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Womanliness as Pathos
Main

Laconic

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"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
— Rick, Casablanca
Womanliness as Pathos is a narrative idea that the mere presence of something female or feminine will cause emotions like angst, drama, suffering, or pity. Under this theory, even "positive" emotions like sympathy, protectiveness, love or lust are merely desires to overcome or prevent negative emotions (like sadness, worry, loneliness or heartbreak).

In fiction, you can tell this trope is at play when scenes involving a woman create intrigue, concern, competition, tension, danger or stress for the characters, or when some major conflict or disaster is caused by a woman doing (or convincing a man to do) something manipulative, selfish or foolish.

It takes the form of male characters being harmed or held back by them, women themselves being endangered or oppressed, tougher characters vigilantly protecting them, female characters fighting and scheming against each other, femininity being portrayed as inherently shallow, vapid or unstable, feminine male/trans characters causing some sort of trouble, or women not being held to the same scrutiny as men. Put bluntly, this conclusion is one of the most common forms of misogyny, but it also has elements of Truth in Television due to the inherent problems and disadvantages that many women face socially and physically.

For example...yes, without a Daddy DNA Test a man will always have uncertainty about his paternity and thus fear being a Cuckold. A Pregnant Hostage will always be considered more delicate and more sympathetic due to the impossibility for cis-men to bear life. As long as "boys only want one thing", an Overprotective Dad will always fight to defend his daughters from that. And if a male character constantly uses destructive means to achieve success, then yes, women who don't like those things will always oppose them.

However, like any Stereotype, this is easily taken too far, especially when people/characters despise femininity, or want them kept out of the way just to avoid these issues, or when women/feminine characters are themselves blamed for something bad happening to them.

As you can imagine, this is one of The Oldest Ones in the Book. Just see the number of myths and ancient legends that follow this pattern in the examples below to demonstrate how this trope was at one point even more in fashion.

Due to its very controversial and delicate subject matter, we must ask that there be No Real Life Examples, Please!. Also, examples listed on this page should be extremely egregious, repetitious, or well-known; otherwise, it is probably a better fit in one of the relevant Sub Tropes in the subpage for tropes.

Sub-Trope of Women Are Delicate. Super-Trope of Men Are Generic, Women Are Special, as this trope is the reason they're considered "special".

Compare and contrast Moe, Women Are Wiser, and Females Are More Innocent; while on the surface, they seem to "counter" this trope by eliciting "positive" emotions, the wise, innocent women are often seen as valuable enough to protect. This trope is common in Film Noir and Hardboiled Detective stories, often to make the protagonist uncomfortable or to make him "care" about solving the case. Also the calling card of Nothing Nice About Sugar and Spice.

Tropes:
open/close all folders
A-F
G-L
M-S
T-Z
Gender-Nonconforming Tropes
All Gays Are *****: A gay (usually male and effeminate) character is treated as a danger to children.
All Gays Are Promiscuous: Because marriage is supposed to be between men and women, gays are assumed to "slut it up".
Creepy Crossdresser: This trope usually involves a male character dressing as a woman and thus looking or acting disturbing and creepy.
Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: An effeminate man hates women, often because he sees them as competition.
Elfeminate: Elves are exceptionally and supernaturally beautiful and thus usually have traits considered "feminine".
Everybody Wants the Hermaphrodite: A character with both male and female traits is considered attractive to everyone.
Gay Bravado: A man is so confident in his heterosexuality that he will intentionally display effeminate traits just to mess with other people.
"Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: A boy's femininity causes a conflict.
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: A character who displays non-conforming or homoerotic behavior feels compelled to remind everyone that they're straight.
Not Like Other Girls: A girl who wants to be special because she doesn't display the stereotypical behavior of other girls.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: A pair that are considered weird or exceptional because they display traits opposite of their genders.
Pink Is for Sissies: A male character wears "effeminate" clothes or colors and is mocked for it.
Psycho Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women, but displays predatory behavior.
Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Masculine women are portrayed as better than feminine ones.
Sissy Villain: A villain who behaves effeminately. Often, his feminine nature is explicitly what makes him a villain, but other times, it merely adds to his creepiness.
Stay in the Kitchen: When the narrative or a character insists that women should be barred from action and stay on the sidelines.
Stupid Sexy Flanders: If a character is straight and male, he reminds himself that he's not gay or bi, no matter how gorgeous his friend is.
Textile Work Is Feminine: If a man does textile work as a hobby or profession, people will mock him as effeminate or call him gay.
Transgender Fetishization: A trans character (especially trans women) is presented as exceptionally sexy or attractive.
Trans Tribulations
Unsettling Gender Reveal: Usually involves a male character learning that a beautiful female they desired is transgender or really a man in disguise/drag.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Comic Books
Film — Live-Action
Literature
Live-Action TV
Mythology & Religion
Theatre
Video Games
Western Animation
Previous
Index
Next
Water Is Womanly
Femininity Tropes
Yamato Nadeshiko
Virtue Is Weakness
Weakness Tropes
Women Are Delicate
Stealthy Cephalopod
Evil Only By Association
The Worm That Walks
Winter Royal Lady
Always Female
Woman Scorned
Winged Humanoid
Older Than Dirt
Woman Scorned
Where da White Women At?
Stereotype
Women Prefer Strong Men
Wife Husbandry
Women Are Delicate
Woman Scorned
Wholesome Crossdresser
Gender and Sexuality Tropes
Women Are Wiser
With Us or Against Us
NoRealLife/Too Controversial
Women Are Wiser
With This Ring
Discredited Trope
Women Drivers

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Womanliness as Pathos
Main

Laconic

PlayingWith

Create New

- Create New -
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
— Rick, Casablanca
Womanliness as Pathos is a narrative idea that the mere presence of something female or feminine will cause emotions like angst, drama, suffering, or pity. Under this theory, even "positive" emotions like sympathy, protectiveness, love or lust are merely desires to overcome or prevent negative emotions (like sadness, worry, loneliness or heartbreak).

In fiction, you can tell this trope is at play when scenes involving a woman create intrigue, concern, competition, tension, danger or stress for the characters, or when some major conflict or disaster is caused by a woman doing (or convincing a man to do) something manipulative, selfish or foolish.

It takes the form of male characters being harmed or held back by them, women themselves being endangered or oppressed, tougher characters vigilantly protecting them, female characters fighting and scheming against each other, femininity being portrayed as inherently shallow, vapid or unstable, feminine male/trans characters causing some sort of trouble, or women not being held to the same scrutiny as men. Put bluntly, this conclusion is one of the most common forms of misogyny, but it also has elements of Truth in Television due to the inherent problems and disadvantages that many women face socially and physically.

For example...yes, without a Daddy DNA Test a man will always have uncertainty about his paternity and thus fear being a Cuckold. A Pregnant Hostage will always be considered more delicate and more sympathetic due to the impossibility for cis-men to bear life. As long as "boys only want one thing", an Overprotective Dad will always fight to defend his daughters from that. And if a male character constantly uses destructive means to achieve success, then yes, women who don't like those things will always oppose them.

However, like any Stereotype, this is easily taken too far, especially when people/characters despise femininity, or want them kept out of the way just to avoid these issues, or when women/feminine characters are themselves blamed for something bad happening to them.

As you can imagine, this is one of The Oldest Ones in the Book. Just see the number of myths and ancient legends that follow this pattern in the examples below to demonstrate how this trope was at one point even more in fashion.

Due to its very controversial and delicate subject matter, we must ask that there be No Real Life Examples, Please!. Also, examples listed on this page should be extremely egregious, repetitious, or well-known; otherwise, it is probably a better fit in one of the relevant Sub Tropes in the subpage for tropes.

Sub-Trope of Women Are Delicate. Super-Trope of Men Are Generic, Women Are Special, as this trope is the reason they're considered "special".

Compare and contrast Moe, Women Are Wiser, and Females Are More Innocent; while on the surface, they seem to "counter" this trope by eliciting "positive" emotions, the wise, innocent women are often seen as valuable enough to protect. This trope is common in Film Noir and Hardboiled Detective stories, often to make the protagonist uncomfortable or to make him "care" about solving the case. Also the calling card of Nothing Nice About Sugar and Spice.

Tropes:
open/close all folders
A-F
G-L
M-S
T-Z
Gender-Nonconforming Tropes
All Gays Are *****: A gay (usually male and effeminate) character is treated as a danger to children.
All Gays Are Promiscuous: Because marriage is supposed to be between men and women, gays are assumed to "slut it up".
Creepy Crossdresser: This trope usually involves a male character dressing as a woman and thus looking or acting disturbing and creepy.
Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: An effeminate man hates women, often because he sees them as competition.
Elfeminate: Elves are exceptionally and supernaturally beautiful and thus usually have traits considered "feminine".
Everybody Wants the Hermaphrodite: A character with both male and female traits is considered attractive to everyone.
Gay Bravado: A man is so confident in his heterosexuality that he will intentionally display effeminate traits just to mess with other people.
"Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: A boy's femininity causes a conflict.
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: A character who displays non-conforming or homoerotic behavior feels compelled to remind everyone that they're straight.
Not Like Other Girls: A girl who wants to be special because she doesn't display the stereotypical behavior of other girls.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: A pair that are considered weird or exceptional because they display traits opposite of their genders.
Pink Is for Sissies: A male character wears "effeminate" clothes or colors and is mocked for it.
Psycho Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women, but displays predatory behavior.
Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Masculine women are portrayed as better than feminine ones.
Sissy Villain: A villain who behaves effeminately. Often, his feminine nature is explicitly what makes him a villain, but other times, it merely adds to his creepiness.
Stay in the Kitchen: When the narrative or a character insists that women should be barred from action and stay on the sidelines.
Stupid Sexy Flanders: If a character is straight and male, he reminds himself that he's not gay or bi, no matter how gorgeous his friend is.
Textile Work Is Feminine: If a man does textile work as a hobby or profession, people will mock him as effeminate or call him gay.
Transgender Fetishization: A trans character (especially trans women) is presented as exceptionally sexy or attractive.
Trans Tribulations
Unsettling Gender Reveal: Usually involves a male character learning that a beautiful female they desired is transgender or really a man in disguise/drag.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Comic Books
Film — Live-Action
Literature
Live-Action TV
Mythology & Religion
Theatre
Video Games
Western Animation
Previous
Index
Next
Water Is Womanly
Femininity Tropes
Yamato Nadeshiko
Virtue Is Weakness
Weakness Tropes
Women Are Delicate
Stealthy Cephalopod
Evil Only By Association
The Worm That Walks
Winter Royal Lady
Always Female
Woman Scorned
Winged Humanoid
Older Than Dirt
Woman Scorned
Where da White Women At?
Stereotype
Women Prefer Strong Men
Wife Husbandry
Women Are Delicate
Woman Scorned
Wholesome Crossdresser
Gender and Sexuality Tropes
Women Are Wiser
With Us or Against Us
NoRealLife/Too Controversial
Women Are Wiser
With This Ring
Discredited Trope
Women Drivers

Join Login
Search


Follow TV Tropes
Edit Page Related History Discussion More
Follow
Womanliness as Pathos
Main

Laconic

PlayingWith

Create New

- Create New -
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
— Rick, Casablanca
Womanliness as Pathos is a narrative idea that the mere presence of something female or feminine will cause emotions like angst, drama, suffering, or pity. Under this theory, even "positive" emotions like sympathy, protectiveness, love or lust are merely desires to overcome or prevent negative emotions (like sadness, worry, loneliness or heartbreak).

In fiction, you can tell this trope is at play when scenes involving a woman create intrigue, concern, competition, tension, danger or stress for the characters, or when some major conflict or disaster is caused by a woman doing (or convincing a man to do) something manipulative, selfish or foolish.

It takes the form of male characters being harmed or held back by them, women themselves being endangered or oppressed, tougher characters vigilantly protecting them, female characters fighting and scheming against each other, femininity being portrayed as inherently shallow, vapid or unstable, feminine male/trans characters causing some sort of trouble, or women not being held to the same scrutiny as men. Put bluntly, this conclusion is one of the most common forms of misogyny, but it also has elements of Truth in Television due to the inherent problems and disadvantages that many women face socially and physically.

For example...yes, without a Daddy DNA Test a man will always have uncertainty about his paternity and thus fear being a Cuckold. A Pregnant Hostage will always be considered more delicate and more sympathetic due to the impossibility for cis-men to bear life. As long as "boys only want one thing", an Overprotective Dad will always fight to defend his daughters from that. And if a male character constantly uses destructive means to achieve success, then yes, women who don't like those things will always oppose them.

However, like any Stereotype, this is easily taken too far, especially when people/characters despise femininity, or want them kept out of the way just to avoid these issues, or when women/feminine characters are themselves blamed for something bad happening to them.

As you can imagine, this is one of The Oldest Ones in the Book. Just see the number of myths and ancient legends that follow this pattern in the examples below to demonstrate how this trope was at one point even more in fashion.

Due to its very controversial and delicate subject matter, we must ask that there be No Real Life Examples, Please!. Also, examples listed on this page should be extremely egregious, repetitious, or well-known; otherwise, it is probably a better fit in one of the relevant Sub Tropes in the subpage for tropes.

Sub-Trope of Women Are Delicate. Super-Trope of Men Are Generic, Women Are Special, as this trope is the reason they're considered "special".

Compare and contrast Moe, Women Are Wiser, and Females Are More Innocent; while on the surface, they seem to "counter" this trope by eliciting "positive" emotions, the wise, innocent women are often seen as valuable enough to protect. This trope is common in Film Noir and Hardboiled Detective stories, often to make the protagonist uncomfortable or to make him "care" about solving the case. Also the calling card of Nothing Nice About Sugar and Spice.

Tropes:
open/close all folders
A-F
G-L
M-S
T-Z
Gender-Nonconforming Tropes
All Gays Are *****: A gay (usually male and effeminate) character is treated as a danger to children.
All Gays Are Promiscuous: Because marriage is supposed to be between men and women, gays are assumed to "slut it up".
Creepy Crossdresser: This trope usually involves a male character dressing as a woman and thus looking or acting disturbing and creepy.
Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: An effeminate man hates women, often because he sees them as competition.
Elfeminate: Elves are exceptionally and supernaturally beautiful and thus usually have traits considered "feminine".
Everybody Wants the Hermaphrodite: A character with both male and female traits is considered attractive to everyone.
Gay Bravado: A man is so confident in his heterosexuality that he will intentionally display effeminate traits just to mess with other people.
"Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: A boy's femininity causes a conflict.
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: A character who displays non-conforming or homoerotic behavior feels compelled to remind everyone that they're straight.
Not Like Other Girls: A girl who wants to be special because she doesn't display the stereotypical behavior of other girls.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: A pair that are considered weird or exceptional because they display traits opposite of their genders.
Pink Is for Sissies: A male character wears "effeminate" clothes or colors and is mocked for it.
Psycho Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women, but displays predatory behavior.
Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Masculine women are portrayed as better than feminine ones.
Sissy Villain: A villain who behaves effeminately. Often, his feminine nature is explicitly what makes him a villain, but other times, it merely adds to his creepiness.
Stay in the Kitchen: When the narrative or a character insists that women should be barred from action and stay on the sidelines.
Stupid Sexy Flanders: If a character is straight and male, he reminds himself that he's not gay or bi, no matter how gorgeous his friend is.
Textile Work Is Feminine: If a man does textile work as a hobby or profession, people will mock him as effeminate or call him gay.
Transgender Fetishization: A trans character (especially trans women) is presented as exceptionally sexy or attractive.
Trans Tribulations
Unsettling Gender Reveal: Usually involves a male character learning that a beautiful female they desired is transgender or really a man in disguise/drag.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Comic Books
Film — Live-Action
Literature
Live-Action TV
Mythology & Religion
Theatre
Video Games
Western Animation
Previous
Index
Next
Water Is Womanly
Femininity Tropes
Yamato Nadeshiko
Virtue Is Weakness
Weakness Tropes
Women Are Delicate
Stealthy Cephalopod
Evil Only By Association
The Worm That Walks
Winter Royal Lady
Always Female
Woman Scorned
Winged Humanoid
Older Than Dirt
Woman Scorned
Where da White Women At?
Stereotype
Women Prefer Strong Men
Wife Husbandry
Women Are Delicate
Woman Scorned
Wholesome Crossdresser
Gender and Sexuality Tropes
Women Are Wiser
With Us or Against Us
NoRealLife/Too Controversial
Women Are Wiser
With This Ring
Discredited Trope
Women Drivers

Join Login
Search


Follow TV Tropes
Edit Page Related History Discussion More
Follow
Womanliness as Pathos
Main

Laconic

PlayingWith

Create New

- Create New -
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
— Rick, Casablanca
Womanliness as Pathos is a narrative idea that the mere presence of something female or feminine will cause emotions like angst, drama, suffering, or pity. Under this theory, even "positive" emotions like sympathy, protectiveness, love or lust are merely desires to overcome or prevent negative emotions (like sadness, worry, loneliness or heartbreak).

In fiction, you can tell this trope is at play when scenes involving a woman create intrigue, concern, competition, tension, danger or stress for the characters, or when some major conflict or disaster is caused by a woman doing (or convincing a man to do) something manipulative, selfish or foolish.

It takes the form of male characters being harmed or held back by them, women themselves being endangered or oppressed, tougher characters vigilantly protecting them, female characters fighting and scheming against each other, femininity being portrayed as inherently shallow, vapid or unstable, feminine male/trans characters causing some sort of trouble, or women not being held to the same scrutiny as men. Put bluntly, this conclusion is one of the most common forms of misogyny, but it also has elements of Truth in Television due to the inherent problems and disadvantages that many women face socially and physically.

For example...yes, without a Daddy DNA Test a man will always have uncertainty about his paternity and thus fear being a Cuckold. A Pregnant Hostage will always be considered more delicate and more sympathetic due to the impossibility for cis-men to bear life. As long as "boys only want one thing", an Overprotective Dad will always fight to defend his daughters from that. And if a male character constantly uses destructive means to achieve success, then yes, women who don't like those things will always oppose them.

However, like any Stereotype, this is easily taken too far, especially when people/characters despise femininity, or want them kept out of the way just to avoid these issues, or when women/feminine characters are themselves blamed for something bad happening to them.

As you can imagine, this is one of The Oldest Ones in the Book. Just see the number of myths and ancient legends that follow this pattern in the examples below to demonstrate how this trope was at one point even more in fashion.

Due to its very controversial and delicate subject matter, we must ask that there be No Real Life Examples, Please!. Also, examples listed on this page should be extremely egregious, repetitious, or well-known; otherwise, it is probably a better fit in one of the relevant Sub Tropes in the subpage for tropes.

Sub-Trope of Women Are Delicate. Super-Trope of Men Are Generic, Women Are Special, as this trope is the reason they're considered "special".

Compare and contrast Moe, Women Are Wiser, and Females Are More Innocent; while on the surface, they seem to "counter" this trope by eliciting "positive" emotions, the wise, innocent women are often seen as valuable enough to protect. This trope is common in Film Noir and Hardboiled Detective stories, often to make the protagonist uncomfortable or to make him "care" about solving the case. Also the calling card of Nothing Nice About Sugar and Spice.

Tropes:
open/close all folders
A-F
G-L
M-S
T-Z
Gender-Nonconforming Tropes
All Gays Are *****: A gay (usually male and effeminate) character is treated as a danger to children.
All Gays Are Promiscuous: Because marriage is supposed to be between men and women, gays are assumed to "slut it up".
Creepy Crossdresser: This trope usually involves a male character dressing as a woman and thus looking or acting disturbing and creepy.
Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: An effeminate man hates women, often because he sees them as competition.
Elfeminate: Elves are exceptionally and supernaturally beautiful and thus usually have traits considered "feminine".
Everybody Wants the Hermaphrodite: A character with both male and female traits is considered attractive to everyone.
Gay Bravado: A man is so confident in his heterosexuality that he will intentionally display effeminate traits just to mess with other people.
"Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: A boy's femininity causes a conflict.
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: A character who displays non-conforming or homoerotic behavior feels compelled to remind everyone that they're straight.
Not Like Other Girls: A girl who wants to be special because she doesn't display the stereotypical behavior of other girls.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: A pair that are considered weird or exceptional because they display traits opposite of their genders.
Pink Is for Sissies: A male character wears "effeminate" clothes or colors and is mocked for it.
Psycho Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women, but displays predatory behavior.
Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Masculine women are portrayed as better than feminine ones.
Sissy Villain: A villain who behaves effeminately. Often, his feminine nature is explicitly what makes him a villain, but other times, it merely adds to his creepiness.
Stay in the Kitchen: When the narrative or a character insists that women should be barred from action and stay on the sidelines.
Stupid Sexy Flanders: If a character is straight and male, he reminds himself that he's not gay or bi, no matter how gorgeous his friend is.
Textile Work Is Feminine: If a man does textile work as a hobby or profession, people will mock him as effeminate or call him gay.
Transgender Fetishization: A trans character (especially trans women) is presented as exceptionally sexy or attractive.
Trans Tribulations
Unsettling Gender Reveal: Usually involves a male character learning that a beautiful female they desired is transgender or really a man in disguise/drag.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Comic Books
Film — Live-Action
Literature
Live-Action TV
Mythology & Religion
Theatre
Video Games
Western Animation
Previous
Index
Next
Water Is Womanly
Femininity Tropes
Yamato Nadeshiko
Virtue Is Weakness
Weakness Tropes
Women Are Delicate
Stealthy Cephalopod
Evil Only By Association
The Worm That Walks
Winter Royal Lady
Always Female
Woman Scorned
Winged Humanoid
Older Than Dirt
Woman Scorned
Where da White Women At?
Stereotype
Women Prefer Strong Men
Wife Husbandry
Women Are Delicate
Woman Scorned
Wholesome Crossdresser
Gender and Sexuality Tropes
Women Are Wiser
With Us or Against Us
NoRealLife/Too Controversial
Women Are Wiser
With This Ring
Discredited Trope
Women Drivers

Join Login
Search


Follow TV Tropes
Edit Page Related History Discussion More
Follow
Womanliness as Pathos
Main

Laconic

PlayingWith

Create New

- Create New -
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
— Rick, Casablanca
Womanliness as Pathos is a narrative idea that the mere presence of something female or feminine will cause emotions like angst, drama, suffering, or pity. Under this theory, even "positive" emotions like sympathy, protectiveness, love or lust are merely desires to overcome or prevent negative emotions (like sadness, worry, loneliness or heartbreak).

In fiction, you can tell this trope is at play when scenes involving a woman create intrigue, concern, competition, tension, danger or stress for the characters, or when some major conflict or disaster is caused by a woman doing (or convincing a man to do) something manipulative, selfish or foolish.

It takes the form of male characters being harmed or held back by them, women themselves being endangered or oppressed, tougher characters vigilantly protecting them, female characters fighting and scheming against each other, femininity being portrayed as inherently shallow, vapid or unstable, feminine male/trans characters causing some sort of trouble, or women not being held to the same scrutiny as men. Put bluntly, this conclusion is one of the most common forms of misogyny, but it also has elements of Truth in Television due to the inherent problems and disadvantages that many women face socially and physically.

For example...yes, without a Daddy DNA Test a man will always have uncertainty about his paternity and thus fear being a Cuckold. A Pregnant Hostage will always be considered more delicate and more sympathetic due to the impossibility for cis-men to bear life. As long as "boys only want one thing", an Overprotective Dad will always fight to defend his daughters from that. And if a male character constantly uses destructive means to achieve success, then yes, women who don't like those things will always oppose them.

However, like any Stereotype, this is easily taken too far, especially when people/characters despise femininity, or want them kept out of the way just to avoid these issues, or when women/feminine characters are themselves blamed for something bad happening to them.

As you can imagine, this is one of The Oldest Ones in the Book. Just see the number of myths and ancient legends that follow this pattern in the examples below to demonstrate how this trope was at one point even more in fashion.

Due to its very controversial and delicate subject matter, we must ask that there be No Real Life Examples, Please!. Also, examples listed on this page should be extremely egregious, repetitious, or well-known; otherwise, it is probably a better fit in one of the relevant Sub Tropes in the subpage for tropes.

Sub-Trope of Women Are Delicate. Super-Trope of Men Are Generic, Women Are Special, as this trope is the reason they're considered "special".

Compare and contrast Moe, Women Are Wiser, and Females Are More Innocent; while on the surface, they seem to "counter" this trope by eliciting "positive" emotions, the wise, innocent women are often seen as valuable enough to protect. This trope is common in Film Noir and Hardboiled Detective stories, often to make the protagonist uncomfortable or to make him "care" about solving the case. Also the calling card of Nothing Nice About Sugar and Spice.

Tropes:
open/close all folders
A-F
G-L
M-S
T-Z
Gender-Nonconforming Tropes
All Gays Are *****: A gay (usually male and effeminate) character is treated as a danger to children.
All Gays Are Promiscuous: Because marriage is supposed to be between men and women, gays are assumed to "slut it up".
Creepy Crossdresser: This trope usually involves a male character dressing as a woman and thus looking or acting disturbing and creepy.
Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: An effeminate man hates women, often because he sees them as competition.
Elfeminate: Elves are exceptionally and supernaturally beautiful and thus usually have traits considered "feminine".
Everybody Wants the Hermaphrodite: A character with both male and female traits is considered attractive to everyone.
Gay Bravado: A man is so confident in his heterosexuality that he will intentionally display effeminate traits just to mess with other people.
"Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: A boy's femininity causes a conflict.
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: A character who displays non-conforming or homoerotic behavior feels compelled to remind everyone that they're straight.
Not Like Other Girls: A girl who wants to be special because she doesn't display the stereotypical behavior of other girls.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: A pair that are considered weird or exceptional because they display traits opposite of their genders.
Pink Is for Sissies: A male character wears "effeminate" clothes or colors and is mocked for it.
Psycho Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women, but displays predatory behavior.
Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Masculine women are portrayed as better than feminine ones.
Sissy Villain: A villain who behaves effeminately. Often, his feminine nature is explicitly what makes him a villain, but other times, it merely adds to his creepiness.
Stay in the Kitchen: When the narrative or a character insists that women should be barred from action and stay on the sidelines.
Stupid Sexy Flanders: If a character is straight and male, he reminds himself that he's not gay or bi, no matter how gorgeous his friend is.
Textile Work Is Feminine: If a man does textile work as a hobby or profession, people will mock him as effeminate or call him gay.
Transgender Fetishization: A trans character (especially trans women) is presented as exceptionally sexy or attractive.
Trans Tribulations
Unsettling Gender Reveal: Usually involves a male character learning that a beautiful female they desired is transgender or really a man in disguise/drag.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Comic Books
Film — Live-Action
Literature
Live-Action TV
Mythology & Religion
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Water Is Womanly
Femininity Tropes
Yamato Nadeshiko
Virtue Is Weakness
Weakness Tropes
Women Are Delicate
Stealthy Cephalopod
Evil Only By Association
The Worm That Walks
Winter Royal Lady
Always Female
Woman Scorned
Winged Humanoid
Older Than Dirt
Woman Scorned
Where da White Women At?
Stereotype
Women Prefer Strong Men
Wife Husbandry
Women Are Delicate
Woman Scorned
Wholesome Crossdresser
Gender and Sexuality Tropes
Women Are Wiser
With Us or Against Us
NoRealLife/Too Controversial
Women Are Wiser
With This Ring
Discredited Trope
Women Drivers

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Womanliness as Pathos
Main

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"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
— Rick, Casablanca
Womanliness as Pathos is a narrative idea that the mere presence of something female or feminine will cause emotions like angst, drama, suffering, or pity. Under this theory, even "positive" emotions like sympathy, protectiveness, love or lust are merely desires to overcome or prevent negative emotions (like sadness, worry, loneliness or heartbreak).

In fiction, you can tell this trope is at play when scenes involving a woman create intrigue, concern, competition, tension, danger or stress for the characters, or when some major conflict or disaster is caused by a woman doing (or convincing a man to do) something manipulative, selfish or foolish.

It takes the form of male characters being harmed or held back by them, women themselves being endangered or oppressed, tougher characters vigilantly protecting them, female characters fighting and scheming against each other, femininity being portrayed as inherently shallow, vapid or unstable, feminine male/trans characters causing some sort of trouble, or women not being held to the same scrutiny as men. Put bluntly, this conclusion is one of the most common forms of misogyny, but it also has elements of Truth in Television due to the inherent problems and disadvantages that many women face socially and physically.

For example...yes, without a Daddy DNA Test a man will always have uncertainty about his paternity and thus fear being a Cuckold. A Pregnant Hostage will always be considered more delicate and more sympathetic due to the impossibility for cis-men to bear life. As long as "boys only want one thing", an Overprotective Dad will always fight to defend his daughters from that. And if a male character constantly uses destructive means to achieve success, then yes, women who don't like those things will always oppose them.

However, like any Stereotype, this is easily taken too far, especially when people/characters despise femininity, or want them kept out of the way just to avoid these issues, or when women/feminine characters are themselves blamed for something bad happening to them.

As you can imagine, this is one of The Oldest Ones in the Book. Just see the number of myths and ancient legends that follow this pattern in the examples below to demonstrate how this trope was at one point even more in fashion.

Due to its very controversial and delicate subject matter, we must ask that there be No Real Life Examples, Please!. Also, examples listed on this page should be extremely egregious, repetitious, or well-known; otherwise, it is probably a better fit in one of the relevant Sub Tropes in the subpage for tropes.

Sub-Trope of Women Are Delicate. Super-Trope of Men Are Generic, Women Are Special, as this trope is the reason they're considered "special".

Compare and contrast Moe, Women Are Wiser, and Females Are More Innocent; while on the surface, they seem to "counter" this trope by eliciting "positive" emotions, the wise, innocent women are often seen as valuable enough to protect. This trope is common in Film Noir and Hardboiled Detective stories, often to make the protagonist uncomfortable or to make him "care" about solving the case. Also the calling card of Nothing Nice About Sugar and Spice.

Tropes:
open/close all folders
A-F
G-L
M-S
T-Z
Gender-Nonconforming Tropes
All Gays Are *****: A gay (usually male and effeminate) character is treated as a danger to children.
All Gays Are Promiscuous: Because marriage is supposed to be between men and women, gays are assumed to "slut it up".
Creepy Crossdresser: This trope usually involves a male character dressing as a woman and thus looking or acting disturbing and creepy.
Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: An effeminate man hates women, often because he sees them as competition.
Elfeminate: Elves are exceptionally and supernaturally beautiful and thus usually have traits considered "feminine".
Everybody Wants the Hermaphrodite: A character with both male and female traits is considered attractive to everyone.
Gay Bravado: A man is so confident in his heterosexuality that he will intentionally display effeminate traits just to mess with other people.
"Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: A boy's femininity causes a conflict.
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: A character who displays non-conforming or homoerotic behavior feels compelled to remind everyone that they're straight.
Not Like Other Girls: A girl who wants to be special because she doesn't display the stereotypical behavior of other girls.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: A pair that are considered weird or exceptional because they display traits opposite of their genders.
Pink Is for Sissies: A male character wears "effeminate" clothes or colors and is mocked for it.
Psycho Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women, but displays predatory behavior.
Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Masculine women are portrayed as better than feminine ones.
Sissy Villain: A villain who behaves effeminately. Often, his feminine nature is explicitly what makes him a villain, but other times, it merely adds to his creepiness.
Stay in the Kitchen: When the narrative or a character insists that women should be barred from action and stay on the sidelines.
Stupid Sexy Flanders: If a character is straight and male, he reminds himself that he's not gay or bi, no matter how gorgeous his friend is.
Textile Work Is Feminine: If a man does textile work as a hobby or profession, people will mock him as effeminate or call him gay.
Transgender Fetishization: A trans character (especially trans women) is presented as exceptionally sexy or attractive.
Trans Tribulations
Unsettling Gender Reveal: Usually involves a male character learning that a beautiful female they desired is transgender or really a man in disguise/drag.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Comic Books
Film — Live-Action
Literature
Live-Action TV
Mythology & Religion
Theatre
Video Games
Western Animation
Previous
Index
Next
Water Is Womanly
Femininity Tropes
Yamato Nadeshiko
Virtue Is Weakness
Weakness Tropes
Women Are Delicate
Stealthy Cephalopod
Evil Only By Association
The Worm That Walks
Winter Royal Lady
Always Female
Woman Scorned
Winged Humanoid
Older Than Dirt
Woman Scorned
Where da White Women At?
Stereotype
Women Prefer Strong Men
Wife Husbandry
Women Are Delicate
Woman Scorned
Wholesome Crossdresser
Gender and Sexuality Tropes
Women Are Wiser
With Us or Against Us
NoRealLife/Too Controversial
Women Are Wiser
With This Ring
Discredited Trope
Women Drivers

Join Login
Search


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Womanliness as Pathos
Main

Laconic

PlayingWith

Create New

- Create New -
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
— Rick, Casablanca
Womanliness as Pathos is a narrative idea that the mere presence of something female or feminine will cause emotions like angst, drama, suffering, or pity. Under this theory, even "positive" emotions like sympathy, protectiveness, love or lust are merely desires to overcome or prevent negative emotions (like sadness, worry, loneliness or heartbreak).

In fiction, you can tell this trope is at play when scenes involving a woman create intrigue, concern, competition, tension, danger or stress for the characters, or when some major conflict or disaster is caused by a woman doing (or convincing a man to do) something manipulative, selfish or foolish.

It takes the form of male characters being harmed or held back by them, women themselves being endangered or oppressed, tougher characters vigilantly protecting them, female characters fighting and scheming against each other, femininity being portrayed as inherently shallow, vapid or unstable, feminine male/trans characters causing some sort of trouble, or women not being held to the same scrutiny as men. Put bluntly, this conclusion is one of the most common forms of misogyny, but it also has elements of Truth in Television due to the inherent problems and disadvantages that many women face socially and physically.

For example...yes, without a Daddy DNA Test a man will always have uncertainty about his paternity and thus fear being a Cuckold. A Pregnant Hostage will always be considered more delicate and more sympathetic due to the impossibility for cis-men to bear life. As long as "boys only want one thing", an Overprotective Dad will always fight to defend his daughters from that. And if a male character constantly uses destructive means to achieve success, then yes, women who don't like those things will always oppose them.

However, like any Stereotype, this is easily taken too far, especially when people/characters despise femininity, or want them kept out of the way just to avoid these issues, or when women/feminine characters are themselves blamed for something bad happening to them.

As you can imagine, this is one of The Oldest Ones in the Book. Just see the number of myths and ancient legends that follow this pattern in the examples below to demonstrate how this trope was at one point even more in fashion.

Due to its very controversial and delicate subject matter, we must ask that there be No Real Life Examples, Please!. Also, examples listed on this page should be extremely egregious, repetitious, or well-known; otherwise, it is probably a better fit in one of the relevant Sub Tropes in the subpage for tropes.

Sub-Trope of Women Are Delicate. Super-Trope of Men Are Generic, Women Are Special, as this trope is the reason they're considered "special".

Compare and contrast Moe, Women Are Wiser, and Females Are More Innocent; while on the surface, they seem to "counter" this trope by eliciting "positive" emotions, the wise, innocent women are often seen as valuable enough to protect. This trope is common in Film Noir and Hardboiled Detective stories, often to make the protagonist uncomfortable or to make him "care" about solving the case. Also the calling card of Nothing Nice About Sugar and Spice.

Tropes:
open/close all folders
A-F
G-L
M-S
T-Z
Gender-Nonconforming Tropes
All Gays Are *****: A gay (usually male and effeminate) character is treated as a danger to children.
All Gays Are Promiscuous: Because marriage is supposed to be between men and women, gays are assumed to "slut it up".
Creepy Crossdresser: This trope usually involves a male character dressing as a woman and thus looking or acting disturbing and creepy.
Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: An effeminate man hates women, often because he sees them as competition.
Elfeminate: Elves are exceptionally and supernaturally beautiful and thus usually have traits considered "feminine".
Everybody Wants the Hermaphrodite: A character with both male and female traits is considered attractive to everyone.
Gay Bravado: A man is so confident in his heterosexuality that he will intentionally display effeminate traits just to mess with other people.
"Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: A boy's femininity causes a conflict.
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: A character who displays non-conforming or homoerotic behavior feels compelled to remind everyone that they're straight.
Not Like Other Girls: A girl who wants to be special because she doesn't display the stereotypical behavior of other girls.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: A pair that are considered weird or exceptional because they display traits opposite of their genders.
Pink Is for Sissies: A male character wears "effeminate" clothes or colors and is mocked for it.
Psycho Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women, but displays predatory behavior.
Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Masculine women are portrayed as better than feminine ones.
Sissy Villain: A villain who behaves effeminately. Often, his feminine nature is explicitly what makes him a villain, but other times, it merely adds to his creepiness.
Stay in the Kitchen: When the narrative or a character insists that women should be barred from action and stay on the sidelines.
Stupid Sexy Flanders: If a character is straight and male, he reminds himself that he's not gay or bi, no matter how gorgeous his friend is.
Textile Work Is Feminine: If a man does textile work as a hobby or profession, people will mock him as effeminate or call him gay.
Transgender Fetishization: A trans character (especially trans women) is presented as exceptionally sexy or attractive.
Trans Tribulations
Unsettling Gender Reveal: Usually involves a male character learning that a beautiful female they desired is transgender or really a man in disguise/drag.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Comic Books
Film — Live-Action
Literature
Live-Action TV
Mythology & Religion
Theatre
Video Games
Western Animation
Previous
Index
Next
Water Is Womanly
Femininity Tropes
Yamato Nadeshiko
Virtue Is Weakness
Weakness Tropes
Women Are Delicate
Stealthy Cephalopod
Evil Only By Association
The Worm That Walks
Winter Royal Lady
Always Female
Woman Scorned
Winged Humanoid
Older Than Dirt
Woman Scorned
Where da White Women At?
Stereotype
Women Prefer Strong Men
Wife Husbandry
Women Are Delicate
Woman Scorned
Wholesome Crossdresser
Gender and Sexuality Tropes
Women Are Wiser
With Us or Against Us
NoRealLife/Too Controversial
Women Are Wiser
With This Ring
Discredited Trope
Women Drivers

Join Login
Search


Follow TV Tropes
Edit Page Related History Discussion More
Follow
Womanliness as Pathos
Main

Laconic

PlayingWith

Create New

- Create New -
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
— Rick, Casablanca
Womanliness as Pathos is a narrative idea that the mere presence of something female or feminine will cause emotions like angst, drama, suffering, or pity. Under this theory, even "positive" emotions like sympathy, protectiveness, love or lust are merely desires to overcome or prevent negative emotions (like sadness, worry, loneliness or heartbreak).

In fiction, you can tell this trope is at play when scenes involving a woman create intrigue, concern, competition, tension, danger or stress for the characters, or when some major conflict or disaster is caused by a woman doing (or convincing a man to do) something manipulative, selfish or foolish.

It takes the form of male characters being harmed or held back by them, women themselves being endangered or oppressed, tougher characters vigilantly protecting them, female characters fighting and scheming against each other, femininity being portrayed as inherently shallow, vapid or unstable, feminine male/trans characters causing some sort of trouble, or women not being held to the same scrutiny as men. Put bluntly, this conclusion is one of the most common forms of misogyny, but it also has elements of Truth in Television due to the inherent problems and disadvantages that many women face socially and physically.

For example...yes, without a Daddy DNA Test a man will always have uncertainty about his paternity and thus fear being a Cuckold. A Pregnant Hostage will always be considered more delicate and more sympathetic due to the impossibility for cis-men to bear life. As long as "boys only want one thing", an Overprotective Dad will always fight to defend his daughters from that. And if a male character constantly uses destructive means to achieve success, then yes, women who don't like those things will always oppose them.

However, like any Stereotype, this is easily taken too far, especially when people/characters despise femininity, or want them kept out of the way just to avoid these issues, or when women/feminine characters are themselves blamed for something bad happening to them.

As you can imagine, this is one of The Oldest Ones in the Book. Just see the number of myths and ancient legends that follow this pattern in the examples below to demonstrate how this trope was at one point even more in fashion.

Due to its very controversial and delicate subject matter, we must ask that there be No Real Life Examples, Please!. Also, examples listed on this page should be extremely egregious, repetitious, or well-known; otherwise, it is probably a better fit in one of the relevant Sub Tropes in the subpage for tropes.

Sub-Trope of Women Are Delicate. Super-Trope of Men Are Generic, Women Are Special, as this trope is the reason they're considered "special".

Compare and contrast Moe, Women Are Wiser, and Females Are More Innocent; while on the surface, they seem to "counter" this trope by eliciting "positive" emotions, the wise, innocent women are often seen as valuable enough to protect. This trope is common in Film Noir and Hardboiled Detective stories, often to make the protagonist uncomfortable or to make him "care" about solving the case. Also the calling card of Nothing Nice About Sugar and Spice.

Tropes:
open/close all folders
A-F
G-L
M-S
T-Z
Gender-Nonconforming Tropes
All Gays Are *****: A gay (usually male and effeminate) character is treated as a danger to children.
All Gays Are Promiscuous: Because marriage is supposed to be between men and women, gays are assumed to "slut it up".
Creepy Crossdresser: This trope usually involves a male character dressing as a woman and thus looking or acting disturbing and creepy.
Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: An effeminate man hates women, often because he sees them as competition.
Elfeminate: Elves are exceptionally and supernaturally beautiful and thus usually have traits considered "feminine".
Everybody Wants the Hermaphrodite: A character with both male and female traits is considered attractive to everyone.
Gay Bravado: A man is so confident in his heterosexuality that he will intentionally display effeminate traits just to mess with other people.
"Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: A boy's femininity causes a conflict.
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: A character who displays non-conforming or homoerotic behavior feels compelled to remind everyone that they're straight.
Not Like Other Girls: A girl who wants to be special because she doesn't display the stereotypical behavior of other girls.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: A pair that are considered weird or exceptional because they display traits opposite of their genders.
Pink Is for Sissies: A male character wears "effeminate" clothes or colors and is mocked for it.
Psycho Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women, but displays predatory behavior.
Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Masculine women are portrayed as better than feminine ones.
Sissy Villain: A villain who behaves effeminately. Often, his feminine nature is explicitly what makes him a villain, but other times, it merely adds to his creepiness.
Stay in the Kitchen: When the narrative or a character insists that women should be barred from action and stay on the sidelines.
Stupid Sexy Flanders: If a character is straight and male, he reminds himself that he's not gay or bi, no matter how gorgeous his friend is.
Textile Work Is Feminine: If a man does textile work as a hobby or profession, people will mock him as effeminate or call him gay.
Transgender Fetishization: A trans character (especially trans women) is presented as exceptionally sexy or attractive.
Trans Tribulations
Unsettling Gender Reveal: Usually involves a male character learning that a beautiful female they desired is transgender or really a man in disguise/drag.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Comic Books
Film — Live-Action
Literature
Live-Action TV
Mythology & Religion
Theatre
Video Games
Western Animation
Previous
Index
Next
Water Is Womanly
Femininity Tropes
Yamato Nadeshiko
Virtue Is Weakness
Weakness Tropes
Women Are Delicate
Stealthy Cephalopod
Evil Only By Association
The Worm That Walks
Winter Royal Lady
Always Female
Woman Scorned
Winged Humanoid
Older Than Dirt
Woman Scorned
Where da White Women At?
Stereotype
Women Prefer Strong Men
Wife Husbandry
Women Are Delicate
Woman Scorned
Wholesome Crossdresser
Gender and Sexuality Tropes
Women Are Wiser
With Us or Against Us
NoRealLife/Too Controversial
Women Are Wiser
With This Ring
Discredited Trope
Women Drivers