Genderbend and why its bad [a thread]
(cis people please read.)

Before I start, a few disclaimers.
1. Im posting this from the person of a NON-BINARY TRANS person. Everyone may not agree with all the details but the crux of it remains the absolute same.

2. Cis people do NOT argue with me or any trans person about this. If you are uneducated it is alright to admit but it is transphobic if you fight us about this just because of your feelings towards the topic. If you harass me you will be blocked.

3. This is the 2nd time im posting this. The last time i posted this i got heavily harassed for it even though my intentions were just to educate. Please be polite and patient if you have any questions.

4. I will be linking a few posts at the end that say similar if not the same things as me that i referred to while making this thread.
5. Brief mention of intersex people is in the thread. I do not want to talk over or for anyone so please please let me know if anything needs to+

+be changed or added i will gladly include it and also make a effort to educate myself.
6. Please forgive badly worded points. English is not my first language but still I have tried my best to express myself. If anything is too confusing to understand please ask me to clarify.

To start: what exactly IS genderbending or as its also known in fandoms as Rule 63
It means to swap the gender of a person or a character. Often used in fanarts and fiction writings.

The issue is it is not only about “switching” someone’s gender but also giving them “characteristics” (often physical) of the opposite gender.That itself makes genderbending inherently transphobic. To give a male character boobs and a big ass or wide hips because they are +

predominantly “female” characteristics.
It takes the assumption that physical characteristics and features are the same thing as gender, which is obviously not true.
With genderbending also comes the assumption that the genderbent character is cis by default. Unless explicitly+

stated that the character is trans, the genderbent character will always be assumed as cis. This though not upfront transphobic is very harmful to trans people as it erases representation.

Another issue is genderbending is aways cis male to cis female or vice versa. It completely erases the existence of non-binary and agender identitites as well as intersex people. It assumes the existence of only cis males and cis females.+

It completely ignores that gender is a spectrum and doesn’t exist only in the binary.

It is unfortunate that people in fandom spaces have to genderbend their favourite characters or even celebrities etc. to feel represented but please do not do it at the cost of trans people. +

Genderbending is transphobic as an overall concept, engaging with it or partaking in it is encouragement of this harmful and microaggressive practice.
If you were unaware of this please do not feel bad and instead please take this oppurtunity to educate yourselves.

Also want to add that *I* personally do not see any issue in characters being genderbent if they are mentioned to be trans or are drawn by trans people, but that is my own personal opinion. Thank you!

posts that i said i would attach!
1. https://viria.tumblr.com/post/116908105638/kagemxne-on-genderbending-lately-ive-been
2. https://thedeadflag.tumblr.com/post/142516583438/i-dont-get-how-genderbending-is-transphobic
3. https://thedeadflag.tumblr.com/post/127810115773/captainryuugazaki-i-dont-mean-to-sound
4. https://www.reddit.com/r/GenderCritical/comments/6zqx2h/genderbending_cartoon_characters_is_transphobic/