Rule 63, commonly referred to asgenderbend, is anInternet meme that states that, as a rule, "for every character there is a gender swapped version of that character". It is one of the "Rules of the Internet" that began in 2006 as aNetiquette guide on4chan and were eventually expanded upon by including deliberately mocking rules, of which Rule 63 is an example.[1] It began to see general use infandom communities as a term to refer to both fan-made and officialgender flips of existing fictional characters.
Prior to the creation of Rule 63,gender flipping was popularized in video games in the 1990s by one of the moves ofDarkstalkers character Demitri Maximoff, avampire. Called Midnight Bliss, it involves him approaching his opponent while holding a rose. If successful, he turns them into a helplessmaiden and drains them of their blood, which affects theirlife energy in-game.[2] This meant that female versions of all the game's male characters had to be created, as well as those ofStreet Fighter andSNK characters whenSNK vs. Capcom included Maximoff. These female interpretations became popular and resulted in large amounts of fan art, as well as prompting art of gender-swaps of other male and female characters.[2]
Rule 63 was created in mid-2007 as an addition to the humorous "Rules of the Internet", originally created around the end of 2006 on 4chan.[3] It lists two statements:
"for every given male character, there is a female version of that character", and
"for every given female character, there is a male version of that character".
The trope, originally seen primarily unofficially, later became more widely disseminated in popular culture, with critics stating that it had been "recognized by Hollywood".[4]
Rule 63 is commonly used as a term to refer to gender-swapped interpretations of existing characters infanworks, such asfan art,fan fiction andcosplay,[5] and is particularly pervasive in theanime and manga community, where communities sprang up built around romantic gender-swap relationships.[2] It also often overlaps with the creation ofmoe anthropomorphic female versions of non-human, male characters. A well-known example of this isBowsette, a female version of theMarioantagonistBowser that became one of the most popular Internet memes of 2018.[6] This term, however, was also used by critics to refer to official characters who are gender-swapped versions of older characters or fictional beings, such asNumber Six fromBattlestar Galactica being a "sexy female" version of aCylon Centurion,[7] and the female main cast of the 2016reboot ofGhostbusters.[4]
The creation of Rule 63 cosplays such as gender-swappedsuperheroes has been cited as popular among female cosplayers as giving them the ability to portray roles beyond socially approved gendered scripts.[3] It is seen as empowering, allowing cosplayers to wear clothing and weapons usually not afforded to female characters.[8] Certain characters with inherentgender fluidity, however, are said to work better than others. Such gender-bending cosplay, which allows the cosplayer to choose what behavior enhances the performance, can be contrasted withcrossplay, which completely immerses the cosplayer in the codes of another gender.[3]
Adventure Time received a spin-off series entitledFionna and Cake, based on theeponymous episode of the original show, which featuresFionna and Cake, gender-swapped versions of Finn and Jake as main characters, as well as genderbent versions of other characters that feature in later episodes.[9]
The 2016Ghostbusters reboot featured a cast of female leads that was called "proof of Rule 63", with similarities noted between each team member and one of the original male team members. It was called an official acknowledgement of what was formerly an unofficial, fan-driven phenomenon.[4]
In an episode ofThe Loud House titledOne of the Boys, Lincoln has a dream of traveling to an alternate dimension where all his sisters are male. Near the end of the episode, he travels to another dimension where he is female. A picture of him and a female version of Clyde, his best friend, can be seen in "her" room.
In an episode ofMalcolm in the Middle,season 4, episode 10, titled "If Boys Were Girls", Lois pictures Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey as girls, named Renee, Mallory, and Daisy, respectively. Francis is also a girl named Frances, withChristopher Kennedy Masterson in drag.
In theMario series, the fan-madeBowsette is a female version of the male antagonist Bowser, created through the use of the Super Crown, apower-up that imparts the appearance and abilities of Princess Peach on its user.Nintendo's official clarification is that the item is only usable byToadette, and the creation of Bowsette is "technically impossible".[10]
InShovel Knight, a "Body Swap Mode" (originally called "Gender Swap") was added after it was funded as aKickstarter goal, allowing the player to change thesecondary sex characteristics of every major character in the game (and, independently, their pronouns) via the settings menu. The developers endeavored to maintain parity with the original character designs by only making their swapped version as gendered as the original, as well as matching their existing personality and gameplay.[11][12]
