Sweet Polly Oliver: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''"As [[Trope Namer|sweet Polly Oliver]] lay musing in bed,''

''and dressed herself up in her dead brother's clothes,''

''She cut her hair close, and she stained her face brown,''

 

 

Named for the old, old folk song "Sweet Polly Oliver" (quoted above), in which a woman disguises herself as a man so she can join the army and follow her soldier lover. However, the trope predates the name, going back apparently to a [[Older Than Print|6th century AD]] Chinese myth.

Contrast with [[Harmless Lady Disguise]] and [[Disguised in Drag]]. Some men may subconsciously see through this, and become [[Sweet on Polly Oliver]]. Since, in most cultures, she needs a new name, may occasion a [[Meaningful Rename]]. Not to be confused with [[Bifauxnen]].

 

 

You can listen to the full version of the song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icx9_jpHg3I here.]

 

 

* ''[[Basara]]''; The story takes place in a future Japan, reduced to a barren desert by a catastrophe at the end of the 21st century. The main character is Sarasa, a girl whose twin brother, Tatara, is prophesied to be the "child of destiny" who will bring back the country's independence and stop the tyrannical rule of the Empire, namely the Red King. When Tatara is killed, Sarasa pretends to be him in order to keep the downtrodden from losing hope.

* In the first manga series of ''[[Sengoku Basara]] Ran Sei Ran Bu'' [[Ms. Fanservice|Kasuga]] disguises herself as [[Dude Looks Like a Lady|her master Kenshin]] in order to serve as a decoy. [[Gag Boobs|Despite her huge assets]] [[Latex Perfection|she can still make a perfect performance]]. {{spoiler|She later disguises herself again as a wounded Date soldier in order to murder Masamune and avenge Kenshin's death.}}

** A continuing source of comedy is that the boys in the Host Club run themselves ragged to keep Haruhi's gender a secret from the rest of the school. Haruhi continues not to care. She only actively conceals her "secret" under threat of being fired.

*** Then again, Haruhi was never that feminine to begin with. {{spoiler|Except, perhaps, for her fear of lightning}}

* Akane from ''[[Ranma ½]]'' disguises herself as a boy in order to battle the Yamata no [[Orochi]] without being eaten as the beast loves the taste of women. Similarly, Ranma's [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]] Ukyou "gave up" her femininity and passed herself off as a male (to the point of attending a boys-only school) after Genma and Ranma ran out on her marriage arrangement. Once her ruse is discovered, however, she quickly abandons the pose and crosses over into [[Wholesome Crossdresser]] territory (but only at school, her "civilian clothes" are all feminine [[Bokukko|even if she still acts boyishly]]); later that season (in the anime only) she even abandons that once, causing all of the boys at Furinkan High to wonder who the "cute girl" is. She wears the girl's uniform at least once after that (and lampshades it, naturally.)

** And in a strange subversion of the trope, [[Gender Bender|girl-Ranma]] had to disguise herself as ''male'' during a martial arts duel to hide the fact that she had been locked as female.

* Subverted in ''[[Shugo Chara]]'': When Nadeshiko's "twin brother" Nagihiko shows up in one episode, it seems painfully obvious, that it is her in disguise... {{spoiler|until it is revealed that actually EVERYTHING ELSE was the disguise and Nagihiko is Nadeshiko's REAL identity.}}

* Done in the ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' manga by Minako. She uses the Crescent Compact to transform into a male Mugen Gakuen student so she can slip into the school and watch the concert of idol [[Paper-Thin Disguise|Mimi Hanyuu]], who is secretly [[The Psycho Rangers|Mimette.]]

* Shizu, Mariya's twin sister in ''[[Maria Holic]]'' is doing the exact opposite of her brother by playing out this trope. None of her antics over at Mihoshi no Mori Boys' School have been seen, but this is especially troubling for Shizu since she [[Does Not Like Men]].

* Yellow successfully passed herself off as a boy for the bulk of ''[[Pokémon Special]]'s'' Yellow chapter. Most characters didn't find out until the Gold and Silver chapter, though.

* The incredibly [[Bifauxnen]] Oscar of ''[[Rose of Versailles]]'' dresses as a man for her day job of commander of the Royal Guard. The rest of the time, she just does it because her father raised her as a boy.

* Candy in ''[[Candy Candy]]'' is grounded during a school festival, but a friend of hers sneaks her a box with two outfits: a female gown and a male disguise, both with matching wigs. She uses them to sneak away and have fun without being caught by the school staff, alternating between the girly girl facade and the boyish one. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* Rei [[Shout-Out|Saotome]] in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'' pretended to be a boy in her first appearance. Like in the ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]'' example, she's found out when she loses her hat and this reveals her [[Rapunzel Hair]].

* Part of the backstory for Override of ''[[Transformers Cybertron]]'' was that she somehow disguised herself as a boy to enter the great race for planet leadership. The weird bit, aside from the concept of a crossdressing robot, is that Override is pretty damn androgynous anyway and is a male in the original Japanese.

* ''[[Mayo Chiki]]'''s premise.

* Itsuki Myoudouin from ''[[Heartcatch Pretty Cure]]'', taking her big brother's role due to the aforementioned man having aweak heart. Said man is also a case of [[Dude Looks Like a Lady]]. He got better, and Itsuki was able to resume being a girl by the end of the show. It should be noted that while Itsuki is mistaken for a boy several times in the series, pretty much everyone in the school knows she's a girl. [[Even the Girls Want Her|Not that it matters much ...]]

 

* In the [[Child Ballad]] ''[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch106.htm The Famous Flower of Serving Men]'', the heroine's husband and baby are killed by her mother, and she disguises herself as a man to run away and work.

* In the [[Child Ballad]] ''[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch063.htm Child Waters]'', the heroine refuses to leave the hero, despite his declaration that he goes to woo another woman. He insists she dress as a footpage and run alongside his horse.

** "Jackaroe" is another song about a girl who goes off to war to follow her love, this time in the Navy.

** As is "Billy Taylor", but it has a twist ending. It turns out that the titular character, whom the song's main character has joined the Navy to follow has found a new girl, and the main character tracks them both down and kills them, and is promoted for it.

** In "The Female Rambling Sailor", a woman goes to sea after her lover is pressed into naval service and drowns. She proves an exemplary sailor, and none of her crewmates suspect her identity until she dies in a fall from the rigging and they discover her 'female form'.

* There's a Spanish ballad about a girl who dresses like a man, calls herself Don Martín and goes to war because her father is [[Retired Badass|too old]]. Then, the prince falls for her (getting extremely confused because he somehow suspects "he" is a girl, but isn't quite sure). Then the prince comes out to the queen and she suggest several tests to expose Don Martín, all of which fail, except the last one: a bath. Don Martín runs away and the prince after her, and they marry.

 

* ''[[The Sandman]]'': {{spoiler|Jim the "cabin boy" in ''Hob's Leviathan'' is actually a girl named Peggy.}}

** There's also Desire, who switches genders as necessary.

* The Spanish comic magazine ''[[El Jueves]]'' had a story, ''Emili<s>a</s>o'' where a girl, Emilia, pretended to a boy to do the mandatory conscription in the Army and be with her boyfriend.

* Agnès de Roselande/Isabeau de Marnaye in the Francois Bourgeon's historical series ''[[Les Passagers Du Vent]]''.

* "Jack", in the ''Deathwatch'' comic strip by [[Paul Cornell]] (Elizabethan ''[[Judge Dredd]]''), is quite clearly a girl wearing a false moustache to work as an actor. And, inevitably, [[Recursive Crossdressing|ends up playing Helen of Troy]] in ''[[Faust]]''. Surprisingly, while the [[Fish Out of Temporal Water]] acts as [[Only Sane Man]] to the [[Medieval Morons]] in just about every other respect, this is the one point where he has a blind spot as well.

* As a young girl, Martha Washington in [[Give Me Liberty]] habitually passes herself off as a boy to avoid being sexually assaulted. She then gets grabbed by someone ''looking'' for young boys.

 

* In ''[[The Lost Girl]]'', Friendly has a variant of this, as she quickly forgets she ever was a girl.

* There's more than one ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' fic out there that imagine the female Nations as being forced to do this out of necessity (i.e. avoid getting raped by their own soldiers), though this usually happens in historical-themed stories to stress the [[Values Dissonance]].

 

* In Disney's ''[[Mulan]]'', Mulan disguises herself as a man by making her hair shorter and wearing a soldier's outfit so that her disabled father won't have to go.

* ''[[Yellowbeard]]'': Spoofed; one of the ship's officers is named "Mr. Prostitute" and is an obvious woman with a fake mustache.

* The Disney Channel movie ''[[Motocrossed]]'' involved a girl posing as her brother to enter a motocross race, after he breaks his leg. What makes this one more ludicrous is that the siblings have the ''same name'' (Andy, short for both Andrea and Andrew).

** Not quite so ludicrous: {{spoiler|It allows her a legal loophole, given that she signed up as 'Andy,' instead of Andrew or Andrea, which meant she could hold on to her win after she was outed.}}

* After her rescue from Fogg's Asylum by Anthony in ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (film)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'', Johanna dresses up like a boy in order to hide from Judge Turpin. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, she almost gets killed by her own father, Sweeney Todd, when he fails to recognize her and takes her for a witness to his final vengeance upon the Judge.}}

** A similar idea is used in ''[[Victor Victoria]]'', merely as a way to break into show business. The lead actress's (Julie Andrews) singing is apparently far more appreciated by audiences who think she's a gay female impersonator.

{{quote|'''Norma:''' ''YOU NO GOOD TWO-TIMING SON OF A BITCH!'' '''''HE'S A WOMAN!'''''}}

* Happens in the third ''[[From Dusk till Dawn]]'' movie.

* Common in fairy-tale movies (''[[Dragonslayer]]'', ''[[The Brothers Grimm (creator)|The Brothers Grimm]]'') as a way to conceal the gender of daughters who might otherwise be fed to dragons, kidnapped by witches, etc.

* In the 1950 British thriller ''[[The Clouded Yellow]]'', Jean Simmons cuts her hair and exchanges her dress for trousers in order to pass as "Master Fox". The disguise is never seriously tested, which is just as well as she's [[Paper-Thin Disguise|a remarkably unconvincing boy]].

* In the 1979 basketball comedy ''[[Fast Break]]'', D.C. (Harold Sylvester) admits to Coach Greene (Gabe Kaplan) that he has unusual feelings for his (ostensibly male) teammate Swish. In the climactic game, Swish unwraps her breasts and hits the court. D.C. is relieved.

* Princess Leia briefly disguises herself as the bounty hunter Boushh in ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'', though this barely counts since he's also an alien.

* ''[[Ma Vie en Rose]]'' introduces such a character (a tomboy who goes by "Chris") right at the end, {{spoiler|right after Ludovic's parents have given in to the [[Double Standard]]}}.

* The [[Disney]] live-action version of ''[[Swiss Family Robinson (film)|Swiss Family Robinson]]'' has Roberta (or "Bertie") do this, as she and her grandfather have been captured by pirates. Not very convincing, and [[The Reveal]] shows that she's a girl when her head wrap is pulled off to reveal... really short hair, but a suddenly more girlish face.

* The Canadian Short "No Bikini" shows that bath and this trope '''do''' mix sometimes. Robin, a 7-yr girl, ''hates'' bikinis, but girls must wear a swimsuit for a swimming class. So she pretends to be a boy so she can attend just in swimming trunks.

* The [[Whoopi Goldberg]] vehicle ''[[The Associate]]'' was a double version; she not only dressed as a man, but went white to win big in business.

* There is a Soviet comedy called ''[[My Dearly Beloved Detective]]'' about two female detectives with the last names of Holmes and Watson. At one point during an investigation they dress up to sneak into a club of bachelor men. The head of the club gets wind of this and states that all the members will undergo "an embarrassing examination"... which consists of every member being forced to give a gentleman's word he's male. Holmes passes. Watson is saved by a man in love with her who takes the blame.

* ''[[Princess of Thieves]]'' centers on Robin Hood's daughter, Gwyn, who dresses up as a man to follow her father.

* Katharine Hepburn takes her turn in ''[[Sylvia Scarlett]]''.

 

* In ''The Breadwinner'', a girl named Parvana, who lives in Afghanistan, disguises herself as a boy in order to earn money for her family because her father died and her brother was too young to provide for them.

* The [[Harry Turtledove]] alternate history novel ''[[The Guns of the South]]'' features Molly Bean, a prostitute who disguises her flat-chested self as a man to serve in the Confederate States' unit Castalia Invincibles. She poses as her "cousin" Melvin Bean and joined because the war was taking away all her customers. Ignorant and illiterate, she learns to read and begins to fall for her teacher. How much combat did she see? She was at ''Gettysburg'', y'all. She later serves a surprisingly vital role in defeating the AWB men who are time travelers, by being a popular bedmate while covertly spying on them. Her letters to her lover describe many futuristic marvels (None of which she understands, but her teacher/future husband twigs onto the fact that these guys are from the future). These prompt him to instruct her to go to [[Our Presidents Are Different|Confederate President Robert E. Lee]] and describe everything she'd seen. She does, but her attempts to hide her womanly self make it difficult (Lee can't figure out [[Crowning Moment of Funny|why she keeps on mixing up "I" and somebody named Melvin in her story]]). After she helps take down the AWB, she marries her teacher. In [[Real Life]], there was an actual Molly Bean who enlisted in the Invincibles, but she was discovered and sent home. Her livelihood as a prostitute was pure author's invention.

* This is the main storyline of the historical novel ''[[Pope Joan]]'' (based on what may have been a [[Real Life]] example as well, but is generally considered fictitious).

* The old man's granddaughter in ''[[Swiss Family Robinson]]'' who was disguised as his grandson.

* Alanna of Trebond from the ''[[Tortall Universe|Lioness Quartet]]'' books by Tamora Pierce. As a nine-year old she starts dressing as a boy in order to train for knighthood as [[Meaningful Rename|Alan]], and keeps it a secret until after she's already earned her shield (and thus is formally [[She Is the King|Sir Alanna]]).

* In the book ''Half Magic'' a young girl gets really annoyed at Lancelot so she wishes that she was his match in strength and skill, then conjures a suit of armor and challenges him to a duel. She wins and the crowd cheers her. When the king asks her to remove her helmet she does so, having forgotten she still looks the same underneath. As the mood of the crowd shifts from shock to anger, she's called names and Lancelot is jeered for being beaten by a girl, for all of five minutes before Merlin erases everyone's memories.

* The main character of [http://ib-archive.livejournal.com/36322.html this story] in the Livejournal-based "webzine" ''Imaginary Beasts''.

** There was a similar fairy tale, only that the whole group was a bunch of girls. When they got wind of the 'tests' to expose them, they would try to confuse things even more. When offered jewels and fabrics, some of them ignored them, some of them appraised the valuables, and a couple of them 'stole' some of the gems. When ashes were strewn across the threshold (on the assumption that the girls would try to clean it up), most of them marched right across it, while a few of them tried to clean it up and made the mess worse in the process.

* In ''The Mother-Daughter Book Club'', one character wears a boy's uniform and helmet to try out for the school hockey team, since the coach refuses to let a girl join. Naturally, her skills secure her a slot on the team, even after her identity is revealed.

* In the novel ''The Shakespeare Stealer'' a girl disguises herself as a boy so she can be an actor, since it was illegal for women to perform on the Elizabethan stage.

* Exactly the same thing happens in ''No Bed for Bacon'', the novel upon which ''[[Shakespeare in Love]]'' was (very) loosely based.

* ''[[Bloody Jack]]'' is a young adult novel about a London orphan girl who joins the Royal Navy as a ship's boy. Risky, but much more attractive than dying of starvation. This causes problems both comedic and poignant when she {{spoiler|falls in love with a fellow ship's boy, thinks she's dying when she gets her period and has nobody to ask about it}}, etc. It has several sequels, and the character sometimes reverts to this trope in a pinch, even though by then she's filled out a little more and presumably no longer looks like an androgynous eleven-year-old. People still buy it, though.

* Nearly every character in Piers Anthony's ''[[Refugee]]'' (in the series ''[[Bio of a Space Tyrant]]'') ends up dressing as a member of the opposite gender as a defense against ubiquitous space pirates.

** Stevenson didn't put too much effort into it for two reasons: 1) He was writing it as part of a serial, and having her listed as a boy for the first few installements (it originally appeared in a weekly kids' magazine) would have confused the readers, and 2) he was only writing it for a quick buck while he wrote ''[[Prince Otto]]''. Ironically, ''The Black Arrow'' ended up being much more popular.

* Arya Stark in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' sort of had this trope forced upon her, although she was something of a tomboy in the first place.

** [[Zig-Zagging Trope|Brienne is an interesting case]] in that she does look like a tall, powerfully built man ; she would have a ''harder'' time trying to look feminine than passing as a man. As she's one of the strongest knights in the Seven Kingdoms, she was able to secure a place in [[Praetorian Guard|Renly's guard]] without actually needing to hide. The only way you could tell her actual gender is by [[Samus Is a Girl|seeing her bareheaded]], which logically leads her to keep her helmet on when she'd rather not be recognized.

** While it hasn't been explicitly revealed as of yet, the half-Summer Islander, slim, smooth-faced Dornish [[Sdrawkcab Name|Alleras]] with the widow's peak who's not interested in women bears a striking resemblance to the half-Summer Islander, slim, Dornish female Sarella whose father had a widow's peak.

* Nastily subverted in ''Iron Dawn'', in the backstory of Barra the Pict: seeking her fortune in the male-dominated Mediterranean, she dresses up as a young man and joins a group of bandits. She need not have bothered, as the thugs were disappointed to discover that she ''wasn't'' a boy when they turned upon and gang-raped her.

* [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]'s wizard Lythande is a woman who disguised herself to be able to learn magic; by the time her teachers found her out, she had learned too much for them to send her away. Instead, her punishment was that if any man should learn she was a woman, she would lose her powers, thus condemning her to continue the masquerade for the rest of her life.

* Kite from ''Sewer, Gas and Electric'' acted out this trope during the American Civil War.

* [[Iain Banks]]'s {{spoiler|[[The Wasp Factory]]}} adds a twist in that ''the protagonist herself'' isn't aware of this. Yes, it's a weird book.

* Ruth Mallory in ''[[Someone Else's War|Someone Elses War]]''. She doesn't get the idea until someone else mentions it, however, and [[Sex Slave|wishes she had thought of it]] [[Tear Jerker|much sooner.]]

 

* ''[[Farscape]]'' did this in the episode "Coup By Clam," when Moya was orbiting a planet notorious for its torturously sexist laws. When a tech was sent over to help, Chiana found "him" attractive... and when it was discovered that the grease monkey was a [[Wrench Wench]] in disguise, Chiana [[Fetish Fuel|wasn't bothered]] [[Girl-On-Girl Is Hot|by this at all]]. Unfortunately, the security guard accompanying the tech wasn't so understanding, and came within inches of killing her before [[Magnificent Bastard|Scorpius]] [[Neck Snap|intervened.]]

* Spoofed by the character of 'Bob' in the various ''[[Blackadder]]'' series.

** Queenie makes a very poor attempt at this (wearing a big cloak over her elaborate dress) in an attempt to join in on the boys' drinking party.

** In yet another Korean drama, ''[[Han Guk Young]]'', Sujeolnyeo Seo-ssi (Lee Tae Ran) dresses like a man and goes out spying at night.

** ''[[You Are Beautiful]]'' has the heroine pretending to be her teenage heartthrob brother in order to take his place in a boy band. Jeremy's reaction to her reveal is priceless.

* In the second season of ''[[Twin Peaks]]'', {{spoiler|Catherine Martell, presumed dead, disguises herself as Japanese investor Mr. Tojamura. Her costume fools the other Twin Peaks residents, including her husband}}.

* In the Chilean [[Soap Opera]] ''[[Pampa Ilusion]]'', the female lead is [[Hospital Hottie|a young and beautiful doctor]] who wants to get close to her misogynistic [[Jerkass]] of a father, who disinherited her and her [[Missing Mom]] when she was born. To do so without being found out, she crossdresses as a male physician, and unwittingly attracts [[Sweet on Polly Oliver|men]] (like the male lead, who is her dad's business counselor) and [[Stupid Sexy Flanders|women]] (like the old man's house maid)

* In the [[Darkest Africa]] sketch in episode 29 of ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', the explorer called Brian is obviously Carol Cleveland disguised as a man, though no special attention is drawn to it.

 

* [[Older Than Print]]: Earlier than the [[Trope Namer]] is the Chinese legend of [[wikipedia:Hua Mulan|Hua Mulan]], a woman who joined the army as a man in lieu of her father, which has been made into a [[Disney Animated Canon|Disney movie]], [[Mulan]]. This story was first recorded in the 6th century C.E.

* Another old but non-military Chinese example, the Butterfly Lovers: Zhu Yingtai, who disguised herself as a man to become a scholar. She fell in love with her slightly clueless roommate Liang Shanbo and arranged to have him marry her 'sister.' This does not go as planned.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* In ''[[Traveller]]'', both the Aslan and the Sword Worlders have specific rules for this. In both these cases this is not a disguise so much as a formalized way to allow vocational flexibility in females without hurting the traditions. In the case of the Aslan it comes about when there are no male heirs and a female has to "become male"; which includes not only carrying out [[A Real Man Is a Killer|male roles]] but vowing celibacy. In the Sword Worlds it is a way for eccentric women who actually want to go adventuring to do so without hurting the [[Stay in the Kitchen]] principle.

 

** English Renaissance drama in general does this frequently for precisely that reason. And after women were allowed to act on the English stage in the 1660s, playwrights continued to include this as part of the plot as a form of [[Fan Service]].

** Poor Zedenka (''[[Arabella]]'', Richard Strauss), forced to dress as a boy because her family cannot afford to let her doll up like her big sister Arabella. She gets her man in the end, so all is well.

** Handel's opera ''[[Alcina]]''. Brave girl Bradamante dresses as a man, under the name Ricciardo, to save her lover Ruggiero from the clutches of the sister witches Alcina and Morgana. They ''both'' fall in love with "him". A messy love network ensues.

* The plot comic opera ''The Firefly'' has pretty little street singer Nina run away from home to Bermuda disguised in boy's clothes. Unfortunately, the boy in question happens to be the notorious pickpocket Antonio Columbo.

* In the comedy ''A Servant of Two Masters,'' one of the "masters" is a woman disguised as her own brother, trying to find her beloved - who is the other one.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

** On the other hand, people are still trying to discern whether Sheik is male or female; (S)he's almost as confusing as [[Super Mario Bros.|Birdo]]... and the [[Zelda Manga|manga adaptation]] doesn't help matters either.

* {{spoiler|Naoto Shirogane}} of ''[[Persona 4]]''.

** In the first game, King's gender was a [[Tomato Surprise]] that you could uncover by defeating her with a fireball attack. Too bad her hit cries were so feminine that it hardly counted as a secret.

* In ''[[Fate/stay night]]'', Saber is actually {{spoiler|King Arthur, who used Merlin's magic to disguise herself as a man.}}

* ''[[Jade Empire]]'' features a theatrical production in a culture where only men may be actors; naturally, if the player character is female, [[All Up to You|she takes the part anyway]]. Of course, [[Recursive Crossdressing|it's a a female part]]...

* Sypha Belnades in ''[[Castlevania]] III: Dracula's Curse''. Being a witch, she had to disguise herself to avoid being [[Burn the Witch|burned]]. The game and manual were fairly good about concealing this fact until the very end. ''Judgment'', however, gives her large breasts and a fanservicey outfit.

* In ''[[Rival Schools]]'', Akira goes undercover in a body-concealing motorcycle helmet and leather jacket to investigate her older brother's disappearance. This is necessitated by the fact that her brother attends an [[One-Gender School|all-male school]] for [[Delinquents]].

* A common trope in the early ''[[Metal Gear]]'' (particularly in ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'', ''Metal Gear Solid'', and ''Metal Gear: Ghost Babel'') had Solid Snake having to rendezvous with a female ally who has already infiltrated the enemy by disguising herself as a soldier. Particularly in ''MG2'' and ''MGS'', the only way to determine who is Snake's contact is to follow said contact to the Ladies' room.

* {{spoiler|Rei Ijuin}} in the original ''[[Tokimeki Memorial]]'' because apparently her father wanted a boy.

 

* Spoofed [http://the-whiteboard.com/autotwb1092.html here] in ''[[The Whiteboard]]''.

* Emet from ''[[Warrior U]]'' dresses as a boy so that she can learn to become a warrior.

* In ''[[Strays]]'', [http://www.straysonline.com/2012/01/page-202/ Meela's brother cut her hair so they could pass as brothers, rather than the brother and sister their enemies were looking for. She didn't like it.]

 

* [[Huge Schoolgirl]] Dacey "Dawson" Ashcroft in ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' pretends to be a guy due to the negative attention she received in her previous school, feeling it easier to get through highschool if everyone believes her to be a man. Luckily, she doesn't look all that feminine, and unlike some of the other female Southridge students lacks large breasts.

* Amber Jarrett in ''[[Decades of Darkness]]''

 

* In the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "War Is the H-Word", Leela disguises herself as a man named "Lee Lemon" in order to join the army. Zapp Brannigan is still attracted to her without seeing through the disguise leading to some... confusing feelings.

{{quote|'''Zapp:''' (after the Leela feminine reveal) I've never been so happy to be beaten by a woman!}}

** This is actually [[Truth in Television|based on her historical actions]], although the real Joan made no secret of her gender and wore male clothing just because it was more practical.

*** Although it's a pretty safe bet that the real-life Joan's army [[It Makes Sense in Context|had no dolphins disguised as people.]]

* The [[Disney Animated Canon|Disney movie]] based on the [[Mulan]] legend, referenced above.

* In one episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Springfield Elementary becomes segregated by gender. Since the girls' school isn't teaching math properly, Lisa disguises herself as a boy in order to join the boys' class.

* Combined with [[You Go, Girl!]] on ''[[Doug]]'' when Patti tries out for the softball team.

* An episode of ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' had Heloise disguise herself as a boy in order to see a list of "Guy Stuff" that Jimmy and Beezy wouldn't let her see.

 

* During the [[American Civil War]], some of the corpses of fallen men were discovered not to have been men at all. At least 240 women are known to have served in the ACW disguised as men, as you can read about here: http://www.amazon.com/They-Fought-Like-Demons-Soldiers/dp/1400033152/ref=pd_cp_b_1 Several maintained their disguises after the war in order to qualify for pensions. It was a lot easier for women to get away with this back in the days before routine physical examinations, since often the only physical standards enlistees had to meet were "upright and breathing". Also, many 18th and 19th century women were relatively small-breasted due to inadequate nutrition, and many figured out the trick of padding out your waist instead of trying to completely eliminate your breasts, which was helped by often ill-fitting uniforms.

* Joan of Arc did not disguise herself as a man, but chose to wear men's clothing while fighting for practical reasons.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Disguise Tropes]]

[[Category:Narrative Devices]]

[[Category:Always Female]]

[[Category:Gender Blending Tropes]]

[[Category:Truth in Television]]

[[Category:Costume Tropes]]

[[Category:Identity Index]]