A
gender changer is a hardware device placed between two cable
connectors of the same type and "gender" (end connector).
An example is a cable connector shell with either two male or two female connectors on it, used to correct the mismatches that result when an engineer overlooked the distinction in the
RS-232C specification between
DTE and
DCE.
Used esp. for RS-232C parts in either the original DB25 or the IBM PC's DB9 format.
Also called `gender bender', `gender blender', `gender mender', `sex changer', and even `
homosexuality adapter;'
however, there appears to be some confusion as to whether a `male homosexual adapter' has pins on both sides (is doubly male) or sockets on both sides (connects two males).
Not to be confused with: sex change: see Sexual reassignment surgery
References: