genderbend
Americanverb
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genderbends,
present (3rd person singular)
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genderbent,
past, past participle
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genderbending
present participle
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to create a transformative work (such as a performance or a piece of art or writing) in which an existing character's gender is changed.
-
to creatively alter one's own gender presentation.
noun
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a transformative work in which an existing character's gender is changed.
-
an instance of a change to a character's gender within a transformative work.
adjective
Usage
The terms genderswap and genderbend are often used interchangeably for portraying a character as a different gender. However, genderswap often refers specifically to changing a character from one gender to another, especially from male to female or vice versa, whereas genderbend can refer more broadly to reimagining, portraying, or performing a character in ways that differ from the character’s established gender.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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genderbendsimple
-
genderbendssimple
-
have genderbentperfect
-
has genderbentperfect
-
am genderbendingprogressive
-
are genderbendingprogressive
-
is genderbendingprogressive
-
have been genderbendingperfect progressive
-
has been genderbendingperfect progressive
Past
-
genderbentsimple
-
had genderbentperfect
-
was genderbendingprogressive
-
were genderbendingprogressive
-
had been genderbendingperfect progressive
Future
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A genderbend from the comics’ James Stillwell, Madelyn is an enjoyable subversion of Shue’s likability factor in Adventures in Babysitting or The Karate Kid as a younger woman and more recently on CSI.
From The Verge ● Jul. 24, 2019
The perspective allows Feig and McCarthy to give audiences familiar worlds while the genderbent setups offer a rich playground for challenging sexist habits in progressive ways.
From Forbes ● Jun. 9, 2015
Anderson remembers reading about Sylvester’s genderbending strides in “The Rolling Stone Record Guide” in the 1980s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
A few years ago, two “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contenders battled it out with a sudden-death lip-sync to “Mighty Real” — which introduced Sylvester to an emerging generation of genderbending artists and music fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
