gender bender

American  

[jen-der ben-der] / ˈdʒɛn dər ˌbɛn dər /

noun

1. Slang: Often Offensive. a person, as a crossdresser or transgender person, whose gender expression blurs differences between various sexual orientations and gender identities.

2. something that challenges traditional societal norms related to gender.

   Women play all the roles in this gender bender of a play.

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gender-bender British  

noun

1. informal a person who adopts an androgynous style of dress, hair, make-up, etc

2. a male-male or female-female adaptor, used esp for computer hardware

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Other Word Forms

• gender-bending adjective

Etymology

Origin of gender bender

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

She'll be seen next in Gus Van Sant's Restless and Albert Nobbs, a gender bender in which she plays the romantic interest of Glenn Close.

From Time • Mar. 26, 2011

His voice starting to rise, Mr. Wright said, “If you’re trying to make something that’s unique and fresh, that’s a completely unique gender bender, how can you give examples of similar films?”

From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2010

For every drag queen or gender bender who believes life ought to be street theater, dozens if not hundreds of gay men and lesbians avoid confrontation.

From Time Magazine Archive

If this sounds like the plot of The Crying Game, don't blame scripter Bill Jesse; Riff-Raff was made a year before Neil Jordan's gender bender.

From Time Magazine Archive