diff --git a/stdlib/2and3/difflib.pyi b/stdlib/2and3/difflib.pyi
index 2727b36f2..a2c3955b4 100644
--- a/stdlib/2and3/difflib.pyi
+++ b/stdlib/2and3/difflib.pyi
@@ -3,10 +3,17 @@
 import sys
 from typing import (
     TypeVar, Callable, Iterable, Iterator, List, NamedTuple, Sequence, Tuple,
-    Generic, Optional, Text, Union
+    Generic, Optional, Text, Union, AnyStr
 )
 
 _T = TypeVar('_T')
+
+if sys.version_info >= (3,):
+    _StrType = Text
+else:
+    # Aliases can't point to type vars, so we need to redeclare AnyStr
+    _StrType = TypeVar('_StrType', str, bytes)
+
 _JunkCallback = Union[Callable[[Text], bool], Callable[[str], bool]]
 
 Match = NamedTuple('Match', [
@@ -37,34 +44,34 @@ def get_close_matches(word: Sequence[_T], possibilities: Iterable[Sequence[_T]],
 
 class Differ:
     def __init__(self, linejunk: _JunkCallback = ..., charjunk: _JunkCallback = ...) -> None: ...
-    def compare(self, a: Sequence[Text], b: Sequence[Text]) -> Iterator[Text]: ...
+    def compare(self, a: Sequence[_StrType], b: Sequence[_StrType]) -> Iterator[_StrType]: ...
 
-def IS_LINE_JUNK(line: Text) -> bool: ...
-def IS_CHARACTER_JUNK(line: Text) -> bool: ...
-def unified_diff(a: Sequence[Text], b: Sequence[Text], fromfile: Text = ...,
-                 tofile: Text = ..., fromfiledate: Text = ..., tofiledate: Text = ...,
-                 n: int = ..., lineterm: Text = ...) -> Iterator[Text]: ...
-def context_diff(a: Sequence[Text], b: Sequence[Text], fromfile: Text=...,
-                 tofile: Text = ..., fromfiledate: Text = ..., tofiledate: Text = ...,
-                 n: int = ..., lineterm: Text = ...) -> Iterator[Text]: ...
-def ndiff(a: Sequence[Text], b: Sequence[Text],
+def IS_LINE_JUNK(line: _StrType) -> bool: ...
+def IS_CHARACTER_JUNK(line: _StrType) -> bool: ...
+def unified_diff(a: Sequence[_StrType], b: Sequence[_StrType], fromfile: _StrType = ...,
+                 tofile: _StrType = ..., fromfiledate: _StrType = ..., tofiledate: _StrType = ...,
+                 n: int = ..., lineterm: _StrType = ...) -> Iterator[_StrType]: ...
+def context_diff(a: Sequence[_StrType], b: Sequence[_StrType], fromfile: _StrType =...,
+                 tofile: _StrType = ..., fromfiledate: _StrType = ..., tofiledate: _StrType = ...,
+                 n: int = ..., lineterm: _StrType = ...) -> Iterator[_StrType]: ...
+def ndiff(a: Sequence[_StrType], b: Sequence[_StrType],
           linejunk: _JunkCallback = ...,
           charjunk: _JunkCallback = ...
-          ) -> Iterator[Text]: ...
+          ) -> Iterator[_StrType]: ...
 
 class HtmlDiff(object):
     def __init__(self, tabsize: int = ..., wrapcolumn: int = ...,
                  linejunk: _JunkCallback = ...,
                  charjunk: _JunkCallback = ...
                  ) -> None: ...
-    def make_file(self, fromlines: Sequence[Text], tolines: Sequence[Text],
-                  fromdesc: Text = ..., todesc: Text = ..., context: bool = ...,
-                  numlines: int = ...) -> Text: ...
-    def make_table(self, fromlines: Sequence[Text], tolines: Sequence[Text],
-                   fromdesc: Text = ..., todesc: Text = ..., context: bool = ...,
-                   numlines: int = ...) -> Text: ...
+    def make_file(self, fromlines: Sequence[_StrType], tolines: Sequence[_StrType],
+                  fromdesc: _StrType = ..., todesc: _StrType = ..., context: bool = ...,
+                  numlines: int = ...) -> _StrType: ...
+    def make_table(self, fromlines: Sequence[_StrType], tolines: Sequence[_StrType],
+                   fromdesc: _StrType = ..., todesc: _StrType = ..., context: bool = ...,
+                   numlines: int = ...) -> _StrType: ...
 
-def restore(delta: Iterable[Text], which: int) -> Iterator[Text]: ...
+def restore(delta: Iterable[_StrType], which: int) -> Iterator[_StrType]: ...
 
 if sys.version_info >= (3, 5):
     def diff_bytes(