Gender bender for transgender characters?

[JenniBee]

My stories explore transgender and intersex themes. I'm loathe to mark my stories within the gender bender genre because, to me, gender bender means people who are of one but get placed into the other. Technically, it should be biological sex rather than gender since the latter is part of your brain's sense of self, and that doesn't change in those stories. That's why I don't mark them that way. If my characters experience a physical change, it is gender confirmation, because their gender now matches their biological sex.

Though, I've seen a lot of stories with actual transgender protagonists marked as gender benders. Is that the norm here and is that expected of these kinds of stories?

 

[pangmida]

There is an actual ‘transgender’ tag! Gender bender is a genre on this website. Some gender bender stories will also have the transgender tag. It’s a very popular genre, so it’s no wonder many authors try to use it to gain some views.

 

[Our_Lady_in_Twilight]

Yep I use Gender Bender as the primary marker (closest fit) and then tag transgender as one of the sub-tags.

 

[Eldoria]

Is that the norm here and is that expected of these kinds of stories?

If you ask what the unwritten norms are... there are almost none as long as they adhere to the basic rules of SH.

But if you ask me... what are the expectations of this genre? I would say don't use the gender bender genre as a cliche for reverse romance stories. As a gender bender, it should work on gender identity shifts.

Imagine a man forced to become a woman by circumstances. He experiences extreme biological changes such as emotions, hormones, physical changes and habits (such as menstrual cycles). Then at the social level, shifts occur such as not being allowed to be a leader (in certain cultures), being seen as only playing a domestic role (in traditional cultures), being looked down upon, etc.

What happens should be "shock". I want this genre to explore more about gender identity crises. I used to read this genre because I wanted to see a scenario of what would happen if a man was forced to become a woman under certain circumstances or vice versa?

However, now this genre is more of a marketing gimmick than a psychological exploration of gender change. Even without further ado... an MC who experiences a gender change (whether through reincarnation, transformation, etc.) can just accept it in one chapter... then suddenly become a real woman. If that's the case, you should just write an original FMC.

 

[Anonjohn20]

because, to me, gender bender means people who are of one but get placed into the other.

Correct. You are describing the classic form of the Gender Bender tag, like Mulan, for example.

He experiences extreme biological changes such as emotions, hormones, physical changes and habits (such as menstrual cycles). Then at the social level, shifts occur such as not being allowed to be a leader (in certain cultures), being seen as only playing a domestic role (in traditional cultures), being looked down upon, etc.

This would be the modern form of the gender bender tag; despite being underutilized as a trope, the manga Youjo Senki has this form of gender bender.

Though, I've seen a lot of stories with actual transgender protagonists marked as gender benders. Is that the norm here and is that expected of these kinds of stories?

Lots of stories are tagged incorrectly (when authors tag incorrectly, they get disappointed readers); feel free to use the proper transgender tag and not the gender bender tag if you feel your story doesn't apply. At the end of the day, these genres and tags are meant to bring in an audience that enjoys what you're writing and shoo away the audience that's looking for something else. While many tags are better than few, try to tag as accurately as you can.

Some time ago I read a story with "Confident Protagonist," "Character Growth," etc., and 60 chapters in realized I wasn't getting what was advertised, so I had to cut my losses (time mostly), move on, and read something else.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Use both, Gender Bender is a Genre that includes pretty much everything under the LGBT umbrella.

If my characters experience a physical change, it is gender confirmation, because their gender now matches their biological sex.

That makes sense for the character, and possibly any trans readers; but other readers who are exploring the concept for the first time will be having their perception of gender "bent".
It's a concept that creates two very different results in readers, with a newcomer basically treating it like a puzzle or mystery (like Eldoria's post; how does this character interact with changing 'rules'?)
while older readers already know what to expect and accept it (or deny it, but those sorts probably filter out the genre, so you want it purely to scare them off anyways.)

For that reason, I consider Gender Bender something like a Super Trope for all forms of Transgender fiction, among other things.

Having the genre can literally only help you. Like 80% of people who read transfic started out with gender bender, and while a lot of them stopped reading it after getting over the initial 'mystery' of it since they already found their answer, they probably aren't going to filter out the genre. The people who would filter out the genre, on the other hand, will be mad if they find your transfic. Having the genre will protect you from them, but not hinder your other readers.

Does that make sense? Eh, who knows.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

This gets further complicated by popular media.
Gender bending (sometimes including cross-dressing, sometimes actual transformations) was a source of comedy for most of the 1900s, usually with people pretending to be of the other gender (Some Like It Hot, Mrs. Doubtfire, Tootsie, etc.), though there was a 70s revenge movie where a sleazy male detective is killed and reborn as a woman (IIRC played by Ellen Barkin - though I've only seen about ten minutes of it) out to bring down the people who killed him
Even anime got into that with the comedy/action/adventure series Ranma 1/2 and the primary antagonist of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (when it was imported as Battle of the Planets the character was split into two, a brother and a sister, but in the original source material it was quite literally genderfluid). Before the 90s, the closest thing I saw to a serious treatment was the DC Comics character(s) Rose and Thorn - Thorn was a PI and Rose was a woman with mystical powers he was supposed to be protecting, IIRC, (this got muddied later under the Vertigo tag and had him accidentally kill her; there was also at least an implication that the two had fallen in love) who would have both died but they were somehow merged - when his detective skills or physical abilities are needed, the body has his form, but when her mystical abilities or more subtle skills are called for, she takes over and it takes on her form; they could talk to each other only in mirrors I think, unless that was a different character with a similar concept.