Gender flip: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|When a fictional character is created to have a different sex in another work}}A '''gender flip''' or '''gender swap''' is a technique in [[fiction]] in which characters are portrayed as a different [[gender]] from the one in which they were originally written.<ref>{{Citation |last=Perkins |first=Claire |title=Ghost Girls: Ghostbusters, Popular Feminism and the Gender-Swap Reboot |date=2020-09-15 |work=Film Reboots |pages=157–170 |url=https://academic.oup.com/edinburgh-scholarship-online/book/37684/chapter/332013799 |access-date=2025-09-26 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |language=en |doi=10.3366/edinburgh/9781474451369.003.0011 |isbn=978-1-4744-5136-9}}</ref> It is commonly used in movie [[Remake|remakes]] or [[Reboot (fiction)|reboots]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Saner |first=Emine |date=2017-09-02 |title=Lord of the Flies to Ocean’s Eight: how Hollywood reboots are flipping gender |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/02/lord-of-the-flies-oceans-eight-hollywood-reboots-flipping-gender |access-date=2025-09-26 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> | {{Short description|When a fictional character is created to have a different sex in another work}}A '''gender flip''' or '''gender swap''' is a technique in [[fiction]] in which characters are portrayed as a different [[gender]] from the one in which they were originally written.<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Perkins |first=Claire |title=Ghost Girls: Ghostbusters, Popular Feminism and the Gender-Swap Reboot |date=2020-09-15 |work=Film Reboots |pages=157–170 |url=https://academic.oup.com/edinburgh-scholarship-online/book/37684/chapter/332013799 |access-date=2025-09-26 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |language=en |doi=10.3366/edinburgh/9781474451369.003.0011 |isbn=978-1-4744-5136-9}}</ref> It is commonly used in movie [[Remake|remakes]] or [[Reboot (fiction)|reboots]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Saner |first=Emine |date=2017-09-02 |title=Lord of the Flies to Ocean’s Eight: how Hollywood reboots are flipping gender |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/02/lord-of-the-flies-oceans-eight-hollywood-reboots-flipping-gender |access-date=2025-09-26 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> | ||
According to ''[[The Guardian]]'', one of the most high profile examples of this is the [[Ghostbusters (2016 film)|2016 remake]] of the 1984 movie ''[[Ghostbusters]]'', which featured a female ensemble instead of the original movie's male one.<ref name=":0" /> The 2016 movie received significant backlash, with its trailer video becoming the most disliked in [[YouTube]] history.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stone |first=Natalie |date=2016-04-30 |title=‘Ghostbusters’ Is the Most Disliked Movie Trailer in YouTube History |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/ghostbusters-is-disliked-movie-trailer-889114/ |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-05-26 |title=Sexist ‘Ghostbusters’ backlash coincides with 2016 gender divide |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/sexist-ghostbusters-backlash-coincides-2016-gender-divide-n580921 |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> [[Blank Check with Griffin & David|David Sims]] wrote in The Atlantic that the subtext of much of the criticism of the movie was that "the idea of a female cast taking up the mantle of a very male film series is just somehow wrong" | According to ''[[The Guardian]]'', one of the most high profile examples of this is the [[Ghostbusters (2016 film)|2016 remake]] of the 1984 movie ''[[Ghostbusters]]'', which featured a female ensemble instead of the original movie's male one.<ref name=":0" /> The 2016 movie received significant backlash, with its trailer video becoming the most disliked in [[YouTube]] history.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stone |first=Natalie |date=2016-04-30 |title=‘Ghostbusters’ Is the Most Disliked Movie Trailer in YouTube History |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/ghostbusters-is-disliked-movie-trailer-889114/ |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-05-26 |title=Sexist ‘Ghostbusters’ backlash coincides with 2016 gender divide |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/sexist-ghostbusters-backlash-coincides-2016-gender-divide-n580921 |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> [[Blank Check with Griffin & David|David Sims]] wrote in The Atlantic that the subtext of much of the criticism of the movie was that "the idea of a female cast taking up the mantle of a very male film series is just somehow wrong",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sims |first=David |date=2016-05-18 |title=The Outcry Against the All-Female 'Ghostbusters' Remake Gets Louder |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/05/the-sexist-outcry-against-the-ghostbusters-remake-gets-louder/483270/ |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> and the response has elsewhere been described as sexist and misogynistic.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Child |first=Ben |date=2015-03-16 |title=Paul Feig: Ghostbusters reboot criticism is 'vile, misogynistic shit' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/16/paul-feig-ghostbusters-reboot-criticism-is-vile-misogynistic-shit |access-date=2025-09-26 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The website [[Vox (website)|Vox]] described it as "a sequel to [[Gamergate]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilkinson |first=Alissa |date=2019-12-30 |title=In 2016, the Ghostbusters reboot didn’t change movies. But the backlash was a bad omen. |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/30/21037815/ghostbusters-backlash-decade-black-panther-captain-marvel |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}</ref> | ||
In 2018, [[Amanda Hess]] wrote in the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' that in the two years since the ''Ghostbusters'' remake, this concept had progressed from being a "one-off stunt" into a [[genre]] of its own, citing ''[[Ocean's 8]]'' as just one example of three such movies that summer alone.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-06-12 |title=The Trouble With Hollywood’s Gender Flips (Published 2018) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/movies/oceans-8-gender-swap.html |access-date=2025-09-26 |language=en}}</ref> | In 2018, [[Amanda Hess]] wrote in the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' that in the two years since the ''Ghostbusters'' remake, this concept had progressed from being a "one-off stunt" into a [[genre]] of its own, citing ''[[Ocean's 8]]'' as just one example of three such movies that summer alone.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hess |first=Amanda |date=2018-06-12 |title=The Trouble With Hollywood’s Gender Flips (Published 2018) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/movies/oceans-8-gender-swap.html |access-date=2025-09-26 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}</ref> Other 2010s examples include ''[[Overboard (2018 film)|Overboard]]'', ''[[The Hustle (film)|The Hustle]],'' and ''[[Life of the Party (2018 film)|Life of the Party]].<ref name=":1" />'' | ||
Despite the prominence of the idea in movies of the 2010s, the concept dates from much earlier. [[Radio Times]] critic Emma Simmonds gives the example of 1939's ''[[His Girl Friday]]'', adapted from 1928 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] play ''[[The Front Page]]'', in which the gender of character Hildy Johnson is switched from male to female.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simmonds |first=Emma |title=From Ocean's 8 to Ghostbusters: a history of Hollywood's gender swap movie trend {{!}} Radio Times |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/oceans-8-movie-gender-swap-hollywood/ |access-date=2025-09-26 |website= | Despite the prominence of the idea in movies of the 2010s, the concept dates from much earlier. [[Radio Times]] critic Emma Simmonds gives the example of 1939's ''[[His Girl Friday]]'', adapted from 1928 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] play ''[[The Front Page]]'', in which the gender of character Hildy Johnson is switched from male to female.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simmonds |first=Emma |title=From Ocean's 8 to Ghostbusters: a history of Hollywood's gender swap movie trend {{!}} Radio Times |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/oceans-8-movie-gender-swap-hollywood/ |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=Radio Times |language=en-GB}}</ref> | ||
Emine Saner, writing in ''[[The Guardian]]'', said that the phenomenon of gender-swap reboots seems like a positive, as it leads to more women in [[Blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]] movies, but may have downsides, such as being a safe place for studios to use female talent without taking a risk on original female-centric stories.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
Revision as of 15:06, 26 September 2025
Template:Short descriptionA gender flip or gender swap is a technique in fiction in which characters are portrayed as a different gender from the one in which they were originally written.[1] It is commonly used in movie remakes or reboots.[2]
According to The Guardian, one of the most high profile examples of this is the 2016 remake of the 1984 movie Ghostbusters, which featured a female ensemble instead of the original movie's male one.[2] The 2016 movie received significant backlash, with its trailer video becoming the most disliked in YouTube history.[3][4] David Sims wrote in The Atlantic that the subtext of much of the criticism of the movie was that "the idea of a female cast taking up the mantle of a very male film series is just somehow wrong",[5] and the response has elsewhere been described as sexist and misogynistic.[6][2] The website Vox described it as "a sequel to Gamergate".[7]
In 2018, Amanda Hess wrote in the New York Times that in the two years since the Ghostbusters remake, this concept had progressed from being a "one-off stunt" into a genre of its own, citing Ocean's 8 as just one example of three such movies that summer alone.[8] Other 2010s examples include Overboard, The Hustle, and Life of the Party.[1]
Despite the prominence of the idea in movies of the 2010s, the concept dates from much earlier. Radio Times critic Emma Simmonds gives the example of 1939's His Girl Friday, adapted from 1928 Broadway play The Front Page, in which the gender of character Hildy Johnson is switched from male to female.[9]
Emine Saner, writing in The Guardian, said that the phenomenon of gender-swap reboots seems like a positive, as it leads to more women in blockbuster movies, but may have downsides, such as being a safe place for studios to use female talent without taking a risk on original female-centric stories.[2]
See also
|
Look up gender-flip in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Rule 63, an Internet meme which states that "for every character there is a gender swapped version of that character".
- Cross-gender acting, when actors or actresses portray a character of the opposite sex.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Perkins, Claire (2020-09-15), Ghost Girls: Ghostbusters, Popular Feminism and the Gender-Swap Reboot, Edinburgh University Press, doi:, ISBN 978-1-4744-5136-9, https://academic.oup.com/edinburgh-scholarship-online/book/37684/chapter/332013799, retrieved on 2025-09-26
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Saner, Emine (2017-09-02). "Lord of the Flies to Ocean’s Eight: how Hollywood reboots are flipping gender" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/02/lord-of-the-flies-oceans-eight-hollywood-reboots-flipping-gender.
- ↑ Stone, Natalie (2016-04-30). "‘Ghostbusters’ Is the Most Disliked Movie Trailer in YouTube History" (in en-US). https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/ghostbusters-is-disliked-movie-trailer-889114/.
- ↑ "Sexist ‘Ghostbusters’ backlash coincides with 2016 gender divide" (in en). 2016-05-26. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/sexist-ghostbusters-backlash-coincides-2016-gender-divide-n580921.
- ↑ Sims, David (2016-05-18). "The Outcry Against the All-Female 'Ghostbusters' Remake Gets Louder" (in en). https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/05/the-sexist-outcry-against-the-ghostbusters-remake-gets-louder/483270/.
- ↑ Child, Ben (2015-03-16). "Paul Feig: Ghostbusters reboot criticism is 'vile, misogynistic shit'" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/16/paul-feig-ghostbusters-reboot-criticism-is-vile-misogynistic-shit.
- ↑ Wilkinson, Alissa (2019-12-30). "In 2016, the Ghostbusters reboot didn’t change movies. But the backlash was a bad omen." (in en-US). https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/30/21037815/ghostbusters-backlash-decade-black-panther-captain-marvel.
- ↑ Hess, Amanda (2018-06-12). "The Trouble With Hollywood’s Gender Flips (Published 2018)" (in en). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/movies/oceans-8-gender-swap.html.
- ↑ Simmonds, Emma. "From Ocean's 8 to Ghostbusters: a history of Hollywood's gender swap movie trend | Radio Times" (in en-GB). https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/oceans-8-movie-gender-swap-hollywood/.