View source for Gender bender

{{short description|Person who disrupts expected gender roles}}
{{about|human gender|the hardware component|Gender changer|the X-Files episode|Gender Bender (The X-Files)|the Taboo episode|Gender Benders}}
{{Transgender sidebar}}
[[File:Sister trystina t. rhume folsom street fair, san francisco (2012) (8023245092).jpg|thumb|"Sister Trystina T. Rhume" of the genderbend group [[Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence]]. Photo from San Francisco, 2012.]]
A '''gender bender''' is a person who dresses up and presents themselves in a way that defies societal expectations of their [[gender]], especially as the opposite [[sex]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of GENDER BENDER|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gender+bender|access-date=2021-10-13|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en}}</ref> Bending expected [[gender role]]s may also be called a '''genderfuck.'''<ref name="Green2005">{{cite book | author = Jonathon Green | date = 2005 | title = Cassell's Dictionary of Slang | edition = 2nd | publisher = Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. | pages = 575 | isbn = 978-0-304-36636-1 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5GpLcC4a5fAC&pg=PA575}}</ref> <!-- NOTE: "Genderfuck" is here, per WP:Alternative title; read that Wikipedia policy. "Genderfuck" is the alternative name for this article and redirects here. Also see what the rest of this article, including the lead, states about the term.-->

The concept of gender bending may have political origins, stemming from movements in the 1960s and 1970s, a guiding principle of which is the idea that [[the personal is political]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Glick |first1=Elisa|title=Sex Positive: Feminism, Queer Theory, and the Politics of Transgression |journal=Feminist Review |date=2000 |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=19–45 |doi=10.1080/014177800338936|s2cid=145181041}}</ref> Some individuals may choose to engage in gender bending as a form of self-expression or to challenge societal norms; in his 1974 article, ''Genderfuck and Its Delights'',<ref>Christopher Lonc. Genderfuck and Its Delights. Gay Sunshine 21 (Spring 1974)</ref> Christopher Lonc explained his motivation for performing genderfuck: "I want to criticize and poke fun at the roles of women and of men too. I want to try [to] show how not-normal I can be. I want to ridicule and destroy the whole cosmology of restrictive sex roles and [[sexual identity|sexual identification]]."<ref name=":1">Quoted in {{cite book|editor-last=Bergman|editor-first=David|title=Camp Grounds: Style and Homosexuality|url=https://archive.org/details/campgrounds00davi|url-access=registration|publisher=University of Massachusetts Press|location=Amherst|year=1993|page=[https://archive.org/details/campgrounds00davi/page/7 7]|isbn=0-87023-878-7|oclc=28294779}}</ref>

The term ''genderfuck'' has long been part of the [[Lavender linguistics|gay vernacular]], and started to appear in written documents in the 1970s. [[Jesse Sheidlower|Sheidlower]] cites the definition of the term ''gender fuck'' in L Humphreys' 1972 work ''Out of the Closets: Sociology of Homosexual Liberation'' as "a form of extended [[guerilla theatre]]". Also quoted is the August 1972 issue of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine, in reference to the [[glam rock]] style: "The new 'macho' [[transvestism]], called vulgarly 'gender-fuck', a curious satire of [[Drag queen|female impersonation]] – dresses, pumps, full make-up and beards – is represented by, among others, three men in [[Women's Army Corps|WAC]] uniforms and big moustaches".<ref name="Sheidlower 2009 189–190">{{cite book|last=Sheidlower|first=Jesse|title=The F-Word|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199751556|pages=189–190|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_AGK-49nlcC}}</ref>

==Gender binary==
{{Importance section|date=October 2021}}
Gender bending is commonly used as a rebellion against socially constructed expectations of gender and gender roles, which can vary widely between cultures, though commonly include some variation of the [[gender binary]] – the idea that only two genders exist: men and women. In many cultures, it is only acceptable for an individual to embody one of these two gender roles, which often mimic the social expectations of the sexual categories of "male" and "female". Within this cultural expectation, people designated as male are expected to be masculine, while those designated female are expected to be feminine.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gender Trouble: Tenth Anniversary Edition|last=Butler|first=Judith|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=0415389550|location=New York, NY|pages=10–11}}</ref> The belief in and subscription to polar gender roles is known as "gender binarism".

In many cultures, for a person to be seen as belonging to a particular gender category, the individual must not only have a particular anatomical (including genital) makeup, but must conform to that culture's ideas of appropriate sex role stereotypes. These roles are highly influenced by culture and peers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Adler|first1=Patricia A.|last2=Kless|first2=Steven J.|last3=Adler|first3=Peter|date=1992-01-01|title=Socialization to Gender Roles: Popularity among Elementary School Boys and Girls|jstor=2112807|journal=Sociology of Education|volume=65|issue=3|pages=169–187|doi=10.2307/2112807}}</ref> This sex role stereotype includes sexual orientation. To this end, those who go against expected conduct, for example [[gay]]s and [[lesbian]]s, may be seen as "less than" or "other".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Card |first1=C |title=Adventures in Lesbian Philosophy |title-link=Adventures in Lesbian Philosophy |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1994 |isbn=0253208998}}</ref>

In [[Western culture]]s, gender roles have changed over many centuries, though mainstream Western culture still tends to expect stereotypical "[[feminine]]" behaviors from females, and "[[masculine]]" sex role stereotypes from males. A study by [[Princeton University]] outlined these common, prescriptive gender stereotypes:

* "Masculine" – acts as a leader, aggressive, ambitious, analytical, assertive, athletic, competitive, defends own beliefs, dominant, forceful, has leadership abilities, independent, individualistic, makes decisions easily, self-reliant, self-sufficient, strong-personality, willing to take a stand, and willing to take risks.
* "Feminine" sex role stereotypes, as defined by this same study included: affectionate, cheerful, childlike, compassionate, does not use harsh language, eager to soothe hurt feelings, flatterable, gentle, gullible, loves children, loyal, sensitive to the needs of others, shy, soft-spoken, sympathetic, tender, understanding, warm, and yielding.<ref name=Princeton1>{{cite web|last1=Prentice |first1=D |last2=Carranza |first2=E |title=What Women And Men Should Be, Shouldn't Be, Are Allowed To Be, And Don't Have To Be: The Contents of Prescriptive Gender Stereotypes |url=https://psych.princeton.edu/psychology/research/prentice/pubs/Prentice%20Carranza.pdf |website=psych.princeton.edu |access-date=24 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628230217/http://psych.princeton.edu/psychology/research/prentice/pubs/Prentice%20Carranza.pdf |archive-date=28 June 2014}}</ref>

In [[Christianity|Christian]] and [[Jewish]] cultures, gender roles and gender presentation have formed part of scriptural texts and religious teachings for thousands of years: "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God" ([[King James Version|KJV]], [[Deuteronomy|Deut.]] 22:5). Crossing these lines has been interpreted by some Christians as a moral transgression.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Garber|first1=M|title=Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing and Cultural Anxiety|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCzYJisHWHAC|access-date=24 November 2014|isbn=9780415919517|year=1997|publisher=Psychology Press}}</ref> Jewish law, or [[halacha]], recognizes ambiguous and non-conforming genders in addition to male and female.<ref>"More than Just Male and Female: The Six Genders in Ancient Jewish Thought." Freidson, Sarah. Sefaria, 10 June 2016. [https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/37225]</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Irshai |first=Ronit |date=2010 |title=Toward a Gender Critical Approach to the Philosophy of Jewish Law (Halakhah) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/fsr.2010.26.2.55 |journal=Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=55–77 |doi=10.2979/fsr.2010.26.2.55 |jstor=10.2979/fsr.2010.26.2.55 |s2cid=144382373 |issn=8755-4178}}</ref> Rabbinical literature recognizes six different genders, defined according to the development and presentation of primary and secondary sex characteristics at birth and later in life.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Adler |first=Rachel |date=2016-09-01 |title=Queer Jews Talking Their Way in |url=https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/european-judaism/49/2/ej490203.xml |journal=European Judaism |language=en |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=6–13 |doi=10.3167/ej.2016.490203 |issn=0014-3006|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Jewish literature describes what today would be referred to as intersex such as the concept of a [[Tumtum (Judaism)|Tumtum]] being a person of ambiguous gender and/or sex as is the concept of the [[androgynos]], being a person characterized with elements of both sexes. One aspect of [[Gender and Jewish Studies|gender and Jewish studies]] is considering how the ambiguity recognized in Rabbinical literature has been erased and constructed into a binary and how this translates into Jewish practices.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Irshai |first=Ronit |date=2019-04-03 |title=The construction of gender in halakhic Responsa by the Reform movement: transgender people as a case study |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14725886.2019.1595496 |journal=Journal of Modern Jewish Studies |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=160–176 |doi=10.1080/14725886.2019.1595496 |s2cid=151081605 |issn=1472-5886|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Subsidiary cultures===
Other cultures – often [[indigenous peoples]], or [[subculture]]s that exist within Western cultures – may conceptualize gender as having [[Third gender|more than two options]], and even see their people as potentially fulfilling more than one gender role. Some [[indigenous peoples of North America]] have historically had [[Two-Spirit|more than two gender roles]] as part of their social structure,<ref name=Estrada>{{cite journal |last1=Estrada |first1=Gabriel |title=''Two Spirits'', ''Nádleeh'', and LGBTQ2 Navajo Gaze |journal=American Indian Culture and Research Journal |date=2011 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=167–190 |doi=10.17953/aicr.35.4.x500172017344j30|doi-broken-date=14 May 2025 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/08c129mf }}</ref> while others, who may or may not have embraced this diversity historically, may accept modern [[two spirit]] people as part of their communities now.<ref name=Pember>{{cite web|url=https://rewire.news/article/2016/10/13/two-spirit-tradition-far-ubiquitous-among-tribes/|title='Two Spirit' Tradition Far From Ubiquitous Among Tribes|publisher=[[Rewire (website)|Rewire]]|first=Mary Annette |last=Pember |date=Oct 13, 2016|access-date=Oct 17, 2016}}</ref> Other cultures may see people as being capable of embodying more than one gender role at different times,<ref name=Estrada/> or of being "in the middle", "embracing both male and female spirit".<ref name=CIFF>Cleveland International Film Festival, selections; ''[http://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/2015/kumu-hina-a-place-in-the-middle Kumu Hina: A Place in the Middle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160627090232/http://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/2015/kumu-hina-a-place-in-the-middle |date=2016-06-27 }}''</ref> One such example is the [[Bugis]] people of [[South Sulawesi]], [[Indonesia]]. People of the [[Gender in Bugis society|Bugis society]] have a total of five genders. These genders include what would traditionally be seen as cisgender man and woman, as well as transgender men and women, and the androgynous ''Bissu'' shamans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Graham|first=Sharyn|year=2004|title=It's Like One of Those Puzzles: Conceptualising Gender among Bugis|journal=Journal of Gender Studies|volume=13|issue=2|pages=107–116|doi=10.1080/0958923042000217800|s2cid=143529152}}</ref>

==Gender bending in practice==
Often, [[parody]] and exaggeration are used to transgress [[gender roles]], usually to expose them as artificial.<ref>Wilkinson, Sue and Celia Kitzinger (1996). "The Queer Backlash". In {{cite book |editor-last=Bell |editor-first=Diane |editor2=Renate Klein|editor-link2=Renate Klein |title=Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed |publisher=Zed Books |year=1996 |location=London |pages=375–382 }} Quoted in {{cite book |last=Weedon |first=Chris |title=Feminism, Theory, and the Politics of Difference |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |location=Cambridge, MA |year=1999 |pages=74–75 |isbn=0-631-19824-5 }}</ref> For example, a person who engages in gender bending may purposefully exaggerate conventional notions of [[femininity]], or [[masculinity]]. Gender bending can also be achieved through [[cross-dressing]] and [[androgyny]], both of which challenge and contribute to dismantling the gender binary by separating expression or performance of gender from perceptions of [[biological]] or [[physiological]] sex. Thus, gender bending protests [[gender essentialism]]. This concept is protested not only through non-normative appearance, but by challenging normative gender roles, characteristics, or behaviors as well – for example, a female-bodied individual who is purposefully assertive and nondomestic in order to challenge the notion of essential femininity. Gender bending is based in [[gender performativity]]: the concept of gender as a performance. It can be achieved through physical presentation (e.g. clothing, hair, makeup, and secondary sex characteristics), as well as behavior. Because much of gender performance is expressed through clothing, in societies where a gender binary can be observed, there is an established, widespread notion that some clothes are "masculine" and should be worn only by male-bodied individuals, and others are "feminine" and should be worn only by female-bodied individuals. Hawkes, sociologist and author, addresses this "dress code" and the opportunity for a resistance: "The universality of [dress] codes and their meanings allows for the [subversion of] the mainstream 'messages' they convey and through this to illuminate the existence of alternative [gender] identities."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hawkes |first1=Gail L. |title=Dressing-up — cross-dressing and sexual dissonance |journal=Journal of Gender Studies |date=1995 |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=261–270 |doi=10.1080/09589236.1995.9960612}}</ref>

=== Cross-dressing and androgyny ===
[[File:OKIMG 6435 - Mad hatter cosplay.jpg|alt=A photo of a Mad Hatter cosplayer posing with a tea cup.|thumb|A mad hatter cosplayer at the 2016 [[Romics]] convention]]
Cross-dressing would be a form of gender bending because the purpose is to "fuck with gender" roles and presentation. [[Androgyny]] is not specifically gender bending, but it can be considered as such if someone is being androgynous on purpose.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} The origin of the word "androgynous" is from the Greek ''androgynos'': "male and female in one; womanish man; common to men and women".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/androgynous |title=Androgynous |publisher=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]] |access-date=December 21, 2014}}</ref> Androgyny as a form of gender expression may present as a blended unification of masculine and feminine traits, with the goal of making one's sex indiscernible, or as a dichotomous mix juxtaposing male and female [[phenotypes]], with the goal of transgressing gender norms.<ref name="Stitt">{{Cite book|title=ACT For Gender Identity: The Comprehensive Guide |last=Stitt|first=Alex|pages =42–43|date=2020|publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers|isbn=978-1785927997|location=London|oclc=1089850112}}</ref>

There have been many famous people who have cross-dressed and many famous people now who are androgynous. The rock star [[Prince (musician)|Prince]] was very well known for his cross-dressing or androgynous look. [[Eddie Izzard]] started to freely talk about her cross-dressing as early as 1992.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-30|title=Yes, Eddie Izzard is using 'she' and 'her' pronouns. And it's her right to define however she wants|url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/12/30/eddie-izzard-gender-fluid-transgender-she-her-pronouns-identity-backlash-lgb-alliance/|access-date=2021-12-10|website=PinkNews }}</ref>

[[Shakespeare]] used cross-dressing in his performances. Over the centuries some readers have posited that Shakespeare's sonnets are autobiographical, and point to them as evidence of his love for a young man.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} Shakespeare had characters in his writings that were considered cross-dressers. The four of the five main female characters in his plays were seen as women who cross-dress as men or boys: Cleopatra in [[Antony and Cleopatra]], Portia in [[The Merchant of Venice]], Rosalind in [[As You Like It]], Viola in [[Twelfth Night]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Hodgdon |first=Barbara |title=Sexual disguise and the theatre of gender |date=2001 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-shakespearean-comedy/sexual-disguise-and-the-theatre-of-gender/B33DFACA1C13AC4F156430011A38B973 |work=The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Comedy |pages=179–197 |editor-last=Leggatt |editor-first=Alexander |access-date=2023-10-24 |series=Cambridge Companions to Literature |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/ccol0521770440.011 |isbn=978-0-521-77044-6|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Fashion ===
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston hosted an exhibit called ''Gender Bending Fashion''.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Couturier |first=Myriam |date=2019 |title=Exhibition Review: Gender Bending Fashion |url=https://www.fashionstudies.ca/review-gender-bending-fashion |journal=Fashion Studies |language=en |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.38055/FS020202 |issn=2371-3453|doi-access=free }}</ref> One of the main goals was to explore fashion in a way that confronted gender-norms relating to dress. Gender bending design within this exhibition included clothes traditionally worn by women tailored for men, traditionally men's clothes tailored for women, clothes designed to be gender-ambiguous, and agender clothes designed to be worn by anyone.<ref name=":02" />

===Drag===
Drag shows are stage performances where people perform in [[drag (clothing)|drag]]. Drag costuming and makeup may in some cases simply involve an actor portraying a character of a sex or gender different from their own, or the performance itself may be a parody or critique of gender and gender roles. Often "feminine" or "masculine" gender stereotypes of the person's culture are exaggerated for comic or satirical effect. Performers may call themselves [[drag king]]s or [[drag queen]]s. Drag revues typically involve elaborate, glamorous costumes and musical performances. The entertainers may sing, dance, or [[lip sync]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Haptic Aurality: On Touching the Voice in Drag Lip-Sync Performance |journal=Sound Studies |last=Bird |first=Jacob Mallinson |year=2020 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=45–64 |doi=10.1080/20551940.2019.1640512 |s2cid=201507478 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20551940.2019.1640512?scroll=top&needAccess=true |accessdate=2021-10-15 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

A faux drag performer is a person who performs as the gender they identify as in day-to-day life, albeit in a usually exaggerated form. For instance a cisgender woman who performs as a drag queen is a [[faux queen]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/11/22/drag.queens.reut/index.html |title=Faux Queens' bend gender-bending |work=CNN |publisher=Reuters |date=2000-11-22 |accessdate=2021-10-15 }}</ref>

Rupp et al. noted in 2010 that "In order to understand the differences and similarities between gay male drag queens and female-bodied and transgender drag kings and bio queens, we consider how the personal gender and sexual identities of drag performers affect and are affected by their gender performances in drag."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Rupp |first=Leila|author1-link=Leila J. Rupp |author2=Taylor, Verta |author2-link= Verta Taylor |author3=Shapiro, Eve |title=Drag Queens and Drag Kings: The Difference Gender Makes |journal=Sexualities |date=June 8, 2010 |volume=13 |issue=275 |pages=278 |doi=10.1177/1363460709352725 |s2cid=145721360 }}<!--|access-date=June 4, 2012--></ref>{{explain|date=April 2022}}

===Literature===
Literature, in particular [[erotica]], is another method that has been used to explore genderfuck scenarios. The basis of the literary genre of genderfuck is that it is unimportant whether someone is a man or a woman during the sex act, an idea which challenges for example the [[Catholic theology of sexuality]]. Doris Libetseder points to [[Carol Queen]]'s short story ''The Leather Daddy and the Femme'', where a lesbian [[butch and femme|femme]] uses a [[strap-on dildo]] to have sex with a gay leather [[daddy (gay slang)|daddy]] as a fitting example of the genderfuck genre.<ref>{{cite book|last=Leibetseder|first=Doris|title=Queer Tracks: Subversive Strategies in Rock and Pop Music|year=2013|publisher=Ash gate Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1409472032|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M1cxkUZNMKwC}}</ref>

===Software===
It was noted as early as May 2019 that the software product [[Snapchat]] had photograph filters that make it easy to perform a gender bender on the subjects of photographs, especially those taken on [[handheld devices]] like [[smartphones]].<ref name="cnetsnap">{{cite news |last1=Conner |first1=Katie |title=Want to try that gender-face-swap thing everyone's doing? Here's how |url=https://www.cnet.com/how-to/want-to-try-that-gender-face-swap-thing-everyones-doing-heres-how/ |agency=CNet |publisher=CBS Interactive |date=7 June 2019}}</ref>

===Non-political gender bending===
Gender bending is not always a purposeful political standpoint. According to Butler, gender is something that is [[gender performance|performed]]; it only holds cultural significance to the extent that this is ascribed to it. Despite the [[gender binary]] roles society imposes, there are many ways for individuals to express gender variation and not all of them are intentionally [[political radicalism]].<ref name=Butler /> Further, in 1995 Tamsin Wilton argued that: <blockquote>
Gender-fuck is not intrinsically radical – otherwise gender-benders such as [[Boy George]], [[Prince (musician)|Prince]], [[Annie Lennox]], [[David Bowie]] etc. would not get away with it to the extent that they do. A politically aware gender-fuck – such as that of [[RuPaul]] or (to a limited extent) [[Madonna]] – gets much closer to radicalism, but it is only by incorporating a critique of gender ''as an axis of power'' that playing about with gender signifiers can be more than wickedly entertaining.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilton|first=Tamsin|title=Lesbian Studies: Setting an Agenda|year=1995|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0415086566|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lesbianstudiesse00wilt/page/109 109]|url=https://archive.org/details/lesbianstudiesse00wilt|url-access=registration}}</ref></blockquote>

==Judith Butler and gender as performance==
{{Importance section|reason=Section doesn't mention anything about gender bending or explain how it is related to gender bending.|talk=Irrelevant to the topic|date=October 2021}}
[[Judith Butler]] is a theorist who believes the idea that gender is something that is performed by individuals. Their concept of "[[gender performativity]]" is the idea that people choose to perform gender in a context in which we are given very few socially acceptable choices, but can be explained as being similar to what actors do in front of the camera. Due to the importance we place on the belief that men need to act like men and women need to behave like women, it is often believed that gender is an innate attribute and not a social construct. In their article ''Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory'', Butler explains that if gender is something that sexed bodies assimilate to in order to follow the societal codes of what is appropriate behavior, then those actions can be conceptualized in different ways to allow more flexibility for individuals. In the same article, they assert that in American culture, there is a gender binary along with strict social repercussions against those that act against the "normal" script. This script is policed by harassment, parental pressures to fill expectations, and peer influence. All of these are ways to guarantee that the culture will repeat itself from generation to generation.<ref name=Butler>{{cite web|last=Butler|first=Judith|title=Performative Acts and Gender Construction: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory|url=http://www.mariabuszek.com/kcai/PoMoSeminar/Readings/BtlrPerfActs.pdf|access-date=1 June 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112054310/http://www.mariabuszek.com/kcai/PoMoSeminar/Readings/BtlrPerfActs.pdf|archive-date=12 January 2012}}</ref>

Butler's theory about gender roles and their social implications and need for reconstruction is developed in their book, ''[[Gender Trouble]]'' (1990) in which they argue that the limited acceptance of variation in gender roles does great harm to individual expression. With the limited options for both men and women, there is little room for their combined forces, because men are constantly focused on becoming the financial supporters of their families which leaves women with the sole option of being the maternal experts they are expected to be. This idea excludes the masculine women or feminine men from being acceptable parental figures for their children because it may lead to a child growing up and conceptualizing the world differently.<ref name=Butler />

==Gender and child raising==
According to Susan Witt's 1997 study, children generally come to their first conclusions about being male or female from their parents since typically they are the first people the child relates to and the nature of the relationship is intense. Besides parents giving children gender specific clothing, toys, and expectations, there are often many subtle messages about what is acceptable or not regarding gender. Witt's study showed that children that grow up with more [[androgynous]] gendered parents are more focused on achievements and typically have a better sense of self.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Witt|first=Susan D.|title=Parental Influence on Children's Socialization to Gender Roles|journal=Adolescence |year=1997 |volume=32 |issue=126 |pages=253–259 |url=http://gozips.uakron.edu/~susan8/parinf.htm|publisher=University of Akron School of Home Economics and Family Ecology|pmid=9179321 |access-date=26 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520230643/http://gozips.uakron.edu/~susan8/parinf.htm|archive-date=20 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Conversely, in cases of gender nonconformity, when a child exhibits [[gender performance]]s that are atypical of their prescribed gender role, Kerry Robinson and Cristyn Davies report that a parental figure may respond with hostility.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Robinson|first1=Kerry|first2=Cristyn |last2=Davies|title=Tomboys and Sissy Girls: young girls' negotiations of femininity and masculinity |url=https://uws.academia.edu/KerryRobinson/Papers/319023/Tomboys_and_Sissy_Girls_young_girls_negotiations_of_femininity_and_masculinity |journal=International Journal of Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood|volume=5|issue=7|pages=17–31|access-date=26 May 2012}}</ref> According  to Roberts et al. in ''Pediatrics'', people who do not conform to the [[gender binary]] are often subject to abuse from society, from within the family and within their community. Types of abuse range from [[physical abuse|physical]] and [[sexual abuse|sexual]] to [[psychological abuse]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roberts |first1=A. L. |last2=Rosario |first2=M. |last3=Corliss |first3=H. L. |last4=Koenen |first4=K. C. |last5=Austin |first5=S. B. |title=Childhood Gender Nonconformity: A Risk Indicator for Childhood Abuse and Posttraumatic Stress in Youth |journal=Pediatrics |date=2012 |volume=129 |issue=3 |pages=410–417 |doi=10.1542/peds.2011-1804|pmid=22351893 |pmc=3289524 |url=}}</ref>

==Examples==
{{original research section|date=February 2014}}

===The Cockettes===
The [[Cockettes]] were a [[Psychedelia|psychedelic]] [[drag queen]] troupe, founded in San Francisco in the late 1960s. According to the journal ''[[Maledicta]]'' in 1987: "Real transvestites and transsexuals are... embarrassed... [by]... The genderfuck Cockettes and such (in dresses and beards)."<ref name="Sheidlower 2009 189–190"/>

=== Marc Bolan ===
Credited as one of the innovators of the early 70's [[glam rock]] era, lead singer and guitarist [[Marc Bolan]] of rock band [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]] was dubbed 'feminine looking'. He was known for his volumized curly hair, vibrant wardrobe and experimentation with glittery make-up and eyeliner. As well as this, he wore platform boots and feather boas during his performances.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3667543/Marc-Bolan-Why-the-prettiest-star-still-shines.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3667543/Marc-Bolan-Why-the-prettiest-star-still-shines.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Marc Bolan: Why the prettiest star still shines|last=Sweeting|first=Adam|date=30 August 2007|website=telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== David Bowie and Lou Reed===
Exploiting his [[androgyny|androgynous]] appearance, rock star [[David Bowie]] wore a dress on the UK cover of his 1970 album, ''[[The Man Who Sold the World (album)|The Man Who Sold the World]]'', and often wore dresses, makeup and leotards both onstage and while doing interviews. In a time when very few people were out, he announced he and his wife were both bisexual.<ref name=Pegg260>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nnO_BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT1937|title=The Complete David Bowie|author= Nicholas Pegg|publisher=Titan Books|date= 2 December 2011|pages=260–65|isbn=9780857687197}}</ref><ref name=Sandford73>{{Cite book |last=Sandford |first=Christopher |title=Bowie: Loving the Alien |publisher=Time Warner |year=1997 |orig-year=First published 1996 |isbn=0-306-80854-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bowielovingalien00sand/page/73 73–74] |url=https://archive.org/details/bowielovingalien00sand/page/73 }}</ref> In 1972 Bowie co-produced [[Lou Reed]]'s album [[Transformer (Lou Reed album)|''Transformer'']], which includes several gender bending songs, notably the classic, "[[Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed song)|Walk on the Wild Side]]".

=== New York Dolls ===
The [[New York Dolls]] are a [[protopunk]] band, formed in 1971 and who were very influential in the early New York City [[punk rock]] scene. They broke up in 1977 but reformed in 2004. While they often performed in dresses, long hair and [[glitter rock|glitter]]/[[glam rock|glam]] makeup, at least one reviewers called their genderfuck "quite subtle".<ref name="Sheidlower 2009 189–190"/>

=== ''Rocky Horror (Picture) Show'' ===
[[Dr. Frank-N-Furter]] from the 1973 musical, [[The Rocky Horror Show]], and later the cult film / midnight movie, ''[[Rocky Horror Picture Show]]'', is a male bodied person but wears lingerie, clothing, and accessories considered feminine in the English and American culture of the era. The character also wears heavy make-up influenced by 1940s female film stars like [[Joan Crawford]]. In one of the songs featured in the musical Dr. Frank-N-Furter sings, "I'm just a sweet [[transvestite]] from [[Transsexual]], Transylvania."

=== Prince ===
[[Prince (musician)|Prince]] wrote many songs that dealt with ambiguity – of gender, of sexuality, and of race.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kaufman|first=Scott Barry|title=From George and Lennox to Gaga and Lambert: Androgyny, Creativity, and Pop Culture|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/200912/george-and-lennox-gaga-and-lambert-androgyny-creativity-and-pop-culture|work=Psychology Today|access-date=7 June 2012}}</ref> A charismatic entertainer and prolific songwriter, his songs with bisexual content have also been recorded by artists such as [[Cyndi Lauper]], who in "When You Were Mine", sang about sharing a lover with another man, who was in bed with them, "sleeping in between the two of us".

=== Grace Jones ===
According to [[SheWired]], [[Grace Jones]] laughs at outside attempts to define her gender identity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shewired.com/music/2015/09/28/grace-jones-proves-herself-gender-bending-icon-once-again-hollywood-bowl|title=Grace Jones Proves Herself a Gender-Bending Icon Once Again at the Hollywood Bowl|last=Berrick|first=Genevieve|work=[[SheWired]]|date=28 September 2015|access-date=17 November 2015}}</ref> Jones herself has said of her gender ambiguity that she feels her masculine side is "a bit stronger".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20151002-grace-jones-style-power-and-in-your-face-sexuality|title=Grace Jones: Style, power and in-your-face sexuality|last=Foreman|first=Katya|work=[[BBC News]]|date=2 October 2015|access-date=17 November 2015}}</ref> [[NPR]] cites her as an influence on [[Madonna]] and [[Lady Gaga]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/10/05/445999222/grace-jones-im-a-bit-split-personality|title=Grace Jones: 'I'm A Bit Split Personality'|author=<!-- Staff -->|work=[[NPR]]|date=5 October 2015|access-date=17 November 2015}}</ref>

===Annie Lennox===
Singer-songwriter and political activist [[Annie Lennox]] began her career as lead singer with [[The Tourists]] in the late 1970s. In the 1980s she fronted [[synthpop]] band the [[Eurythmics]] but has focused on solo work since the 1990s with the exception of an album and tour with Eurythmics in 1999. The ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' described her in 1995 as "Gender-fuck goddess Annie Lennox".<ref name="Sheidlower 2009 189–190"/>

=== Phranc ===
The American singer-songwriter and artist [[Phranc]] began her career in 1978 with punk band [[Nervous Gender]]. In 1985 ''[[Village Voice]]'' wrote: "Part of Phranc's appeal is the genderfuck of her sweet feminine voice coming from such a masculine frame."<ref name="Sheidlower 2009 189–190"/> She later worked with [[queercore]] band [[Team Dresch]].

===Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence===
The charity, protest and [[street performance]] organization [[Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence]] was formed by [[gay men]] in 1979, originally using nuns' attire and [[high camp]] to draw attention to social conflicts in [[the Castro, San Francisco]]. Currently they fundraise for [[AIDS]] and other [[LGBT]] causes and promote and educate on [[safe sex|safer sex]] issues. The ''Cambridge Guide to American Theater'' identified them as one of the "more anarchic uses of "gender-fuck"... [which]... "parodied traditional drag".<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilmeth|first=Don B.|title=Cambridge Guide to American Theater|year=2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521835381|pages=254|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UYsXbFvjrXkC}}</ref>

=== Boy George ===
[[Boy George]] of the 1980s band [[Culture Club]], has cultivated an androgynous style, and was part of [[New Romanticism|the English New Romantic movement]] which emerged in the early 1980s. He famously stated, "I can do anything. In ''GQ'', I appeared as a man."{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

=== RuPaul ===
American drag queen, singer, actor, and host/star of ''[[RuPaul's Drag Race]]'', [[RuPaul]] got his start by performing in genderfuck, performance art, music videos and punk bands in Atlanta in the late 1980s and early 1990s.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

=== ''It's Pat'' ===
Pat, a character from the television show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', served as the basis for the movie ''[[It's Pat]]''. The sketches and film feature an androgynous main character, Pat. People are unable to determine Pat's sex, including one male who cannot determine their gender after having sex with Pat while stranded on a deserted island.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

=== Marilyn Manson ===
At least one writer says [[Marilyn Manson]]'s gender-bending rock act "shows trans identities can resonate with the public in a way that cannot be ghettoised".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/may/09/sexuality-gender-blurred-rock-roll|title=Sexuality and gender have always been blurred in rock'n'roll|last=Andrews|first=Charlotte Richardson|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=9 May 2012|access-date=18 November 2015}}</ref> Manson's gender-bending has been compared to that of [[Alice Cooper]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/marilyn-manson-the-pale-emperor|title=Marilyn Manson: The Pale Emperor|last=Aspray|first=Benjamin|work=[[Slant Magazine]]|date=18 January 2015}}</ref> and Bowie.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1998/09/15/manson-a-cry-against-nature-review-animals-is-a-gender-bending-genre-borrowing-creepy-mix-sorry-mom-its-also-quite-good/|title=Manson: A cry against nature Review: 'Animals' is a gender-bending, genre-borrowing, creepy mix. Sorry, Mom, it's also quite good.|last=Considine|first=J. D.|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|date=15 September 1998|access-date=18 November 2015|archive-date=19 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119203718/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-09-15/features/1998258015_1_manson-mechanical-animals-ziggy-stardust|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Eddie Izzard ===
[[Eddie Izzard]] started to freely talk about her transvestism in venues like [[Edinburgh Festival]] as early as 1992. Her stance is that cross-dressing is neither part of her performance nor a sexual fetish. She remarks in her show ''Unrepeatable'', "Women wear what they want and so do I." According to Izzard, "Most transvestites fancy women." She identifies as "a straight transvestite or a male lesbian". She has also described herself as "a lesbian trapped in a man's body",<ref>{{cite news |title=Comic Izzard promoting life story |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3720385.stm |access-date=14 November 2021 |publisher=BBC News |date=17 May 2004}}</ref> transgender, and "a complete boy plus half girl".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rampton |first1=James |title=Eddie Izzard: The tough transvestite who can take care of himself |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/eddie-izzard-the-tough-transvestite-who-can-take-care-of-himself-61326.html |access-date=14 November 2021 |work=The Independent |date=23 May 2004}}</ref>

=== Lady Gaga ===
[[Lady Gaga]] is very specific in what she wears and even states that, "But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny."<ref name="walters">{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9640579 |title=Lady Gaga: 'I Love Androgyny' |work=ABC News |access-date=2010-05-03 |last=Walters |first=Barbara |date=2009-12-30 |author-link=Barbara Walters}}</ref>

== In visual arts media ==
{{excessive examples|date=October 2022}}
Some films including gender-fuck characters or drag characters are:
* ''[[Twelfth Night (1910 film)]]'' (1910)
* ''[[A Busy Day]]'' (1914)
* ''[[A Woman (1915 film)|A Woman]]'' (1915)
* ''[[Different from the Others]]'' (1919)
* ''[[Little Old New York (1923 film)|Little Old New York]]'' (1923)
* ''[[The Isle of Love]]'' (1923) 
* ''[[That's My Wife (1929 film)|That's My Wife]]'' (1929)
* ''[[Twice Two]]'' (1933)
* {{Lang|de|[[Viktor und Viktoria]]}} (1933), as well as its remake [[Victor/Victoria]] (1982)
* ''[[Georges et Georgette]]'' (1934)
* ''[[Glen or Glenda]]'' (1953) 
* ''[[Some Like It Hot]]'' (1959)
* ''[[La Dolce Vita]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Women of the World]]'' (1963)
* ''[[Flesh (1968 film)|Flesh]]'' (1968) 
* ''[[Mondo Trasho]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (film)|Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Pink Flamingos]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Female Trouble]]'' (1974)
* ''[[The Rocky Horror Picture Show]]'' (1974)
* ''[[La Cage aux Folles (film)|La Cage aux Folles]]'' (1978) as well as its remake ''[[The Birdcage]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Polyester (film)|Polyester]]'' (1981) 
* ''[[Tootsie]]'' (1982) 
* ''[[Hairspray (1988 film)|Hairspray]]'' (1988) as well as [[Hairspray (2007 film)|the 2007 remake]]
* ''[[Paris Is Burning (film)|Paris Is Burning]]'' (1991)
* ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|Silence of the Lambs]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Mrs. Doubtfire]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Ed Wood (film)|Ed Wood]]'' (1994)
* ''[[The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert]]'' (1994)
* ''[[To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar|To Wong Foo]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Party Monster (2003 film)|Party Monster]]'' (2003)
* ''[[J. Edgar]]'' (2011)

Anime:

* ''[[I My Me! Strawberry Eggs]]'' (2001)
* ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'' (2006)
* ''[[Himegoto]]'' (2014)

Television:

* ''[[SheZow]]'' (2012)
Manga:

* [[Fire! (manga)]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Suter |first=Rebecca |date=2013-12-01 |title=Gender Bending and Exoticism in Japanese Girls' Comics |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10357823.2013.832111 |journal=Asian Studies Review |language=en |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=546–558 |doi=10.1080/10357823.2013.832111 |s2cid=144598084 |issn=1035-7823|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* [[Kaze to Ki no Uta]]<ref name=":0" />
* [[Sunroom Nite]]<ref name=":0" />
* [[The Heart of Thomas]]<ref name=":0" />

== See also ==
* [[Coloniality of gender]]
* [[Androgyny]]
* [[Cross-dressing]]
* [[Gender fluidity]]
* [[Queer heterosexuality]]
* [[Role reversal]]
* [[Rule 63]]
* [[Versatile (sex)|Versatile]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* {{wikiquote-inline}}
* {{commons category-inline}}

{{Sexual identities}}
{{Transgender topics}}

[[Category:Gender nonconformity]]
[[Category:LGBTQ slang]]
[[Category:Non-binary gender]]
[[Category:Transgender identities]]
[[Category:LGBTQ and society]]
[[Category:Cross-dressing]]