Harry Benshoff and Sean Griffin write that animation has always 'hint at the performative nature of gender' such as when Bugs Bunny puts on a wig and a dress, he is a rabbit in drag as a human male who is in drag as a female. This includes some characters listed on the list of animated series with LGBTQ characters page, drag queens, drag kings, tomboys, janegirls and others who cross-dress.Ĭross-dressing generally runs counter to established gender norms and can be seen as a form of transgender behavior but it doesn't always indicate such an identity, even though popular media often 'lump cross-dressing and homosexuality together.' There is also the phenomenon of 'situational cross-dressing' where heterosexual characters cross-dress as a plot device or 'other non-gender-expressive reasons,' especially superheroes and supervillains.
This is a list of characters who cross-dress, whether LGBTQ+ or not, in animated series.
Bugs Bunny, an early example of a cross-dressing character, appeared in ladies garb or cross-dressed in at least 40 cartoons.
