'' in an ''ComicBook/{{Excalibur}}'' story where the heroes were subjected to a FreakyFridayFlip with their enemies the Crazy Gang. Not only was Meggan not very happy with the Knave's male body, the Knave was ''really'' unhappy with ''hers'' too. (Although given what he said, it may have had more to do with him not being able to control Meggan's shapeshifting ability than the gender issue.)
[[/folder]]

Of the three laws of gender-bending, this one has become the most DiscreditedTrope. With growing awareness of UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} people, portraying gender identity changing along with physical sex is increasingly viewed as having UnfortunateImplications regarding gender dysphoria. Thus, it's become more prevalant for writers to justify such a reaction in pre-existing gender identity: Being in such a situation may make a character [[LGBTAwakening realize they were already transgender]], or come out of the closet if they were already aware (in which case the trope becomes a form of WishFulfillment). Alternatively, the character had little personal attachment to any gender and/or physical sex, and enjoy changes that were only incidental to them.

* Downplayed in ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'': Falling in love with Minato causes Homura's body to start becoming female. He initially [[GenderBenderAngst hates this so much]], he's willing to die from SuperpowerMeltdown after a failed attempt to kill the one responsible. After Minato saves him, Homura accepts his feelings for him and that his body will continue to change, though unlike most examples Homura's gender-identity remains unchanged.

* Subverted in ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}''. [[spoiler: Homura]] deals with being a girl, but she doesn't like it and is obviously still uncomfortable with her growing attraction to her love interest.