Bifauxnen, a portmanteau of the French faux (false) and the Japanese bishōnen (beautiful boy), is a term used amongst American anime and manga fandom to refer to an androgynous female character who resembles a handsome young boy, especially in shōjo and josei stories. They feature predominantly in shōjo works, and are one of the popular fetishes of certain Japanese fangirls, especially in fandom. Bifauxnen are also sometimes popular with male fandom because they are typically depicted as strong, independantly-minded women. A very rough Western equivalent to the designation may be found in the lesbian slang 'glam butch', particular because most are predominantly bisexual or homosexual themselves. Thus they are classically aggressors in relationships due to greater personal confidence, aggressive behavior, or simply being older than their typically cute bishōjo counterparts.

Bifauxnen usually embody a fetishized version of various stereotypical lesbian traits, such as a 'rough' or masculine manner of speech (frank opinions, and use of the pronouns boku and ore). Most are crossdressers; crisp, well-kept suits and uniforms are common, especially the classical Victorian type in older stories which emulate the male dandy. These outfits sometimes obscure their sex, although the reasons may differ. Some characters have simple fashion preferences, are emulating idol figures, or are deliberately in disguise.

Although some shōnen and seinen with ensemble casts have a designated tomboy whose behavior is more roughnecked than the others' or seems outright bisexual, the use of bifauxnen is much rarer compared to moé style characters. However, sometimes boyish women are used because writers wish to keep a cast strictly female to maximize marketablility and these characters can assume traditionally 'male' roles when the story requires it.

Shōnen style bifauxnen typically swing between sterotyped gender behavior, or wear masculine style clothing over idealized female physiques. Many have also rejected traditional femininity due to issues with men in their personal life or because they find it limiting. Many dislike men on a general level, although this may not extend to their sexuality or relationships with individual friends.

Origin of term

Typically women are referred to in animanga fandom as bijin (lit. beautiful person but in practice beautiful woman) if they are past their teens or bishōjo if they are younger. These terms are connected with traditional concepts of distinctly feminine beauty. Bokukko is a term popularized in dating sims, but this usually only refers to token tomboy. Bifauxnen are contrasted with the other popular yuri archetype, the onee-sama (classically feminine, beautiful, intelligent, and graceful). The latter has become more well known in recent years, and bifauxnen are used less extensively in shōjo, although Utena Tenjou has become a recent poster child for the type.

Bifauxnen was created partly from the lack of a consistently positive word for a sterotypically 'masculine-acting' female character. For example, butch is highly loaded slang, especially outside the LGBT community since it is still generally used as an insult. By contrast, shōjo manga and anime traditionally portrays both sexes as equally beautiful; describing a character having the traits of another sex is often a compliment. Bifauxnen are often popular even among straight characters because they embody many attractive traits found in males but have a degree of personal understanding of other women.

In the past, bifauxnen were generally depicted as role models or unencumbered secondary characters to the main cast, who were generally written as average girls the audience identified with. They are less common now, and thus usually easy to identify.

The term was first coined and used on the now defunct website known as The Yaoi Files in the year 2000.

Other examples

Utena Tenjou (Revolutionary Girl Utena)

Haruka Tenoh (Sailor Moon)

Forte Stollen (Galaxy Angel)

Lucrezia Noin (Gundam Wing)

Lady Une (Gundam Wing)

Tsukikage Ran

Some fans feel bishie succinctly includes bifauxnen and bishonen, but it is still mostly used (by fangirls) to refer to male characters. Bishie has also been used, tongue-in-cheek, to refer to female characters who are not really androgynous, but display stereotyped characteristics of melodramatic shōjo-style bishōnen. These include moody behavior, mysterious pasts, and excessive angst.

The hypothetical equivalent bifauxjo is likely not used because they are so common in anime and manga and they usually are just called bishōnen, although okama (a stereotype of a young, crossdressing, usually gay male) has sometimes been used for such characters.

==See also==

Transgender

Drag king

Takarazuka Revue

oneesama, an opposite aesthetic

Genderfuck