# Rule 63
**Rule 63** is an internet adage stating that for every fictional character, there exists an opposite-gender counterpart: for every male character there is a female version, and for every female character there is a male version. It is a notable tenet of the anonymously written Rules of the Internet, alongside Rules 1 & 2 and [Rule 34](https://www.edgepedia.org/rule-34), and it is most often used to tag gender-swapped fan art, fan fiction, and cosplay as "Rule 63" or "R63"[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Statement | "For every given male character, there is a female version of that character. For every given female character, there is a male version of that character"[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63) |
| Type | An axiom in the Rules of the Internet; meme status "Confirmed", year 2007[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63) |
| Origin | Introduced in an expanded edition of Anonymous' Rules of the Internet, most likely published in the summer of 2007[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63) |
| First dictionary entry | Urban Dictionary entry submitted by user InternetHateMachine on August 8, 2007[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63) |
| Fan-art spread | Earliest tagged DeviantArt instance December 12, 2009; a dedicated imageboard site launched in late 2009 held over 19,968 pictures as of April 26, 2011[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63) |
| Popular subjects | Axis Powers Hetalia, Team Fortress 2, and Nintendo characters, by tag counts on the dedicated imageboard[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63) |
| Related rules | Rule 34 ("There is porn of it; no exception.") and Rule 35 ("If no porn is found at the moment, it will be made.")[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63) |
## Origin
Rule 63 belongs to the Rules of the Internet, an unofficial, often humorous list governing internet conduct first compiled on online forums in 2007[2](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/rule-63). An early draft of the list circulated on Internet Relay Chat and was posted to [Encyclopedia Dramatica](https://www.edgepedia.org/encyclopedia-dramatica) in 2006; the rules surfaced on 4chan on February 15, 2007, where they were overhauled and rewritten[3](https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-rules-of-the-internet-reflect-an-online-wild-west-thats-fading-away/). Rule 63 appeared in an expanded edition of the list, most likely published in the summer of 2007 based on Google Insights data[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63).
The list varies across online communities, and because no canonical version exists, the rules fluctuate in number and the validity of each rule remains debatable[2](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/rule-63) • [4](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rules-of-the-internet). According to [Dictionary.com](https://www.edgepedia.org/dictionary-com), even though the rule's precise wording may date to 2007, nothing indicates that Rule 63 functioned as a "rule" prior to the list's compilation[2](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/rule-63). Despite the instability, Rule 34 and Rule 63 are among the few entries agreed upon across internet communities[4](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rules-of-the-internet).
## Spread through fan communities
The adage moved quickly from imageboards into fandom practice. On [DeviantArt](https://www.edgepedia.org/deviantart), the phenomenon has been present since 2009, with many artworks tagged with the rule; the earliest known instance was submitted by the user Xxescaped-vulpinexX on December 12, 2009[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63) • [5](https://digitalcultures.net/slang/internet-culture/rule-63/). In late 2009 a Danbooru-style imageboard site dedicated to Rule 63 launched; by April 26, 2011 it held over 19,968 pictures, more than 264 pages of images, with Hetalia, Team Fortress 2, and Nintendo characters as the most tagged subjects[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63).
Know Your Meme records that Rule 63's search interest is dwarfed by Rule 34, the most successful of the "Internet Rules", though the rule has shown fairly consistent growth[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63). It is nonetheless widely recognized across the web, from 4chan to Reddit, Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook[5](https://digitalcultures.net/slang/internet-culture/rule-63/). Comic conventions host thousands of Rule 63 cosplays every year, with fans dressing as opposite-gender versions of their preferred characters regardless of their own gender[5](https://digitalcultures.net/slang/internet-culture/rule-63/).
## What counts as Rule 63
The rule applies to fictional characters rather than real people, though gender-swapped art of real people does exist[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63). Canonical instances of a gender-bent character also do not count as Rule 63, whether the alternate-gender version is the actual character or the gender counterpart of a character[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63). Dictionary.com gives the [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics) character [Supergirl](https://www.edgepedia.org/supergirl), a female counterpart to Superman, as an example of an officially sanctioned version of the idea rather than a fan creation[2](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/rule-63).
**The idea predates the name.** She-Hulk, aka Jennifer Walters, was created by Marvel's Stan Lee and John Buscema in 1980 following the success of the live-action series The Incredible Hulk; Marvel, concerned that the TV station might spin off its own female version of the Hulk, created the character to ensure it would own the rights[2](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/rule-63). When [Battlestar Galactica](https://www.edgepedia.org/battlestar-galactica) rebooted in 2004, the character of Starbuck went from a cigar-smoking alpha male to a cigar-smoking alpha female played by [Katee Sackhoff](https://www.edgepedia.org/katee-sackhoff), and this version became one of the show's most popular characters[2](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/rule-63). The animated series Futurama featured the idea in its season 7 premiere, in which a creature switches the entire cast's genders; Salon.com reported on the episode on June 23, 2011[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63).
## Motivations and use
Creators gender-swap characters for different reasons. Sometimes the rule is invoked humorously or playfully; other times it makes a social or political point, casting women as traditionally male characters to call out the heavily male-dominated nature of many popular franchises, or to show that female characters are as viable as male ones. The rule can also be evoked more generally as a statement about the fluidity of gender identity[2](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/rule-63).
In fan art communities, altering a character's gender is itself called "Rule 63", referring to the Rules of the Internet list, a semi-humorous, semi-serious set of rules; the practice encapsulates a playful attitude toward the gender binary[6](https://tidsskrift.dk/tcp/article/download/147265/190430/323549).
**Scholarly critique.** A 2018 chapter by Christopher McGunnigle, "Rule 63: Genderswapping in Female Superhero Cosplay" in *Gender and the Superhero Narrative*, argues that genderswapped characters are rarely a canonical part of a company's intellectual property but rather a concoction of fan creativity, and that variations in the rule's wording as it spread showed a bias in the adage's primacy of gender: the male character and his female counterpart are presented as the rule, while female-to-male swapping is an often-missing corollary. The chapter traces this gendered hegemony through fan culture generally and investigates cosplay through ethnography[7](https://academic.oup.com/mississippi-scholarship-online/book/31086/chapter-abstract/264092801).
## Relation to the other rules
Know Your Meme attributes the rule's existence to similar themes explored by neighboring entries such as Rule 28 ("Always question a person's gender, just in case it's really a man."), Rule 34, and Rule 35[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63). Among meme examples, Know Your Meme's explainer cites gender-swapped takes on [Spider-Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/spider-man) with female versions such as [Madame Web](https://www.edgepedia.org/madame-web), and the internet meme characters Derp and his female counterpart Derpina[8](https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-rule-63-of-the-internet-the-internet-adage-about-gender-bent-fan-art-explained).
## References
1. [Rule 63, Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rule-63)
2. [Rule 63, Dictionary.com Slang Dictionary](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/rule-63)
3. [The 'Rules of the Internet' Reflect an Online Wild West That's Fading Away, Vice](https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-rules-of-the-internet-reflect-an-online-wild-west-thats-fading-away/)
4. [Rules of the Internet, Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rules-of-the-internet)
5. [Rule 63: Meaning, Origin, Usage, Digital Cultures](https://digitalcultures.net/slang/internet-culture/rule-63/)
6. [Conjunctions: Transdisciplinary Journal of Cultural Participation](https://tidsskrift.dk/tcp/article/download/147265/190430/323549)
7. [Christopher McGunnigle, "Rule 63: Genderswapping in Female Superhero Cosplay," in *Gender and the Superhero Narrative*, University Press of Mississippi, 2018](https://academic.oup.com/mississippi-scholarship-online/book/31086/chapter-abstract/264092801)
8. [What Is 'Rule 63' Of The Internet? Explained, Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-rule-63-of-the-internet-the-internet-adage-about-gender-bent-fan-art-explained)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Online creators and internet personalities*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license