Genderswap

Genderswap is a fanfiction trope in which the gender of one or more characters is flipped - due to the prevelance of major female characters in Daria, this tends to be female characters swapped to male.

This has become extremely common in Daria fandom, with every single character (yes even Upchuck) swapped at some time or another. This can be for comedy, drama, or as a shorthand for it being an alternate universe.

Examples of the trope are:

• Darren's Estimation by Bacner, possibly the first one of these ever done. Darren Morgendorffer is a far less ethical figure and up for hire, who'd used Beavis and Butt-head as paid flunkies.

• Darius by TAG: a dark drama fic in which Daria being born male causes Jake to become an abusive parent, reflecting what happened with him, and Darius is struggling to be a good man.

• John Lane by Richard Lobinske: a running serial where the events of the show are increasingly altered due to Jane being a John, starting with a seemingly minor change in Daria's attitude during "The Daria Diaries".

• Finn Morgendorffer by HolyGrail2007: Melodramatic serial where a male Quinn is still as popular and mercenary as in canon, but now a 'ladies man' jock - with a far more toxic relationship with Daria.

• Not So Different by J-D: A realist serial about a male Daria, nicknamed 'Sonny', and the minor differences that build up from the genderswap, as well as his relationship with Tom.

Trivia

In 2016, Paste Magazine revealed the first genderswap writer was Glenn Eichler himself as Quinn was replacement for a brother character!