Genre confusion (regarding gender bender and girls/boys love)

[binarysoap]

If I have a story where the main character was a male and was gender bent into a female and the MC falls in love with a male is that considered boys love or not?
If the same MC falls in love with a female, is that considered girls love or not?

If I have a story where both the main character and the love interest were both male but both got genderbent into females and they fall in love, would that be considered girls love, boys love, neither or both? You can argue that it is girls love if you focus on what they are physically. You can argue that it is boys love if you take into account their mentality/what they were. You can also argue it is neither as for the character's perspective, they are straight males who fell in love with a female.

 

[Nakakure]

If I have a story where the main character was a male and was gender bent into a female and the MC falls in love with a male is that considered boys love or not?
If the same MC falls in love with a female, is that considered girls love or not?

If I have a story where both the main character and the love interest were both male but both got genderbent into females and they fall in love, would that be considered girls love, boys love, neither or both? You can argue that it is girls love if you focus on what they are physically. You can argue that it is boys love if you take into account their mentality/what they were. You can also argue it is neither as for the character's perspective, they are straight males who fell in love with a female.

I think what the matter the most is their physical gender, well there are rarely novel where the physical gender slowly affect the mental of character. I wonder if homo and lesbian are actually gender bender in rl. I have meet real trap that questening my sexual orientation though there is no way for man to be that beatifull damn it. I wonder if transgender felt it.

 

[Owl]

I think in terms of story genres, it's about the physical gender? So genderbent guy (=female) + guy wouldn't be boyslove... Probably?

 

[FriendlyDragon]

Remember that gender relies more on the mental side than it does the physical side. If the person being genderbent still has the same mental thought process and emotions as their previous gender, then they would still identify as that gender and making any relationship with a person of the same BIOLOGICAL gender still straight. If the person has a change in mental state and now fully embraces their new gender, then that's when that person could be consider that gender and so if they ever fall in love with someone of the same biological gender then that would be considered a homosexual relationship. If there are two people that are genderbent, then you have to note how both of them are mentally and then you can label the relationship as such.

I wouldn't focus too much on the biological side of gender as that matters little now. If the person believes that they are a female and then falls in love with a female despite having the genitalia of a male then that is still girls love. Especially if the other person knows that this biological male identifies as a female and still loves them the same. If they only liked the fact that the male looked like a male, then that wasn't love and was only superficial.

(Traditionally the tags are based on biological gender but I find that stupid and a cope out to writing actual yuri and yaoi. If the person still thinks as the opposite gender, then that defeats the purpose of yuri and yaoi. It's basically a straight relationship with more steps.

 

[Ai-chan]

If I have a story where the main character was a male and was gender bent into a female and the MC falls in love with a male is that considered boys love or not?
If the same MC falls in love with a female, is that considered girls love or not?

If I have a story where both the main character and the love interest were both male but both got genderbent into females and they fall in love, would that be considered girls love, boys love, neither or both? You can argue that it is girls love if you focus on what they are physically. You can argue that it is boys love if you take into account their mentality/what they were. You can also argue it is neither as for the character's perspective, they are straight males who fell in love with a female.

I'd say the feeling matters more.

If the protagonist was originally male, genderbent into female, but still identifies as a male and acts or thinks as a male, then if he falls in love with a male, that's a gay romance.

If he genderbent into a female, identifies as a male and acts or thinks as a male, then falls in love with a girl, that's straight.

If he genderbent into a female, identifies as a female and acts or thinks as female, then if he falls in love with a male, then it's straight. Similarly with if he falls in love with a female, it becomes lesbian romance.

The real question is not how they look like, it's where you want to bring the story to.

Then again, you don't really have to label them if it's so confusing for you. Just 'romance' and 'gender bender' is enough. You can add additional details in the synopsis and author's notes. After all, if you publish traditionally, there won't be any of those tags.

 

[L0pez]

If I have a story where the main character was a male and was gender bent into a female and the MC falls in love with a male is that considered boys love or not?
If the same MC falls in love with a female, is that considered girls love or not?

If I have a story where both the main character and the love interest were both male but both got genderbent into females and they fall in love, would that be considered girls love, boys love, neither or both? You can argue that it is girls love if you focus on what they are physically. You can argue that it is boys love if you take into account their mentality/what they were. You can also argue it is neither as for the character's perspective, they are straight males who fell in love with a female.

I never read any BL nor GL(?) but I'd say that you'd go with tag that suits narrative. Especially about BL part, I'd assume that there is something about it that distinguishes it from other genres that would let you make the call whether your story is or is not BL.
If Males turned into females starts more or less forget that they were males it would be weird ass GL(?).
If them being males before would still legitly work into the story, I'd say you should use.... well... shitload of tags depending on your mood.

 

[Sabruness]

gender bender and BL/GL has always been a topic of contention. But here's my opinion:

If I have a story where the main character was a male and was gender bent into a female and the MC falls in love with a male is that considered boys love or not?
If the same MC falls in love with a female, is that considered girls love or not?

If I have a story where both the main character and the love interest were both male but both got genderbent into females and they fall in love, would that be considered girls love, boys love, neither or both? You can argue that it is girls love if you focus on what they are physically. You can argue that it is boys love if you take into account their mentality/what they were. You can also argue it is neither as for the character's perspective, they are straight males who fell in love with a female.

Both and... neither?. It's a really complicated conundrum. How deep and complicated do you want the story to be?

On a bit of advice from a consumer of genderbender GL, if you're going to do the deep emotional route (for eg Boy into girl then falls in love with a guy) then you should give clear warning in the description for those who would rather steer clear of anything even remotely BL or GL (whichever the case may be).
Do Not pull a bait and switch though. Bait and Switch can sometime be a quick way to lose readers. Whichever path you take, stick to it and be clear about it in the description. Same if the character is bisexual.
So, if you go the genderbender physical GL route then stick to it. Dont suddenly change to a mental BL route by having the protag get into a relationship with a guy.

TL;DR: Always best to err on the side of caution and clearly. Clearly define or mark what sort of relationships to expect otherwise you risk pulling a bait and switch thus potentially driving away readers who arent into that sort of thing

As a different path to all that, just do what Ai chan suggested: Just mark it "gender bender" and "romance". That way you can have whatever relationships without having to worry about mis-tagging or potentially misleading tagging

 

[Nakakure]

T

Remember that gender relies more on the mental side than it does the physical side. If the person being genderbent still has the same mental thought process and emotions as their previous gender, then they would still identify as that gender and making any relationship with a person of the same BIOLOGICAL gender still straight. If the person has a change in mental state and now fully embraces their new gender, then that's when that person could be consider that gender and so if they ever fall in love with someone of the same biological gender then that would be considered a homosexual relationship. If there are two people that are genderbent, then you have to note how both of them are mentally and then you can label the relationship as such.

I wouldn't focus too much on the biological side of gender as that matters little now. If the person believes that they are a female and then falls in love with a female despite having the genitalia of a male then that is still girls love. Especially if the other person knows that this biological male identifies as a female and still loves them the same. If they only liked the fact that the male looked like a male, then that wasn't love and was only superficial.

(Traditionally the tags are based on biological gender but I find that stupid and a cope out to writing actual yuri and yaoi. If the person still thinks as the opposite gender, then that defeats the purpose of yuri and yaoi. It's basically a straight relationship with more steps.

That really weird since every gender bender novel is SH basicly girl love since the mental inside MC is Man that mean it not girl love at all

 

[Sabruness]

That really weird since every gender bender novel is SH basicly girl love since the mental inside MC is Man that mean it not girl love at all

it's complicated. In a way, FD is right as the previous gender of the said genderbent (the "mental" gender) can be a big part of determining what sort of story something can be, it's not always the sole judging criteria.

For example, the GL novels you mentioned. Those stories, for someone like me (a consumer of GL and genderbent GL) are considered GL because even if it's a man's mind it's a girls body so qualifies as GL. On the opposite side of that particular view is that if the mentality is male then being with a physical male is BL.

Others may see it the opposite way or have views like those further up the thread. It really depends on each person's perspective point.

 

[Kotohood]

The way I see it is that the main character would straight mentally, but the other counterpart will obviously/has to be homosexual.

So it's kind of a both when you think about it. BL/GL from the perspective of the romantic interest and a normal pairing for the genderbent person.

But that's just my two cents.

 

[arashi-chan12]

I won't go into technicalities but it should probably be categorized as their physical gender. Not saying that feelings or identification isn't important, but it's to make it straightforward to the readers. I'd bet there are probably guys who aren't looking to stumble into a yaoi story of a guy x guy who identifies as a girl, or vice versa.

Technically could count as a straight romance, but what's the point in confusing your audience? If you're worried about this then just make it clear from the outset on what type of relationships you're planning on having.

 

[FriendlyDragon]

I won't go into technicalities but it should probably be categorized as their physical gender. Not saying that feelings or identification isn't important, but it's to make it straightforward to the readers. I'd bet there are probably guys who aren't looking to stumble into a yaoi story of a guy x guy who identifies as a girl, or vice versa.

Technically could count as a straight romance, but what's the point in confusing your audience? If you're worried about this then just make it clear from the outset on what type of relationships you're planning on having.

Honestly, if you have a story that complicated, I would just not put any tags related to that. If you don't label it, it won't become a problem.

 

[Ai-chan]

Here are some examples of making it clear from the start.

This is the comic adaptation of the popular gender-bending reincarnation fantasy novel! Somehow I was reborn as the beautiful young heroine of an x-rated game. No matter what route I take in this game, I'll be captured and sexed-up by the various prince characters. And, as the story progresses, I'll be taken captive in a small shack deep in the woods and had by all the princes. I don't want that! I've never even kissed a girl before!! A young girl runs, and princes pursue. Can she (he?) outrun fate!? This is the comic adaptation of the novel "I was Reborn as the Heroine of an X-Rated Game... Now I Run from Princes.

Came from here:

年齢確認

Title: Snow White And The Seven Fuckers

The hit gender-swap yaoi novel is now a comic! To return to manhood, he has to sleep with another guy!? Alto, a novice librarian, is cursed to turn into a woman. To turn back into a man, he has to have sex with men! Alto confesses his problem to the handsome bad-boy knight Sir Lloyd, who's only too happy to "help him out." Alto shouldn't be enjoying this, so why does it feel so good!? And then there's Sir Lune, the well-mannered knight-in-shining-armor Alto has always admired, who's worried about Alto, too... Enjoy this one-of-a-kind story full of gender-swap sex, boys loving boys, and a love triangle involving two handsome knights!
This work contains both straight and gay themes.


This way, you're not lying or misleading or whatever. The readers just look at the cover and knows that the girl will be xxxx in her xxxx in xxxx at xxxx over and over without xxxx and may even be xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxx. Basically the readers know what they were getting into. This works, because the genre is 'gender bender' with secondary genre being 'romance', not gay romance, yuri romance or whatever.