# Fictional characters who have changed gender **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073 "2005-10-06T17:43:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/61 "2005-10-07T21:23:32Z")
The central character of Samuel Delaney’s _Triton_ (I forget his name, I wish I could forget more about the tedious whiny little so-and-so) changes from male to female towards the end of the book, for no particularly good reason. (It’s a surgical thing, such procedures being commonplace in _Triton_’s setting.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/62 "2005-10-08T02:30:26Z")
Jerry Cornelius, a character from several books by Michael Moorcock, changed from a man to a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/63 "2005-10-08T02:34:34Z")
There was a supporting character in the British sitcom series _The New Statesman_ who went from being a man to a woman during the course of the show’s first season. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/64 "2005-10-08T02:56:19Z")
Mystique from _X-Men_ changes gender when it’s convienient. ---
**Author:** ![Flipstrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f6c823/32.png) [@Flipstrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipstrip)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/65 "2005-10-08T05:55:26Z")
Wasn’t Data’s cat Spot on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” a male through most of the series, except for one or two episodes? I know Spot had kittens on one ep, even though I distinctly remember Data referring to Spot as “he” on several other episodes. (And more Trek-savvy Dopers can feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.) ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/66 "2005-10-08T06:12:24Z")
For some reason, most fictional gender transformations are male-to-female. Perhaps it’s more interesting to see a man adjust to life as a woman than the other way around. Back when Fabian Nicieza was writing the _Gambit_ series, there was a secondary character called Jacob Gavin, Jr., aka Courier. Jake was a shapeshifting mutant who originally appeared in the _Deadpool_ title, but got mixed up with Gambit for various reasons. During one of their adventuries, Jake was “locked” into a female form, leaving him to live life as “Jackie” for awhile. There’s a nifty TG website with a little section on [Jake/Jackie](http://www.tgfa.org/comics/courier/courier.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/67 "2005-10-08T07:12:35Z")
Yeah, as some others have mentioned the Ozma thing in the Wizard of Oz books – that’s got to be one of the strangest things in children’s literature. A little boy (Pip or Tip or something like that?) finds out that he’s actually a girl? I accepted it unquestioningly when I was 9, but in retrospect it’s more than a little weird. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/68 "2005-10-08T15:47:49Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > For some reason, most fictional gender transformations are male-to-female. Perhaps it’s more interesting to see a man adjust to life as a woman than the other way around. Tied up in the answer are the issues of equal rights, the distribution of gender in sci-fi/fantasy/comic authors, and so on. I think a big factor is that many men, particularly authors, view women as ineffable beings who are weaker and must act obliquely rather than directly, therefore becoming a woman would be a complication to the character’s life. Conversely, many modern women jokingly appear to view men as simple and predictable beings who act directly, therefore becoming a man would be lessen obstacles to a character’s goals. I’m _not_ saying this is true, only that when an author thinks it’s true, he’s more likely to write the version he thinks is more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/69 "2005-10-08T19:09:28Z")
OK, I once said that I would never comment on the Google ads, but really, an ad for the Winter Olympics in a sex change thread? What’s up with that? And the other three ads are for “supplies” needed to change the gender of your personal computer? Huh? Oh, and to get back on topic, the ancient SF series “Quark” featured Jean/Gene, a character who randomly switched back and forth between sexes. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/70 "2005-10-08T19:43:13Z")
Best guess, some statistical significance Google thinks exists. Perhaps there is a trans-gendered athlete in some kind of sporting competition? I don’t think I ought to google “sex” and “olympics” from work, though. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/71 "2005-10-08T20:03:20Z")
In Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk, Mona inhabits a man’s body. But she’s not really a man, just in his body. I don’t think it counts. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/72 "2005-10-08T23:22:05Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > Ziggy from Quantum Leap. Referred to as ‘he’ in early seasons. Al made a joke about getting him a girl computer with a giant pair of (somethings… hard drives, maybe). In later seasons Ziggy gained a voice (female) and was thereafter called ‘she.’ Well, if you are going to bring up **Quantum Leep** , you really could add Sam himself. Granted he doesn’t change back and fourth in the eyes of the audience, but he does in the show a number of times. And within the confines of the OP I think he (priodically she) would qualify. TV ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/73 "2005-10-09T00:02:04Z")
I think “gender change” for a computer means changing the way various plugs and sockets attach. There were also several gender changes in Piers Anthony’s books (which means I have to admit to having read them): In _Cruel Lye_ (one of the Xanth books), the (male) protagonist accidentally activates a spell which causes him to switch bodies with the nearest creature, which happens to be his female love interest. And in one of the Incarnations of Immortality books, a man assumes the office of Atropos, one of the Fates, and takes on a female semblance in the process. Also, a somewhat quirky example: In the Honor Harrington books by David Weber, one of the rival star nations is the Andermani Empire. The laws of the Empire dictate that the Emperor must be male. So at one point in the dynasty’s history, the eldest Anderman daughter, finding all of her brothers to be incompetent idiots, pressures the legislature into declaring her male, and took the throne as “Gustav Anderman IX”. No surgury or anything, but pointing out “his” anatomical peculiarities would have been likely to get one executed. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/74 "2005-10-09T00:34:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Gustav Anderman I loved that show! Jack Albertson and Dolph Lundgren, comedy duo _gold_. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/75 "2005-10-09T02:10:55Z")
In the _Wild Cards_ series, one character is named Croyd, known as the Sleeper. On a regular basis he goes to sleep and wakes up a new creature with new powers. At one point he become a large female insectoid “capable of complex multipath reasoning” and telepathy. In the book _Treason_ by Orson Scott character, “radical regeneratives” will grow other-gender body parts. The main ( male ) character grows breasts. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/76 "2005-10-09T03:06:16Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Return to Oz, Ozma is hidden as a boy by Mombi until Dorothy breaks her out. They did not address this in the movie, BTW. Wasn’t that _Land of Oz_, which was not an inspiration for _Return to Oz_? Pip/Ozma is the main character in _Land of Oz_, and there is no Dorothy (portrayed in the movie by Fairuza Balk). Two more from Marvel Comics: Cloud (from _The Defenders_; every time Cloud took human form, no conscious control over what gender he/she would assume) and Chondu the Mystic, who grafted his head onto a cloned She-Hulk body. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/77 "2005-10-12T16:14:15Z")
I just finished reading the most recent Harry Potter (Half-Blood Prince) and Crabb and Goyle (Draco Malfoy’s henchmen) undergo temporary gender changes. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/78 "2005-10-12T17:38:47Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I think you’re misrecollecting here. No one is “re-incarnated” in **Camelot 3000** and no one changes sex, as far as I can recall. It doesn’t fit the OP’s description. > > The Japanese animation **Rei Rei** , about Kaguya the moon goddess, features a character who temporarily changes gender. Wrong, in Camelot 3000, Arthur and Morganne were the only ones revived everyone else (all the knight and Guinevere) werel reincarnated and indeed Sir Tristan was (a really hot) woman and very upset by it. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073/79 "2005-10-12T17:48:33Z")
> [@ddgryphon](#): > > Wrong, in Camelot 3000, Arthur and Morganne were the only ones revived everyone else\ Yes, but he aready admitted this last page. Turns out he was thinking of a title with a simular name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-have-changed-gender/325073.md?page=3)