History Main / UnsettlinggenderReveal

* An episode of ''Manga/{{Kodocha}}'' has a subplot where one of Sana's friends develops a crush on an [[SenpaiKohai upperclassman]] tennis player. When she confesses her love, the object of her crush explains that she's a girl.

[[caption-width-right:350:If it makes you feel any better, Bridget eventually [[OldFriendNewGender identifies as female]]!]]

* In episode 6 of ''LightNovel/{{Kampfer}}'', Natsuru inadvertently does this to [[spoiler:Mikoto]] when his identity is compromised. Apparently, his clothes only change during transformations if [[GenderBender he/she]] is wearing the Seitetsu Academy uniform.

* The protagonist of "Obey Me," Jinyoo, develops a crush on the girl he's imprisoned alongside, Hanya, while they're both imprisoned and tormented by Jinyoo's {{Yandere}} captor, Gyuh-Wool. While rifling through some boxes in the room they're trapped in, Jinyoo finds that one of them is full of pads that Gyuh-Wool put there for Hanya in case she got her period, but when Jinyoo shows her, she becomes sullen and says that she ''should'' be having her period, but isn't. Jinyoo internally panics, thinking that maybe Gyuh-Wool raped and impregnated her in the two weeks she was alone with him, but she tearfully admits that she's UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} and was afraid of telling Jinyoo in case he would shun and bully her for it like everyone else. He's distraught at first and calls her names, but quickly apologizes when he realizes that he's in love with her nonetheless.

[[folder:Films — Animation]]

* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Robots}}'', during the climax
-->'''Madame Gasket''': Who are these losers?\\
'''Fender''': We, sir--\\
'''Madame Gasket''': (completely deadpan): I'm a ''woman.''\\
'''Crank''': Ouch. (''Diesel's eye lenses break'')
** Helps that the ugly lady in question is voiced by Jim Broadbent.
* Near the end of ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'', Thang is surprised to learn that his fellow minion Stuff is a female troll. When she reveals this, he’s left trying to find a way to explain how not obvious it was to him as her gender was never discussed beforehand. According to her, though, it may have been obvious to other trolls that she was female.
-->'''Thang''': Are you a girl?\\
'''Stuff''': Isn’t it obvious? (''Thang gasps'')\\
'''Thang''': It’s… kind of subtle.

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* In ''Film/AceVenturaPetDetective'', Ace Ventura figures out that [[VillainousCrossdresser detective Lois Einhorn]] is actually AxCrazy former professional football player Ray Finkle and is responsible for the kidnapping of the Miami Dolphins's mascot Snowflake and quarterback Dan Marino. He then remembers that Lois had tried to make out with him earlier. He gets {{Squick}}ed. [[BrainBleach Badly.]] Later, when Ace Ventura exposes her former identity to the rest of the police force, all the twenty-odd policemen present, Dan Marino and ''the dolphin'' also get {{Squick}}ed. Apparently she got around... (and as a shout out to make it funnier, the song playing in both sequences is Boy George's "The Crying Game") [[spoiler:Roger Podacter also found out, presumably during an intimate encounter with Einhorn, and as Ace declares during the reveal, that's why he wound up dead; "He found Captain Winkie!"]]

* In ''Literature/{{Ringu}}'', Sadako appears to be a supernaturally beautiful woman but is a hermaphrodite with fully formed testicles. When the last carrier of smallpox tries to rape her he discovers this, freaks out, kills her, and throws her down a well.
* ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'': In ''Literature/MoonOverSoho'' Ash Thames (one of the river spirits from the Upper Thames river) picks up a girl in a bar, when he gets her into bed he discovers she is a very convincing crossdresser. It turns out not to bother him, because in his own words...

* Having just consummated his relationship with the gorgeous model Azure C. (and taken her virginity, no less), ''[[Series/{{Loving}} The City]]'''s Bernardo has just gone out to get some coffee when he sees a tabloid headline revealing that she used to be a ''man''.

* ''Fanfic/TheOneWithTheAngelicFace'': The revelation that Angela was originally a male vampire before the curse restored her soul prompts shock from the entire Scooby Gang (aside from Jenny Calendar who already knew this); Xander in particular (having spent the last few months crushing on Angela, albeit to a lesser degree than his crush on Buffy) is unable to say anything but “You were a man?” for the next few minutes.

* ''VisualNovel/TogainuNoChi'': Rin, a [[DudeLooksLikeALady dude who looks like a lady]], drops a bridget on Akira and Keisuke in episode 2. "Sucks to be you! I have a you-know-what!"

* When [[IdolSinger Kouji]] [[TheCasanova Nanjo]] from ''Manga/Zetsuai1989'' was a young boy, he once saw a rage-filled, beautiful {{tomboy}} named Izumi. He fell in love with her [[LoveAtFirstSight at first sight]], but she disappeared from his life as fast as she arrived. Several years later, Kouji is watching a high school soccer game and recognizes one of the players, soccer star ''[[TroubledButCute Takuto]]'' [[TallDarkAndSnarky Izumi]], as the young girl that captivated him, since "Izumi" was the kid's ''surname''. After quite some {{Gayngst}} about it, Kouji decides [[IfItsYouItsOkay that he doesn't care]], [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday he doesn't like men that way]], [[SingleTargetSexuality but... it's *Izumi*, dammit.]] Besides, [[StarCrossedLovers it]] [[TheMasochismTango would]] [[BigScrewedUpFamily soon]] [[{{Wangst}} get worse]].

* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'': Happens to Greed in one OVA in which he flirts with "Winry" who is actually the shapeshifter Envy, who is male in this version.

* In ''Manga/Zetsuai1989'', Koji thought Izumi was a girl when he first saw him and fell instantly in love with him. He's quite shocked to learn when they reunite by chance years later that the "girl" he's still obsessing over is in fact a man, though he quickly decides that it doesn't change his feelings for Izumi.

* Happens once in ''Manga/PlusAnima'', when a boy named Kevin falls in love with Husky, thinking he's a beautiful Mermaid Princess. Eventually, Husky tries to break the news him that he's really the 'Mermaid Princess' without overwhelming him, but ends up screaming it at Kevin before becoming human again. Kevin, is, to say the least, rather shocked that his Mermaid is Husky.

* Prostitute Haru from ''Manga/FireCandy'', pretty much all of the gang members who see him for the first time assume that he is a cute, young flat chested girl and only later (often already past the point when it would be just disturbing) are informed of the error in that assumption.

* There is a pornographic story that was [[GenderNeutralWriting written in first person]], in which the narrator makes love to a man. In the last sentence of the story, it is revealed that the narrator is also male, which is [[TomatoSurprise a revelation to the reader]].

[[caption-width-right:350:If it makes you feel any better, Bridget eventually [[OldFriendNewGender identifies as female]]! Controversy awaits!]]

* In ''LightNovel/MayoChiki'', the butler for a local rich girl, Konoe Subaru, is actually a girl. She was allowed to be a butler, which is a men's only profession, on the condition that she can hide her gender from the students at school. Her cover is nearly blown when OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Jiro accidentally finds it out. But luckily for her, he agrees to keep it a secret (largely due to blackmail from said local rich girl, who also promises to help cure his gynophobia, or fear of women, as he suffers from nosebleeds anytime a woman touches him).

* ''LightNovel/{{MM}}'' has Tatsukichi himself. The CrossdressingVoices helped out a lot. Taro then gets disappointed since his crush on the first episode, is his cross-dressing friend.

[[caption-width-right:350:If it makes you feel any better, Bridget eventually [[OldFriendNewGender identifies as female]]!]]

[[caption-width-right:350:If it makes you feel any better, Bridget eventually [[OldFriendNewGender gets retconned!]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:If it makes you feel any better, Bridget eventually [[OldFriendNewGender identifies as female]]!]]

* The CultClassic horror movie form the 80s, ''Film/SleepawayCamp'' sets this up as a big reveal. [[spoiler:Angela, the main character and murderer, was really Peter, Angela's twin brother. Susie and Ronnie are ''mortified'' when they find out the truth.]] A rare instance where the trope is played for horror. ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' even had a sketch about it!

* Happens twice with [[spoiler: Charlotte]] in ''LightNovel/InfiniteStratos'': the first when Ichika has a ShowerOfAwkward FullFrontalAssault moment with her, and the second to a larger percentage of the school when she reintroduces herself.

* A one-episode B-plot in ''Series/CenturyCity'' followed a lawsuit a man filed against a female-looking {{Hermaphrodite}} for causing him to question his sexuality. [[spoiler:The case was dropped when he turned out to be a trans too, but]] an in-universe ad for penis attachment surgery led to the observation that "someone should sue somebody for something."

* An episode of ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' plays this straight (as it were). The victim was a trans woman, and Steve had been flirting with her before she was killed. To the show's credit, the victim was portrayed as a sympathetic character and none of the main characters freaked out about it. In fact, [[spoiler: she was killed by her former military buddy because he was {{squick}}ed, and the murderer is portrayed as a JerkAss]].

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. In "The Flax" D'Argo discovers that the scavenger Staanz, who appears to be a rather ugly male, turns out to be, in fact, a female of her species ("considered quite the looker") when Staanz makes an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove to him. Crichton and Aeryn witness this and jokes they should LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone (D'Argo also makes a rapid departure) but afterwards Crichton asks Aeryn to confirm she's the female of her [[HumanAliens species]]. Aeryn responds by [[CrotchGrabSexCheck grabbing his crotch]], which he takes as a yes.

* In episode "[[Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS4E21Fallacy Fallacy]]" of ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU'' involves a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} woman who appears female in every conceivable way except her plumbing, who apparently killed a friend of her boyfriend's to prevent a public revelation. When the SVU team confront the boyfriend (ignorant of the fact that the boyfriend had no idea his girlfriend is trans), he runs in, grabs her by the groin to determine sex, and then runs out to commit suicide with an overdose of heart condition pills.\\\
A judge then decides to send the her to a men's prison because of her plumbing. She is promptly gang-raped and beaten. We are shown the aftermath, with her headed to a hospital, strapped to a gurney, basically a solid swollen bruise.

* One episode of ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' featured a rapist targeting a lady as she left a gym. As it so happens, the "lady" was a cross-dressing semi-pro boxer, who killed the rapist with one punch.

* ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'': in the episode "The Assassin," a ditzy housewife is imprisoned in her home by three CIA agents looking for her husband, whom they believe is a renegade government assassin. The housewife inadvertantly kills the two male agents and grapples with the female one, who spitefully reveals she was lovers with the titular assassin. She's beyond shocked when the housewife gleefully reveals ''she herself'' is the assassin, following a sex change (and still able to use her masculine voice).

* Happens to Pintsize in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' when he learns that the [=AnthroPC=] with whom he's been chatting is actually a male [=AnthroPC=] [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=339 whose online icon happens to be pink]]. That said, he appears to get over it fairly quickly and attempts to ask the [=AnthroPC=]

** Gavin is rather shocked that the cute girl Rain is his childhood friend, formerly known as Ryan. He gets over it eventually.

* Happens to Pintsize in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' when he learns that the [=AnthroPC=] with whom he's been chatting is actually a male [=AnthroPC=] [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=339 whose online icon happens to be pink]].

[[caption-width-right:350:If it makes you feel any better, Bridget eventually identifies as female!]]

* A rather bizarre example occurs in ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'': Rei is introduced wearing a pink cloak and is mistaken for a woman, as only his eyes are visible. It's not until he speaks, and fully pulls the cloak off that his manly bod is revealed. It's worse in the anime, where Rei is pursued by ''several men'' trying to get a date.

** ''Manga/StardustCrusaders'': While posing as a boy aboard Captain Tennille's ship, Anne is revealed to be a girl when she gets knocked overboard and Jotaro jumps in afterward to rescue her from sharks. Upon pulling her out of the water, he accidentally grabs her chest, and then after a very awkward pause between the two, Jotaro takes off her cap to reveal her long hair underneath.
** ''Manga/StoneOcean'': Anasui's original appearance (in the manga) is as a woman, presumably using Diver Down's internal restructuring ability to give him a disguise to infiltrate the women's prison ward. Later, when she finds out, Ermes is actually pretty surprised to find that Anasui's actually male.
** ''Manga/SteelBallRun'': Johnny founds out that Hot Pants is a woman by accidentally almost touching her breasts.

[[caption-width-right:350:If it makes you feel any better, Bridget eventually identifies as female]]!]]

[[caption-width-right:350:If it makes you feel any better, Bridget eventually [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} identifies as female]]!]]

** A running gag with Gaspar the vampire, whose manner of dress and speaking makes it very easy for him to be mistaken as a cute girl.

* ''LightNovel/AndYouThoughtThereIsNeverAGirlOnline'' plays with this quite a lot:

* In ''LightNovel/DateALive'' Shido poses as a girl to get close to the man-hating Miku. When she discovers he's a boy she has an OhCrap moment and tricks several ''thousand'' mind-controlled people to hunt him down.

* Played for laughs in ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha''. Throughout the series, Jeanne has shown signs of jealousy towards Astolfo over Sieg's attention, not knowing that [[DudeLooksLikeALady Astolfo is a guy]]. Then, in episode 19 of the anime, Astolfo ends up [[ShowerOfAwkward walking out of the shower naked]] right in front of her, leading to her finally figuring it out, and letting out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVqa7smdB1o one hell of a scream]]. Astolfo is left laughing about even on the following day. Even funnier is that Jeanne has the True Name Discernment ability, which lets her figure out any Servant's identity, meaning there's no reason she SHOULDN'T have known Astolfo was a guy from the start. To quote Sieg on the matter:

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'':

* ''LightNovel/{{Shimoneta}}'': It happens to Tanukichi ''and'' the readers in chapter 10, when he mistakes [[AloofDarkhairedGirl Oboro]] for a member of Gathered Fabric and wrestles him to the floor. Which is how his foot ends up trapped between Oboro's legs, directly on his bulge. Tanukichi uses his foot to double-check and inadvertently causes Oboro to silently [[TheModestOrgasm arch his back.]] In the next set of panels, Oboro is seen smiling with a faint blush, while Tanukichi {{sweatdrop}}s.

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'':

** This also occurs in the ''stay night'' {{prequel}} series ''LightNovel/FateZero'', where Kiritsugu is quite shocked when he summons King Arthur and finds himself face to face with a young woman. While Saber initially thinks that it's because he's displeased by her sex, Kiritsugu's wife Irisviel explains to her that it's more that he's saddened because he realizes what [[TheWoobie Saber]] was forced to go through, including hiding her identity.
** ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'' has [[DudeLooksLikeALady Astolfo]], who is so effeminate that at least Sieg and Jeanne thought he was a girl. Then Astolfo came out of the shower with no towel around his waist... granted, only Jeanne actually freaked out in embarrassed shock, while [[TheStoic Sieg]] isn't really affected by such sights due to his emotional development.