In everything there are certain stereotypes that get played upon constantly whether people intend to or not. Everybody knows that not everyone fits them, but when we think of whatever subject they apply to, they immediately spring to mind. 'Baseball players do steroids,' 'the good guy always wins,' these are just a couple of the more common stereotypes and tropes that people can easily identify from popular culture.
Here's my question: what do you consider to be the stereotypes of TG fiction? There's a ton of them, so they should be easy to list. Bonus points for catchy names for them.
-THE ONE MINUTE MAKEUP JOB-
Our reluctant hero is more than surprised to find that, with the simple addition of a touch of mascara and lip gloss, voila! In his place now stands a gorgeous female.
As seen in: The Missing McGuffin (Jan S.)- a quick dash of makeup and some magic markers, combined with a bit of spare clothing, is all that is needed for Jordan Hailey to become the beautiful and popular Hailey Jordan.
-HE'S JUST MY SIZE-
No matter where a character lives or what kind of financial situation they may be in, they will ALWAYS have a female friend who just happens to have an entire wardrobe available that fits them- and it's not even out of date!
As seen in: Tuck (Ellen Hayes)- jumping from one girlfriend to another, Eugene rarely has had no choice but to purchase a piece of clothing- most everything can be found in the closet of a friend.
-GEEK TO CHIC(K)-
Climbing from the lowest social ranks to the upper crust of any group is as easy as wearing your sister's/girlfriend's/female room mate's clothes!
As seen in: The Princess and the Plague (Anistasia Alread)- Eric's life was horrible last school year, but that's all changed now- Erika has taken his place, and has quickly become not only a member of the glee squad, but the target of affection of one of the school's most popular jocks to boot!
(those below contributed by Edeyn:)
-THE COUSIN THAT CAME FROM OUT OF TOWN-
No matter how close to the family they may be, no matter how great the resemblance, the answer to any line of inquiry is obvious- 'we're cousins, and I'm visiting from out of town.' Never mind you're never seen together- you just don't get along, right?
As seen in: I Can't go Home Like This! (C. Sprite)- Using a variation on the 'cousin...' story, Cary's disappearance, to be replaced by Crystal, is that they are twin brother and sister split by their parents, now switching custody. How convenient!
-THREE INCH HEELS ARE LOW-
No practice needed! Just slip them on, wiggle your hips, and these handy dandy good-for-everything shoes make any man a woman in seconds! This is, of course, the lowest height heels come in, as evidenced by the fact that no one ever wears anything smaller.
As seen in: And That's the Way it Is (Sandra D.)- Who need sneakers for school when you can wear heels all the time? Never mind that the school has a casual dress code, for a high school journalist the 'professional' look is where it's at.
There are a ton more than this, so add any that you think of!
Note: Using these doesn't mean a story is bad, and a lot of these can be pretty useful as plot devices and such. Even I use some of them constantly in my own stories. Transgender fiction (in all it's flavors) is a niche market, and there are a few themes that are of course going to be repeated- they kind of have to be, considering the limitations of the genre. However, that doesn't mean it can't be fun to have some fun with just how much some of them are used.
Melanie E.
(PS- For the first three examples I did, I considered just repeatedly using my story 'Oh, Cheers' as the demonstration. It fits them all fairly well.)
Comments
Trop de tropes
My own work-in-progress (excruciatingly slow progress these days, but progress nonetheless) is rife with TG tropes; in fact one of my plans when I started writing Leeway was to skewer, "lampshade," subvert, or otherwise play with as many genre clichés as I could. Of course the story sort of took on a life of its own and that became a secondary concern at best, and I'm sure I've used plenty of TG (and other) tropes "straight up" just because they seem (to me) to work for the story.
Let's see--in just the first couple of chapters I can think of "Talked Into Playing A Girl On Stage" with the "Doesn't Actually Need Much Convincing (But Pretends To)" subtrope; a bit of "You Weren't Hiding It As Well As You Thought" (first subverted, then played straight); twists on "Having Trouble Passing As Male," "Female Guide to the Secrets of Girlhood," and "Just My Size;" "Older Sister With Clothes To Try On" (subverted), "Tricked Into/Accidental Feminine Haircut," "Running Into Someone Who Knows You The Other Way," "New Town, Clean Slate," and the list goes on and on... in fact I'd be kind of hard-pressed to come up with something in Leeway that isn't a trope of some kind. I guess as a child of the TV generation, before we decided it was "bad for you" to watch five, six, or more hours of TV a day, every day, I was weaned on tropes and think in terms of them.
Interestinng thing is...
that if you ask around, many (okay some) of us might well be able to "fit" some of the stereotypes in RL - (which helps make the stereotypes almost believable in some of the stories)...
I recognized a few up there...
JUST MY SIZE - My wife & I are very close (not just Size Wise!) and HAVE shared various things over the years (& she said that as I approach transition, she expects me to be raiding her side of the closet on a regular basis).
COUSIN FROM OUT OF TOWN - Switching back & forth - nah, but looking at the VirtualFFS pics of me - and comparing the results - I could easily be one of my cousins... (Well - more their mom - 30-40 years ago...) This IS reasuring! And surprising as H*LL.
THREE INCH HEELS - As my wife can attest - three inches was NO Problem (24 years ago) when I dressed up for Halloween. Walking was easy. But walking like a lady required a little work. I was taking too big a step... Military training tends to "fix" one's pace a bit. LOL Now, I have NO INTENTION of going anywhere near HIGHER heels any time soon!!!! I'll leave the 4 inchers to my older daughter.
But, to go with the direction of your blog, a stereotype I've seen (or used).
BAD BOY BECOMES GOOD GIRL - where either just dressing, or maybe a little training too, turns a trouble making boy into a pleasant young lady.
THE CLOTHING FITS BETTER - As a reason to start dressing... While it can be true to some extent (women's shoes tend to have a narrower heel than the men's shoes of the same size) it's rarely generally true. (Yes, I used this with Hidden Gifts. I admit it!)
SINGLE EVENT FIXES - Dressing for the first (or second time) suddenly makes everything clear. This is how you were MEANT to be.
As you said, there are oddles of them.
Annette
Not stereotypes...
...as such, but tropes. (Yes, the terms are >almost< identical in meaning. They are very different in implicature, which makes all the difference, to paraphrase Frost.) In either case, there is no reason that an extreme case cannot be found for many of the things we like to write and read about, both on sites like this, and elsewhere. The ones mentioned so far aren't the sillier tropes, really. They are >exceptionally< unlikely, but >could< occur. That's part of why they are as common and as effective as they are.
Looked at another way, >ALL< storytelling is a massive conceit, a creation of a situation that happens >just so<. The use of additional, typical-to-a-thematic-genre conceits like any of those mentioned above is minimal by comparison, >IF< used appropriately to the piece: subtly for a story told straight, exaggeratedly for one told for laughs. Indeed, one could say that some such conceits would >have< to form, given human nature, to facilitate storytelling and group identification.
*is happy to have some of these, in particular, in favorite stories.* I might never experience any of them in my own real life, but it is relieving to think that someone, somewhere >might<. Including the "single event fixes" one. :-S *also, yes, likes magical transformation stories and the like, for similar-but-different reasons.* :-)
-Liz
Successor to the LToC
Formerly known as "momonoimoto"
Indeed...
But it's not necessarily true that tropes are stereotypes, and a trope can easily become a permanent "stereotype" (perhaps archetype would be a better word) if it reflects some process in the human brain to which it serves as a *useful* metaphor.
If we look at many of these tropes, we can see common themes of social acceptance, overcoming difficulty or life circumstances, the assistance or timely intervention of wise friends or authority figures, that feature broadly in many novels, not just genre fiction as seen in these pages.
What does it mean that the protagonist "happens" to be the "same size" as person X, whose clothes have been abandoned?
The most obvious explanation, usually mentioned explicitly in the story, another trope by the way, is that the protagonist is perfectly able to do what many of the readers wish to do, transform so invisibly as to be perfect.
This is just a variation on many tropes in literature, protagonists who "just happen" to know how to fly a helicopter, hack into computers with astonishing skill, perform death-defying leaps from the tops of buildings without harm, or are academically-qualified to tutor young children in Latin, having such inner beauty and depth of character that the handsome but gruff widower falls impossibly in love with a woman far below his social stratum.
How much fun would Batman be if we saw him break an arm or a leg in every movie? How many would read Jane Eyre if she were a stupid young woman who had trouble with her gutter education and speech?
Puddin'
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Just a fun twist...
...on what you said:
If it were the Val Kilmer Batman, it might have improved the quality. (>.<)
If Jane Eyre had trouble with her gutter education and speech, she might have been named Eliza Doolittle. . m(_ _)m
(^__^)
-Liz
Successor to the LToC
Formerly known as "momonoimoto"
Another...
INSTANT IDENTICAL TWIN
Not only are our hero and his sister the same size (puberty notwithstanding), but properly wigged/styled and dressed, he's a dead ringer for her, available to take her place on dates, babysitting assignments, school exams, even modeling sessions and stage/music performances. (Or in the case of a story called Josie in a children's magazine circa 1960, ready for the ten-year old heroine, after demanding a crewcut, to replace her seriously-ill brother at his baseball game and hit the game-winning home run.)
As seen in, among others: Hebe Dotson's Mistletoe Mishap, Julie O's Going Home, and William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. (Special mention to Laurie S's (or L Satori's) High School Confidential for an unusual use of the device.)
Eric
Proceeding With Caution
The temptation to post a comment here has been tempered by the royal slap down I was administered last time I opened my mouth.
Nancy Cole
"You may be what you resolve to be."
T.J. Jackson
:-( on the...
slapdown. But do feel free to "expand" the comment.
I could say "pay no attention to the adverse comments" that conceivably could be generated, but I know that's harder to do than to say.
Annette
Give it to them
RAMI
Nancy, your current stories are about heros and heroines who go forward as they deem necessary despite the danger. Post a comment. I know you can have strong opinions, but always state them in a "lady like :-)" constructive manner.
So, basically ignore the idiots (because that is what they are) who attack you and try and slap you down.
RAMI
RAMI
Girl's Schools, Loving Aunts, Witches and girl's clubs.
RAMI
Of course there are thousands, no hundreds, maybe a dozen, even one school that exists of any kind, that caters solely (or even partially) to boys who either want to be girls, or who have mother's (generally) that so lovingly (or at times harshly) help the transition from boy to girl.
Of course everyone has a (select the adjective or adjectives of choice where they apply) special/spinster/gorgeous/feminist/
/domme/lesbian/wealthy aunt, who is close to the family/estranged from the family, who has nothing else to do in her life but take in a nephew for the summer/school break/until he graduates high school to raise because his parents have died/gone on special assignment with the CIA/or are fed up with their son. That aunt of course wants to feminize her nephew/give in to his hidden/expressed desires. She then tells every one she knows that this is her niece (despite people knowing she only has a nephew) and they then live happily ever after in either a normal relationship or in some extreme stories as incestuous lovers.
We all know that witches (not the kind who write stories on this site ;-)) abound through out the world and either get their enjoyment out of turning, loving/hated friends/spouses/children/mere acquaintances into beautiful/bimbo women.
Then we all know that when 3 or more young/teenage/college/married women/girls get together, the first thing they plot/are forced to do and then carry out is to lovingly/harshly openly/covertly entice/kidnap some boy/man acquaintance who is a child/fellow student/friend/spouse of one of the conspirators and lovingly/
forcibly take that person and dress him as a girl or woman/force him to take hormones/castrate him. After doing so they take the New woman shopping/to the prom and then force the former male to go on a date or have sex with the captain of the football team/a former friend.
I will not even discuss sci-fi or magic.
RAMI
RAMI
Don't forget the obligatory shopping trip
that describes every one of the dozens of new items that the mother/aunt/protagonist pays for with their own/spouses credit card/wallet.
Or the breast forms that are such a perfect match right out of the box where they've been waiting, that there is no color mismatch and the seam disappears.
It’s not given to anyone to have no regrets; only to decide, through the choices we make, which regrets we’ll have,
David Weber – In Fury Born
Holly
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.
Holly
Reluctant TG
Don't forget the 'Reluctant TG' who is just shy of transitioning fully but is too afraid to until someone/something pushes them into it (like Cathy from Easy As Falling Off A Bike).
Is it strange that one of these fits me in RL (I've been walking on my toes since I was old enough to manage it, so heels were no problem for me), yet I seem to have avoided all of them in my story without trying to?
Saless
P.S. Actually, my own example matches me, too, only it was not being able to pass as a guy that pushed me into it (Which is another stereotype/trope as someone else already pointed out).
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Just plain lazy
- ORPHANS'R'US -
When I see a story which starts with " was an orphan" or a variant thereof, I know to read no further. :-(
Daedalus
ORPHANS'R'US
I dunno, Daedalus.... Bruce Wayne was an orphan, and his story managed a unique take on tights and black eyeliner.
;-)
Michelle
...and evocative...
Bruce Wayne overcomes his early trauma to become a powerful man throgh pure strength of will and character, speaking directly to the psyche of every young boy or man who feels put upon by circumstance or bullied by more powerful people around him. Like the Charles Atlas advertisements in the same magazines which carried the stories, the rowdy men who kicked sand in the face of the 98-pound weakling aren't laughing now.
Puddin'
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Who needs friends?
The friend that's the same size thing has always seemed sleazy, and unnecessary, to me. Everyone knows that mothers never, never throw out any of their daughter's clothes (though they keep the boys' closets half empty), so all TGs and TVs have years and years worth of lightly used, still stylish clothing just sitting in their attics. And if they have left home, they only need to move to a new apartment, and there will be a huge wardrobe, of various sizes, that was abandoned by a prior tenant (no one keeps their clothes when they move do they?).
But everyone knows that no pair of cousins can ever stand each other, so it surprises no one that they aren't ever seen together (even if they do share friends). Unless, of course, the cousins are very best friends and exactly the same size.
Actually...
Many mothers do.
I have many of my daughter's cutest outfits and toys tucked away in storage, because I couldn't bear to throw or give them away.
Never underestimate the power of sentimentality, especially if one is not particularly sentimental and finds it difficult to understand the impluse to treasure such things.
Puddin'
-----------------
These things by women saved
are all we have of them
or of those dear to them
these ribboned letters, snapshots
faithfully glued for years
onto the scrapbook page.
My heart is moved by all I cannot save:
so much has been destroyed
I have to cast my lot with those
who age after age, perversely,
with no extraordinary power,
reconstitute the world.
--- Adrienne Rich, The Dream of a Common Language, Natural History
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
My mother kept everything,
My mother kept everything, and still has most of it from ten moves and forty odd years of me and my three sisters. All of us are grown with families of our own, and that is what she wanted, because I know my nephew is wearing recycled shorts from when I was 8.
Packrat. No other word.
----
May the Stars Light Your Path
Maid Joy
http://joyphillip.tglibrary.com/
Pointing fingers
I concede the discussion of stereotype characters and situations in TG stories has some relevance, even if it's no different from any branch of genre fiction. But when people start giving examples from somebody else's stories, I think it crosses the line. Feel free to use your own stories to point out perceived flaws, but it is just rude to be pointing your finger at someone else's work.
My two cents.
They know they can survive
Were fingers being pointed? I do not think so.
RAMI
Perhaps you are correct that Rasufelle should have asked for permission before using another author's story in this comment. But on the other hand, literary criticism almost always discusses other author's work. Perhaps for the initial comment in this thread permission was sort and granted.
However, I do not think that Rasufelle’s comment was pointing out flaws, e.g. criticizing the story, or even criticizing the use of the “Tropeâ€. I think Rasufelle was just listing a T.G elements/tropes and then pointing out a story that used that element. In fact since the stories that were pointed out are popular ones, there inclusion was probably a compliment and not an attack.
I think in the following comments that listed a specific trope and then a story that used that element, the author of the comment was just selecting a story that they probably enjoyed and stood out in their mind.
You are also correct that within all literature there are only a limited number of themes and sub-themes.
RAMI
RAMI
I still do
I think it is difficult not to perceive a certain sarcasm from some of the comments. Mind you, I'm not using "trope", it is not a word I use in my daily vocabulary. I can say I would have been hurt if a story I had written was singled out in this, because it certainly implies a criticism of the use of the discussed stereotypes. There is one comment that says if I see (X) I quit reading. I'm not sure how you spin that into anything other than a criticism, I certainly interpreted it that way.
Anyway, I did say it was my opinion, so have at your discussion. I'm just trying to point out that there is a likelihood that at least one author is going to come away with bad feelings when it is all said and done.
Again, my two cents.
They know they can survive
Criticism vs discussion
It's good to point out that someone might be offended and that care should be taken.
The few criticisms of trope use here in this discussion don't really mention specific stories.
Trope is sort of a technical term but authors really need to be aware of the concept and discussion of it serves many useful purposes. Yes, someone can be offended if their story is used as an example but that kind of offense is not the sort that should be avoided at the cost of discussing the tools of writing.
Discussion of tropes tends to make writers feel a bit giddy. It's weird to take stories apart and see what they are made of. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
My examples
The example stories I used for the tropes above are, in fact, some of my FAVORITE stories right now. I have read every one of them at least three times, and commented at least once on each in a positive way to keep the authors bringing more (though admittedly I think my last comment on Anistasia's story was back in the Camp Kumoni days.)
If one of the authors I mentioned are offended by their inclusion, all they need do is ask to be removed, though I did try to pick stories in which either the author was obviously playing with the ideas intentionally for humorous effect or the story is exceptional enough to overcome/make good use of the trope mentioned.
I did mention as well that my own work uses these tropes repeatedly too, so it's not like I'm trying to be unfair. Just look at 'Oh, Cheers' for an example of most of the tropes I could think of to fit into one story, including 'THE NEWEST SQUAD MEMBER' and 'THE SOMEWHAT BENIGN YET CONVENIENT HORMONE DEFICIENCY'.
Fun with tropes
Flaws? This is about tropes, which are elements and situations that are re-usable in genre fiction because readers are expecting them. A poorly used trope can become a stereotype but they are not the same thing and even stereotypes have their uses in genre fiction.
The thing to do about tropes is to be aware of them and to use them. Genre fiction is about expectation, the reader has certain things they want the story to do for them and tropes are the mechanical part of telling a genre story -- they use a shorthand the reader is familiar with to tell part of the story so the writer can concentrate on the more original parts.
Tropes can be inverted, they can be lampshaded, they can be subverted, they can be used as decoys or distraction, and all of that because any reader of genre fiction is familiar with many of them. It's useful for writers to know and understand the tropes of their genre so they can make proper use of them.
A properly used trope is a stepping stone, not a crutch. But even in good writing, noticing the tropes can have humor value.
An inverted trope is one in which the main character roles of the trope are swapped around. A lot of TG tropes are actually inverted tropes from other genres. Femdom generally depends on several inverted romance genre tropes.
A lampshaded trope is one in which the characters are aware of the trope and comment on it. Like a character commenting that it's lucky he has an identical twin sister, recently inherited a million dollars and studied ballet as part of a cultural exchange with Russia.
A subverted trope is one in which the roles are cast correctly but the outcome is inverted. This is so common in TG fiction that the subversions sometimes become tropes that can be subverted themselves, or even inverted, subverted and re-subverted. Jack dresses as a girl to get close to Mary, only to have Dan fall in love with him and Mary becomes jealous of Dan because she actually likes Jack better as Jill so she dresses up as George to win Jill back from Dan except now Betty falls in love with George and Betty's boyfriend Eric elopes with Dan who is really Helen in disguise. Jill loses her heart to George and agrees to share "him" with Betty and they become a rock trio.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Indeed, the use of "tropes" instead...
of "cliché" implies a level of metacomment that really precludes any serious critical intent.
>>> Trope, noun
>>> any literary or rhetorical device, as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony, that consists in the use of words in other than their literal sense.
Only if these plot points were viewed as cliché could one fairly be accused of any implied criticism, since the author here appears to be looking *behind* the actual set-up to ascertain what these stereotyped situations *mean*.
There's fertile ground there for a world of examination, perhaps a thesis or two, or at least a reasonable paper for a learned journal.
I'd agree that these points are well-used, Shakespeare used a few, and some descend from antiquity, so they obviously connect to some desire on the part of readers and authors to create mutually satisfying stories, but this is true of every genre.
I daresay any one of us would be hardpressed to name any popular novel which completely and utterly failed to meet the expectations of their readers going in, and that's a part of what these "tropes" speak to.
How many readers were *outraged* when Doyle tried to kill Holmes? They were *so* outraged, and boycotted his "serious" works as a consequence of their anger, that Doyle was at last "persuaded" to bring Holmes back to life, and he's living still, as a current Holmes pastiche in these very pages attests.
In every story, writers don't want to become bogged down in needless details which bore their readers; the action continues relentlessly. When Holmes and Watson hare off in a Hansom Cab, are we bothered with the two of them trying to come up with the proper coins, searching through pockets for a bob or two? Does Watson shout out "Where are my damned black socks?" when preparing for a caper? No. The expected background to life is quietly shifted into the background so the story can proceed.
There's a trope in the very absence of these things, that Watson and Holmes are comfortably well-off, that they don't need to be embarrassed about financial arrangements, that the services provided by the estimable Mrs Hudson are impeccable, the perfect "wife" for a pair of bachelors without any of the bother, so they are able to sail far above the petty squabbles and inconveniences of daily life, unless a plot point requires one or the other to be kidnapped, struck into unconsciousness, or shot at to spur the action. And we notice, another trope, that neither are seriously discommoded for any length of time, but rise like Dracula from their infirmity entirely healed, ready for the next adventure.
It's *because* Doyle tried to escape this latter trope, Holmes' invincibility, that people were properly furious. They felt, with good reason, that they'd been cheated.
Cheers,
Puddin'
---------------
Knowledge is power.
Power corrupts.
Study hard.
Be evil.
--- Seen on a tee-shirt
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Erin hurt my brain with the
Erin hurt my brain with the subverted trope example
>>>>>I'm a new soul.I came to this strange world.Hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take.<<<<<
>>>>>I'm a new soul.I came to this strange world.Hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take.<<<<<
One common device ...
... I've noticed is the number of protagonists' parents who are killed either in an air crash or by a drunk driver. It seems often that only male orphans can easily succeed as TG women. There may be something in this, of course. My mother died when I was quite young (4) and I've often wondered if my early 'dressing' was an attempt to recreate a woman I only vaguely remembered.
TG fiction is a narrow field and thinking of new reasons there might be for transitioning (other than straight forward GID) is quite difficult. My favourite reason is the one offered in Rebecca Anderson's 'Wild Horses', which I recommend as often as I decently can :) So far, I haven't come across a similar device but I could be proved wrong and probably will be.
Geoff
What was that last one? Slow down, I only write so fast
Dang it, Rasufelle and all you of the *gang* here giving away my secrets.
These archypes, devices, steriotypes, troups, whatever, can be useful in another way, as someone rightly noted earlier. They can be used to get the readers imagination going one way and then the clever writer throws in a hairpin-turn of a twist on convention. I've tried it both ways and it's fun.
It's how they are used that matters, not that they were used but I think someone mentioned that earlier too.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
This will save us all lots of time...
We can alphabetize all these tropes by name and then assign each a number. The all we need to do is to come up with the name of the protagonist and then list, in order, the numbers for the tropes as they appear in the story. Imagine the time we'll save both writing and reading.
Of course, a typo in the story now gets much more drastic consequences.
- Moni
Didn't see this one
Revenge best served in panties.
The classic "you made fun of me at one time and now I put you in a dress". I read it in C. Sprite's "How I spent my Summer Vacation".
Then there's "Gotcha" where the crossdresser is caught by someone that is just THRILLED to help them become a girl.
Unfortunately if some real scenes were written, there would be a lot of people here who would have massive problems with it. Who really wants to read a story about the crossdressing confused boy who is caught out by those who misunderstand and the boy is beat, then taken to jail to face further humiliation? (It nearly happened to me at one point.) So we write what we wish would happen and try to live out a fantasy.
Just my $0.02 in this matter.
----
May the Stars Light Your Path
Maid Joy
http://joyphillip.tglibrary.com/