Body swap A body swap (also named mind swap or soul swap or brain swap) is a storytelling device seen in a variety of science and supernatural fiction, in which two people (or beings) exchange minds and end up in each other's bodies. In media such as televi ...

s, first popularized in Western anglophone culture by the

personal identity Personal identity is the unique numerical identity of a person over time. Discussions regarding personal identity typically aim to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time can ...

chapter of

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

's ''

Essay Concerning Human Understanding ''An Essay Concerning Human Understanding'' is a work by John Locke concerning the foundation of human knowledge and understanding. It first appeared in 1689 (although dated 1690) with the printed title ''An Essay Concerning Humane Understand ...

'', have been a common storytelling device in fiction media. Novels such as ''

Vice Versa References Additional references * * {{Latin phrases V ca:Locució llatina#V da:Latinske ord og vendinger#V fr:Liste de locutions latines#V id:Daftar frasa Latin#V it:Locuzioni latine#V nl:Lijst van Latijnse spreekwoorden en ui ...

'' (1882) and ''

Freaky Friday ''Freaky Friday'' is a comedic children's novel written by Mary Rodgers, first published by Harper & Row in 1972. It has been adapted for several films, including versions in 1976, 1995, 2003, and 2018, and was reinterpreted as a horror film f ...

'' (1972) have inspired numerous

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

s and retellings, as well as

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

and episodes, many with titles derived from "Freaky Friday". In 2013,

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

held a ''Freaky Freakend'' with seven shows that featured body-swapping episodes. This list features exchanges between two beings, and thus excludes similar phenomena of

body hopping Body hopping is the ability and desire to possess people in quick succession. A body hopper can transfer quickly from one physical body to another physical body with little or no resistance and few conditions on moving on to a new body, and usually ...

spirit possession Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and rel ...

, transmigration, and

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

s, unless the target being's mind is conversely placed in the source's body. It also excludes age transformations that are sometimes reviewed or promoted as body swaps, as in the movies ''

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

'' and '' 17 Again''; identity/role swaps, typically between

clones Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to: Places * Clones, County Fermanagh * Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland Biology * Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...

look-alike A look-alike, double, or doppelgänger is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right, ...

s, or

doppelgänger A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...

s; and characters with

multiple personalities Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

Books

Short stories and operas

Films

Television

Shows with body swaps

The following shows have a body swap as a major storyline or feature a character who has swapped bodies over multiple episodes.

Episodes with body swaps

TV episodes where characters swap bodies. See also graphic novels and manga.

Video games

Graphic novels and manga

Some graphic novels and manga series feature stories that center around a body swap, while others have a story arc or a character that body swaps. These include anime and live-action adaptations if the original storyline was in the manga or comic.

Music

Explanatory notes

References

{{reflist, 25em

External links

"Identity Exchange"
''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...

'', 3rd ed. (online as SFE at sf-encyclopedia.com) – entry by David R. Langford
Body swap Tags IMDb