<s>
A	O
gender	B-Protocol
changer	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
hardware	O
device	O
placed	O
between	O
two	O
cable	O
connectors	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
type	O
and	O
gender	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
example	O
is	O
a	O
cable	O
connector	B-Protocol
shell	O
with	O
either	O
two	O
female	O
or	O
two	O
male	O
connectors	O
on	O
it	O
(	O
male-to-male	O
or	O
female-to-female	O
)	O
,	O
used	O
to	O
correct	O
the	O
mismatches	O
that	O
result	O
when	O
interconnecting	O
two	O
devices	O
or	O
cables	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
gender	O
of	O
connector	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gender	B-Protocol
changers	I-Protocol
are	O
used	O
for	O
RS-232C	O
ports	O
in	O
either	O
the	O
original	O
DB-25	B-Protocol
or	O
the	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
AT	I-Operating_System
DE-9	B-Protocol
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
also	O
used	O
when	O
extending	O
any	O
sort	O
of	O
cable	O
that	O
normally	O
has	O
plugs	B-Protocol
on	O
both	O
ends	O
(	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
socket	O
on	O
one	O
and	O
plug	O
on	O
the	O
other	O
)	O
,	O
however	O
in	O
this	O
case	O
it	O
is	O
usually	O
called	O
just	O
an	O
"	O
extender	O
"	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
with	O
F	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
,	O
BNC	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
various	O
RJ	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
used	O
in	O
telephony	O
and	O
computer	B-Architecture
networking	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gender	B-Protocol
changers	I-Protocol
are	O
used	O
in	O
professional	O
audio	O
to	O
adapt	O
XLR	B-Device
connectors	I-Device
,	O
RCA	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
,	O
Speakon	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
and	O
TRS	B-Device
phone	I-Device
connectors	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
null	O
modem	O
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Architecture
communications	I-Architecture
adapter	O
which	O
may	O
appear	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
gender	B-Protocol
changer	I-Protocol
,	O
but	O
it	O
reroutes	O
the	O
wiring	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
transmit	O
"	O
pair	O
from	O
each	O
side	O
is	O
routed	O
into	O
the	O
"	O
receive	O
"	O
pair	O
of	O
the	O
other	O
side	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
manner	O
of	O
a	O
crossover	B-Protocol
cable	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
small	O
hardware	O
can	O
be	O
considered	O
gender	B-Protocol
changers	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
kinds	O
of	O
gender	B-Protocol
changers	I-Protocol
are	O
available	O
for	O
coaxial	O
cable	O
,	O
Ethernet	O
cabling	O
or	O
any	O
other	O
type	O
of	O
modern	O
data	O
or	O
audiovisual	O
cables	O
.	O
</s>
