Gender bender

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.^[1] Bending expected gender roles may also be called a genderfuck.^[2]

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.^[3] 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,^[4] 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 identification."^[5]

The term genderfuck has long been part of the gay vernacular, and started to appear in written documents in the 1970s. 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 female impersonation – dresses, pumps, full make-up and beards – is represented by, among others, three men in WAC uniforms and big moustaches".^[6]

^ "Definition of GENDER BENDER". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
^ Jonathon Green (2005). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang (2nd ed.). Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 575. ISBN 978-0-304-36636-1.
^ Glick, Elisa (2000). "Sex Positive: Feminism, Queer Theory, and the Politics of Transgression". Feminist Review. 64 (1): 19–45. doi:10.1080/014177800338936. S2CID 145181041.
^ Christopher Lonc. Genderfuck and Its Delights. Gay Sunshine 21 (Spring 1974)
^ Quoted in Bergman, David, ed. (1993). Camp Grounds: Style and Homosexuality. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. p. 7. ISBN 0-87023-878-7. OCLC 28294779.
^ Sheidlower, Jesse (2009). The F-Word. Oxford University Press. pp. 189–190. ISBN 978-0199751556.

[1] "Definition of GENDER BENDER". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-10-13.

[Green2005-2] Jonathon Green (2005). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang (2nd ed.). Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 575. ISBN 978-0-304-36636-1.

[3] Glick, Elisa (2000). "Sex Positive: Feminism, Queer Theory, and the Politics of Transgression". Feminist Review. 64 (1): 19–45. doi:10.1080/014177800338936. S2CID 145181041.

[4] Christopher Lonc. Genderfuck and Its Delights. Gay Sunshine 21 (Spring 1974)

[:1-5] Quoted in Bergman, David, ed. (1993). Camp Grounds: Style and Homosexuality. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. p. 7. ISBN 0-87023-878-7. OCLC 28294779.

[Sheidlower_2009_189–190-6] Sheidlower, Jesse (2009). The F-Word. Oxford University Press. pp. 189–190. ISBN 978-0199751556.

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