Genderbent dudes in yuri is weirdly common

[HelloHound]

Why is it so common and how can we convince more writers to just skip the genderbending step for yuri? I haven't come across a gb yuri that made me think "wow, the fact that the original soul was a cis dude has really made an interesting and positive impact on the storytelling!" it just feels a little odd in a way I'm not sure how to explain

 

[LunaSoltaer]

Hi, MTF here, that one's on us. I hope.

I'm sure there are a lot of cis people who write Gender Bender Girls Love because you get readers fucking Instantly. It irritates the fuck out of us too, and me personally to the point where My trans book is very explicitly NOT this.

VERY IMPORTANT POINT OF MENTION: For those stories that are actually trans stories, what gender the soul of the formerly-male character is is VERY not something you should assume to be fixed!!!!

There are some stories that do take a full out man and slap him into a female body for either the fuck of it or to teach him a lesson or something. If such magic existed in reality it would be fucking REPREHENSIBLE because guess what you just GAVE him Gender Dysphoria.

So to answer your question, I would give extremely harsh feedback to those books that just slap cis dudes in girl bods for the hell of it, avoid the actual trans stories cause its really not your taste and thats okay, and promote/heartbomb/review/comment/shoutout the kind of yuri you want.

Just, be fucking careful when you say a genderbent female's soul is masculine, cause in most cases you just misgendered someone.

(and yes i understand im taking this extremely personally but thats cause im writing a book that outright tortures a poor girl because transitioning isn't a real option for her for basically the entire book.)

 

[Drust]

Congrats, you’ve just stumbled across a very common problem that is pervasive throughout the GB genre. A large number of them would have little to no difference if the gender bending bit was removed. I suspect it’s usually added for self insert purposes.

The same problem is also found throughout isekai as well. Getting rid of the isekai bit would actually improve on a number of them.

 

[HelloHound]

There are some stories that do take a full out man and slap him into a female body for either the fuck of it or to teach him a lesson or something. If such magic existed in reality it would be fucking REPREHENSIBLE because guess what you just GAVE him Gender Dysphoria.

honestly if there was a gb story that actually had the protagonist at least consider the idea of dysphoria or whether or not they really were cis I think that would be pretty interesting! I read this story about a trans gal transmigrated into the demon queen (and vice versa) and the dynamics were very interesting, esp when the two were able to communicate (n bitch about the fucking healthcare system) and that's obviously not a 1 to 1 scale I just feel like it would be more interesting than "oh I was a dude and considered myself as such for X years (well into adulthood) but now I'm fine becoming a young woman (this feels esp gross) because now I can flirt with other young women yuri-style!"
hopefully the ramble made sense

 

[Anon2024]

It's the straight male fantasy to participate in lesbian action.

 

[melchi]

honestly if there was a gb story that actually had the protagonist at least consider the idea of dysphoria or whether or not they really were cis I think that would be pretty interesting! I read this story about a trans gal transmigrated into the demon queen (and vice versa) and the dynamics were very interesting, esp when the two were able to communicate (n bitch about the fucking healthcare system) and that's obviously not a 1 to 1 scale I just feel like it would be more interesting than "oh I was a dude and considered myself as such for X years (well into adulthood) but now I'm fine becoming a young woman (this feels esp gross) because now I can flirt with other young women yuri-style!"
hopefully the ramble made sense

There are quite a few out there. GB + GL is a really common tag combo. As for exploring gender dysphoria getting really in depth to it can get kinda dark. A probability experiment turned me into a clockwork girl goes into this. That one is worth checking out maybe? I thought it was interesting though not everyone's cup of tea for sure. I don't think it is yuri though.

 

[Yairy]

I think for male authors it's eaiser to write a female with the mind of a male then a female from the beginning. Maybe they are more comfortable that way and it does get more views than just yuri stories.

 

[APieceOfRock]

It's the straight male fantasy to participate in lesbian action.

This is an actual reason why some write it. A friend of mine said that for some reason having the urge to turn into a girl to have sex with another girl feels...uhhh...uhhhh....straight?
Something about him hating hearing his own moans idk

 

[Anon2024]

There are quite a few out there. GB + GL is a really common tag combo. As for exploring gender dysphoria getting really in depth to it can get kinda dark. A probability experiment turned me into a clockwork girl goes into this. That one is worth checking out maybe? I thought it was interesting though not everyone's cup of tea for sure. I don't think it is yuri though.

From people whom I know who are trans females and like women, GB + GL doesn’t really make much sense to them because the guy is straight.

I don’t know female to male trans people so I can’t get their take on it. I don’t know any non-binary identifying people in real life so can’t comment on that.

I will say though, GB + Yuri did interest me as a straight male for a time. I even thought of writing it myself. I do think it is more for the fantasy of participating in lesbian action than anything else, or participating in lesbian love.

GB + Straight romance where it’s a gay male who becomes a female doesn’t have the same effect.

 

[K5Rakitan]

now I'm fine becoming a young woman (this feels esp gross) because now I can flirt with other young women yuri-style!"

My best friend made comments like that when she was first exploring feminine clothing. For some people, it takes time to discover/admit who they are inside, and writing is a safe way to explore those feelings when you don't know who you can trust IRL.

 

[TotallyHuman]

Probably Japanese influence of traditionally minded writers who timidly experiment with progressive ideas and the audience that eats it up but with thos kind of clause.
Most of us here probably come from nu, where once upon a time JP novels dominated the entire site, and are still going strong now.
There is this guy on yt, whom I cannot remember, but he analyses 60-90 movies and serials and gay and trans characters in it and how these things were handled, and the Americas also did these songs and dances too back then.

 

[Plantorsomething]

Why is it so common and how can we convince more writers to just skip the genderbending step for yuri? I haven't come across a gb yuri that made me think "wow, the fact that the original soul was a cis dude has really made an interesting and positive impact on the storytelling!" it just feels a little odd in a way I'm not sure how to explain

Honestly I think it’s like a thing for closeted mtf to read, or just something for men to explore their sexuality or identity in a seemingly casual way. Not everyone of course but I think it’s a bit part of it. mtf are generally more accepted, and men questioning themselves in any capacity is usually looked down on except some cultures maybe.

 

[greyblob]

it probably started as a trans fantasy. it features girls only as potential love interest. the focus is rarely on the sexual change of the mc. there's some lesbian action involved (?) the great majority of the site is male. it's romance with extra steps.

i read a few of them before. it's an interesting 'what if' that gets abandoned 2 chapters into the story. authors were intrigued. the tags picked up momentum. authors complained then joined in. a chunk of the readers is now conditioned to seeing the two tags.

and also removing any male presence makes it easier to self-insert as a male. brains are weird. the tags do give an early advantage for newer novels though. I don't know if it persists or not. the trope will probably fade once people had enough of the concept

 

[Bobple]

Yeah, I guess it's pretty common, but at the same time 'normal' yuri is still extremely common. On this site the ratio may be skewed though...

Of course there is a lot of reason why this happens, some of which have already been mentioned. Sometimes its for deeply personal reasons, other times it because of simple reasons.

I do enjoy all forms of GB. When its not important at all, when the mc realise they prefer it, or absolutely hate it. Is the imbalance? Yeah in most cases it's the first option, then second, and third is rarely touched (Then there's the 'middle ground' between two and three, where they say they hate but obviously prefer it).

Like I said, there are many reason for GB to be yuri. Sometime its the opinion of the author eg two examples (Straight man now female so they still prefer girls, or its popular, but there are a lot of other different ones). Sometime is just as simple as, female mc is cool but it is easier for me to write a male mind, or this GB story inspired me to write so I'm going to do the same.

I think I've only read a couple GB stories that had the mc like their former gender, (Most of time its just yuri, small bi, or no romance), and even these suffer from the same stuff most GB stories suffer from.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

Why is it so common and how can we convince more writers to just skip the genderbending step for yuri? I haven't come across a gb yuri that made me think "wow, the fact that the original soul was a cis dude has really made an interesting and positive impact on the storytelling!" it just feels a little odd in a way I'm not sure how to explain

The call of the tranny arises

 

[BlackKnightX]

Most readers are straight dude, so making the mc a dude first is a way to create that connection, that empathy. The mc has to be as close to your target reader as much as possible.

Why do you think shonen's mc are almost always teenage boys? Why shoujo's are almost always teenage girls? Why are isekai's mc almost always otakus? It's because of the target readers.

Gender doesn't matter that much, though. Let's say, if your target reader is a young man 16-20, you can still make the mc a girl, but she has to act, think, and speak like a 16-20 young man. And of course, she has to go the yuri route.

 

[Arkus86]

honestly if there was a gb story that actually had the protagonist at least consider the idea of dysphoria or whether or not they really were cis I think that would be pretty interesting! I read this story about a trans gal transmigrated into the demon queen (and vice versa) and the dynamics were very interesting, esp when the two were able to communicate (n bitch about the fucking healthcare system) and that's obviously not a 1 to 1 scale I just feel like it would be more interesting than "oh I was a dude and considered myself as such for X years (well into adulthood) but now I'm fine becoming a young woman (this feels esp gross) because now I can flirt with other young women yuri-style!"
hopefully the ramble made sense

You can try stories from QuietValerie. Generally they deal with guys getting stuck in a female body and then, through initial rejection and panic, slowly coming to terms with it and realizing they are much more comfortable in their new form, and were actually trans from the start.

 

[georgelee5786]

Things I wish I didn't know:

 

[Cipiteca396]

This is an actual reason why some write it. A friend of mine said that for some reason having the urge to turn into a girl to have sex with another girl feels...uhhh...uhhhh....straight?
Something about him hating hearing his own moans idk

Hating the sound of your own voice is an extremely trans thing to experience. Turning into a girl to have sex with girls 'feels straight' because people are conditioned to think 'straight is right' and - well, the rest is a basic simile, I guess.

I will say though, GB + Yuri did interest me as a straight male for a time. I even thought of writing it myself. I do think it is more for the fantasy of participating in lesbian action than anything else, or participating in lesbian love.

GB + Straight romance where it’s a gay male who becomes a female doesn’t have the same effect.

Honestly I think it’s like a thing for closeted mtf to read, or just something for men to explore their sexuality or identity in a seemingly casual way.

Why is it so common and how can we convince more writers to just skip the genderbending step for yuri? I haven't come across a gb yuri that made me think "wow, the fact that the original soul was a cis dude has really made an interesting and positive impact on the storytelling!" it just feels a little odd in a way I'm not sure how to explain

It's definitely a gateway for closeted folks. So, so many eggs were hatched by GB stories, and Yuri is a great way to cushion the blow to their indoctrination for people who've been told all their life that 'Gay is bad, Trans is bad'. The reader can justify it by saying, "Well, it's not really gay since one of them used to be a dude, and it's not like they asked to be a girl." Once they get started, the flaws in those old prejudices start to make themselves apparent.

There's an almost infectious desire in people who realize they've been lied to... It takes one of two forms in my experience. Either double down on the lie in order to deny that they were fooled, or try to share the new knowledge.
Stories like this make a LOT of fanfics/copies because of that second outcome. As might be expected, not every author is up to the task of creating a masterpiece though. There are plenty who didn't recognize why they were so attracted to the trope, and filled in the gaps with "It's not really gay."

And yes, there are some people chasing success, who write without understanding why the trope is so successful and end up with something... Well.
There was one story I read once.

Spoiler

The main character was a very girly boy, met a witch, and got genderbent. Pretty typical transplot. Everyone kept saying that they just had to get used to it, that they were a girl and there was no way back. Every time, they denied it and tried to find a way back.
I couldn't figure out why the story grated on me, but then I had a sort of epiphany and created my own headcanon that explained why the story was so awful.
The witch was... A red herring.
The mc was not genderbent. They hit puberty. They were born biologically female, and the story was about a transman from the beginning. They tried to push back, but everyone, even the AUTHOR, tried to shut them down.
And that is why I couldn't read the story through to the end. But it did improve my understanding of gender dysphoria by leaps and bounds, so I'll remember it to the day I die.

 

[Narcissistic_loser]

Yeah