Movies where a (cisgender*) character makes or furthers an effort to be perceived as their opposite sex, and is believed to be by at least one other person. Intentional gender disguise will be a common occurrence in these films, but it is not required to be on purpose, nor to have any specific motive behind it.
2. The disguised character must either be credited with a name, or have spoken lines.
3. The character must not be, nor discover themselves to be transgender. This excludes films like Boys Don't Cry, The Danish Girl, No Bikini, etc.
4. Drag queens/kings are not included unless they meet the criteria of rules 1 & 2, without violating rule 3.
5. A character who cross-dresses…
Movies where a (cisgender*) character makes or furthers an effort to be perceived as their opposite sex, and is believed to be by at least one other person. Intentional gender disguise will be a common occurrence in these films, but it is not required to be on purpose, nor to have any specific motive behind it.
2. The disguised character must either be credited with a name, or have spoken lines.
3. The character must not be, nor discover themselves to be transgender. This excludes films like Boys Don't Cry, The Danish Girl, No Bikini, etc.
4. Drag queens/kings are not included unless they meet the criteria of rules 1 & 2, without violating rule 3.
5. A character who cross-dresses does not automatically qualify unless they are at one point believed to be what they are presenting as, by sight or sound.
6. A character who makes no attempt at disguise but is nonetheless mistaken for the wrong sex does not automatically qualify unless they actively further this impression, or otherwise benefit from it.
7. Movies like Norbit, Jack & Jill, Hairspray, The Year of Living Dangerously, Madea, etc. are excluded because the characters in-universe are canonically one sex, even though they are played by actors of the opposite sex.
8. Films are to be sorted by newest first.
9. Please be respectful to real people over fictional characters, and feel free to ask me if you're unsure whether a film should be added.
*For the purposes of film, the character is assumed to be cisgender unless if through their experience the character realizes earnest desires/feelings to adopt most aspects of their disguise identity on a permanent basis, and/or the new gender identity itself, for nothing but internal motivations. We should consider the predominant gender ideology of the film's time, its culture of origin, or the creators' likely intent when classifying a character, and not merely rely on contemporary western understandings of these concepts. It should be noted that most films on this list will not be about exploring one's personal gender identity. Many times, cross-dressing or even certain surgeries in a film are not necessarily meant to reflect or explore queer identity, nor even necessarily to explore gender roles, but is done merely in service of a story.
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Applicable movies not yet in Letterboxd:
A Girl Called Mahmud (1975)
The Butchers (2020)
