Gender flip

2025-09-14T19:35:47Z

2600:1700:4ED0:31A0:216B:94E4:9E5B:9B11: /* Notable examples */

{{Short description|When a fictional character is created to have a different sex in another work}}
{{about||the Internet meme predicting the prevalence of gender reversal of an existing character|Rule 63|the practice or act of a person assuming a different or gender identity than one's actual gender identity, especially in a virtual setting|genderswap|and|cross-dressing}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2024}}
[[File:Kathinka Hoppé, Marie Le Seur - Tooneel-herinneringen (1900).jpg|thumb| Kathinka Hoppé (left) as Ganymed, the gender-flipped love interest, and Marie Le Seur as Galathée in a late 19th-century production of ''[[Die schöne Galathée]]'']]
A '''gender flip'''<ref name="pdi-20220213">[[Agence France-Presse]]"[https://entertainment.inquirer.net/437545/gender-flip-of-film-classic-opens-berlin-fest-under-virus-cloud Gender flip of film classic opens Berlinale under virus cloud]", ''[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]]'', 13 February 2022.</ref><ref name="avclub-20210922">Caroline Siede. "[https://www.avclub.com/dear-evan-hansen-is-a-misfire-on-just-about-every-level-1847718189 Dear Evan Hansen is a misfire on just about every level]", avclub.com, 22 September 2021.</ref> is when a fictional character is created to have a different sex/gender in another setting or in an adaptation of a work. The Internet meme [[Rule 63]] predicts the prevalence of this.

== Notable examples ==
* [[Sherlock Holmes]]' companion [[Dr. Watson|Dr. John Watson]] (male) is in some adaptations changed to females: Joan Watson in ''[[Elementary (TV series)|Elementary]]'' (2012 TV series) or Jane Watson in ''[[The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1987 film)|The Return of Sherlock Holmes]]'' (1987 film)
* ''[[Foundation (Asimov novel)|Foundation]]'' (1951 novel) character [[Gaal Dornick]] (male) was changed to Gaal Dornick (female) in ''[[Foundation (TV series)|Foundation]]'' (2021 TV series)
* ''[[Starship Troopers]]'' (1959 novel) character Dizzy Flores (male) was changed to a female in ''[[Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers]]'' (1997 film)
* ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' (1965 novel) character [[Liet Kynes|Liet-Kynes]] (male) was changed to a female in ''[[Dune (2021 film)|Dune]]'' (2021 film)
* ''[[Bedazzled (1967 film)|Bedazzled]]'' (1967 film) character the Devil (male) was changed to a female in ''[[Bedazzled (2000 film)|Bedazzled]]'' (2000 film)
* ''[[The Wicker Man]]'' (1973 film) character Lord Summerisle (male) was changed to Sister Summersisle (female) in ''[[The Wicker Man (2006 film)|The Wicker Man]]'' (2006 film)
* ''[[Dead Ringers (film)|Dead Ringers]]'' (1988 film) characters Beverly & Elliot Mantle (males) were change to females in [[Dead Ringers (miniseries)|''Dead Ringers'']] (2023 miniseries)
* ''[[12 Monkeys]]'' (1995 film) character Jeffrey Goines (male) was changed to Jennifer Goines (female) in ''[[12 Monkeys (TV series)|12 Monkeys]]'' (2015 TV series)
* The 2022 [[DreamWorks Animation|DreamWorks]] ''[[The Bad Guys (film)|The Bad Guys]]'', had Mr. Tarantula's gender swapped to a girl in the film from the [[The Bad Guys (book series)|children's book series of the same name]]
* ''[[My Friend Flicka (film)|My Friend Flicka]]'' (1943 film) based on the [[My Friend Flicka|1941 children's book of the same name]] with protagonist and 10-year-old boy Ken McLaughlin changed to a 16-year-old girl named Katy McLaughlin in the infamous [[Flicka|2006 remake]] loosely based on the book.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]''. The long-running British television series features "regeneration" of the lead character. In 2018, [[Jodie Whittaker]] became the first woman to play the eponymous Doctor.
* ''[[Frequency (2000 film)|Frequency]]'' (2000 film) and ''[[Frequency (TV series)|Frequency]]'' (2016 TV series): John Sullivan, played by [[Jim Caviezel]] in the movie, was changed to a female character, Raimy Sullivan, played by [[Peyton List (actress, born 1986)|Peyton List]], in the television series.
* On ''[[Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series)]]'', Kono Kalakaua, who was a male character in the ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|original 1968 series]]'', played by [[Gilbert Lani Kauhi|Zulu]], was changed to a female character, played by [[Grace Park (actress)|Grace Park]].
* [[John Hillerman]]'s character from ''[[Magnum, P.I.]]'', [[Jonathan Higgins]], was changed to a female character, Juliet Higgins, played by [[Perdita Weeks]], in the [[Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)|2018 reboot]].
* ''[[MacGyver (1985 TV series)|MacGyver]]'' (1985) and ''[[MacGyver (2016 TV series)|MacGyver]]'' (2016): The character of Peter Thornton (played by [[Dana Elcar]]) in the original series was changed to Patricia Thornton (played by [[Sandrine Holt]]) in the 2016 series.
* ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'' (1981) and ''[[Dynasty (2017 TV series)|Dynasty]]'' (2017): The female character of Sammy Jo, played by [[Heather Locklear]], was changed to a male character, Samuel Jones, played by [[Rafael de la Fuente]], in the reboot.
* The character of Robert McCall, played by [[Edward Woodward]] on ''[[The Equalizer (1985 TV series)|The Equalizer]]'' (1985), and [[Denzel Washington]] in the [[The Equalizer (film)|2014 film]] and its sequels, was changed to a female character, Robyn McCall, played by [[Queen Latifah]], on the ''[[The Equalizer (2021 TV series)|2021 reboot]]''.
* In the 1987 film ''[[Overboard (1987 film)|Overboard]]'', the plot was about a single Father with three sons, claiming an amnesiac Woman as his wife and Mother of his sons. The genders are reversed in the ''[[Overboard (2018 film)|2018 remake]]'', with a single Mother with three daughters, claiming an amnesiac Man as her husband and Father of her daughters.

== See also ==
{{wiktionary|gender-flip}}
* [[Rule 63]], an [[Internet meme]] that states that, as a rule, "for every given male [[Character (arts)|character]], there is a female version of that character" and vice versa.
* [[Cross-gender acting]], when actors or actresses portray a character of the opposite sex.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Gender roles]]
[[Category:Gender studies]]
[[Category:Gender fluidity]]
[[Category:Fiction about gender flip]]
[[Category:Casting controversies]]

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Gender flip