Discussion

Topic: Screenplay

Curious on what people think about this trope but what is your thoughts on the bodyswap/genderbend trope, when a character either swaps body with or turns into the opposite sex? I've seen this done a lot in media, especially with comedy and animation. For me, I find it very uncomfortable and even gross out by it since I don't want to imagine being the opposite sex for obvious reasons. So do you find this trope uncomfortable like me or are you completely okay with it?

Amy

Comedy Club

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2 comments

Heather Most of the time I don't love it. Usually done for comedic shock value. I have found a couple that I'm fine with or even like, Usually they focus less on the gender and more on the issue of getting their bodies back. I encounter this trope almost only in anime and manga and its usually only for laughs and iffy behavior (its in other media i simply havent been exposed to those) but if done sincerely I think for people that do feel uncomfortable or unsure of themselves it could be a nice window into the challenges opposite genders deal with and can help them figure out who they are. It can also be a fun mystery trope if, once again the focus isn't on the shock value. As for being uncomfortable with trading bodies irl, yeah that'd make me uneasy for sure. Not only do you not know what's happening to your body you now have to take care of one that you have no idea how to handle, not just the unmentionables, but also any specific health problems. Sorry this was long

A.L I feel like it's more of a fanfiction thing, I can't really take it seriously but I don't hate it. I'll watch it but it won't be the top of the list. I love when characters find out about someone else's struggles by talking to other people about that person or by seeing it with magic or something

Amy That's one thing that I like about bodyswap episode/movie, is that the character learns about the person they swap bodies with. But not when it's opposite sex bodyswap since that still makes me uncomfortable but I do watch ones with same sex bodyswaps that still use this idea. A good example is "Freaky Friday" (2003 version), they did a good job at showing how the mother and daughter learn about each other while being swapped. Another one is from the episode of "Teen Titans" (2000s version) where Starfire swap bodies with Raven. This was done so well because of how the characters are complete opposite and don't get along well but they learn to appreciate each other when they were in each other's bodies.

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