The Idiom Attic - a collection of hundreds of English idioms, each one explained.
The meaning of "gender bender"
" Gender bender "
Meaning:
A person who adopts a deliberately androgynous appearance, by use of uni-sex make-up, hair-style and clothing. Probably influenced by 'bender' being an earlier slang term for homosexual.
Example:
With his eye-liner and lurex catsuits, David Bowie was the archetype gender bender.