Chickification: Difference between revisions

So you have an [[Action Girl]]. She rocks. There's only one problem: she's also [[The Smurfette Principle|the only female in the main cast]], and you don't have a [[Non-Action Guy]] or other similar balancing factor to counterbalance this. Where are you going to get your [[Designated Victim]] for the team to save every episode? What's an executive to do? Completely replace her tough image and capabilities with something more fitting to the [[Damsel in Distress]] you need, someone who tends to [[Stay in the Kitchen]] or not do anything rather than go out and fight, whether by punching people alongside the others or analyzing the scenario and figuring out a solution so she can help others punch people.

 

 

This trope is not about any [[Action Girl]] [[Real Women Never Wear Dresses|who shows those icky and bad 'female' emotions]]. Remember, being [[The Chick]] is ''not'' [[Tropes Are Not Bad|automatically a bad thing]].

May involve the [[Standard Female Grab Area]].

 

 

If this is done to a male character in a [[Slash Fic]], it may be part of [[Wimpification]].

{{examples}}

 

* In [[The Anime of the Game|the anime of]] ''[[Blue Dragon]]'', Kluke is changed from a self-confident, mature girl who's virtually raised herself since the deaths of her parents to your stereotypical damsel in distress with no explanation. She doesn't even get her powers until near the half-way point of the series.

* The ''[[Corrector Yui]]'' anime. Played straight and [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|memorably subverted]] in the second season.

** Played straight: Freeze, the [[The Smurfette Principle|only female of the Corruptor team]], was an extremely efficient [[Dark Action Girl]] with ice-based powers. When she switched sides for the second season, she walked the thin wire between [[Action Girl]] and [[Faux Action Girl]], with more emphasis given to her [[Dojikko|clumsiness outside of the battlefield]] and [[The Chew Toy|comical inability to keep a stable work in the Com.Net]], {{spoiler|which ultimately makes her liable to be manipulated by her more stable boss... who was working for the [[Big Bad]]}}.

** Subverted: In the first season, [[Shrinking Violet|Haruna Kisaragi]] {{spoiler|became a Corrector like her best friend Yui, but due to ending up [[Brainwashed and Crazy]], she ultimately returned to the sidelines and act as [[Mission Control|Dr. Inukai's assistant]] during the season finale}}. Cue to second season and having Yui being [[Taken for Granite|turned into rock in the Net.com]] and [[Convenient Coma|rendered comatose in the real world]]: without any ounce of hesitation, Haruna [[Jumped At the Call|returns to be a Corrector]], {{spoiler|and in her ''first'' real fight she uses the ''four'' Elemental suits ''perfectly'' and teams up with the morally ambiguous Corrector Ai to save Yui, Freeze and other victims}}. She's remained a Corrector ever since and even was there for Yui, Ai and the other Correctors in the [[Grand Finale]].

* Hikaru Hazama of ''[[Beyblade Metal Fusion]]'' goes from [[Action Girl]] to Secretary in the second series.

 

 

* Black Canary is still capable, but not in her own book. While ''[[Birds of Prey]]'' and ''[[Justice League of America]]'' which she is the leader of both feature her kicking ass, ''Green Arrow/Black Canary'' treats her as a perpetual [[Damsel in Distress]] for Green Arrow to rescue.

* Similarly, the Wasp's intelligence, combat effectiveness, levelheadedness, and leadership abilities seem to vary inversely with the degree to which the writer plays up her relationship with her ex-husband Henry Pym. After a few years as more or less [[The Load]], they apparently gave up and [[Stuffed Into the Fridge|stuffed her in the fridge]] so Hank could have more guilt.

* After being depicted as a reckless, fiery [[Badass Damsel]] throughout the 1940s, Lois Lane was chickified into a useless [[Damsel Scrappy]] who constantly needed saving and couldn't handle anything on her own in the [[Silver Age]]. Even attempts at improving her character during the [[Bronze Age]] fell flat, with her Earth-2 counterpart Lois Kent far outstripping her in badassery. Fortunately, the [[Post-Crisis]] reboot of the Superman mythos restored her [[Golden Age]] persona, with an added side order of army brat and combat training.

* Princess Sally Acorn of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' was hit with this ''hard'' after King Acorn took control of the kingdom again, and didn't really come out of it until Ian Flynn took over writing duties.

 

 

* '''''Extremely''''' common in [[Die for Our Ship]] fanfiction. Basically, if you like a more or less psysically/mentally capable woman ([[Action Girl]], [[Passionate Sports Girl]], [[Badass Damsel]], [[Plucky Girl]], [[Silk Hiding Steel]], etc. among other female archetypes) but don't like a certain couple involving her (whether canon or not), you can easily break up said couple via [[Ron the Death Eater|making her love interest]] a [[Domestic Abuser]] ''and'' stripping the female character of her spine and/or fighting skills. That way, it's ''totally'' justified to have the other half of the [[Fan-Preferred Couple]] rescuing her!

{{quote|"A Harmonian badfic, you say? So am I a whore or dead in this one?"

"The former."

* [[Cori Falls]] ''loves'' doing this to poor [[Pokémon (anime)|Jessie]] in her fics. Sure, the girl's still allowed to kick some ass, but more often than not, she's crying or swooning in James's arms or needing to be rescued from perverts.

* There's an entire disturbing Fanfic community dedicated to doing this to [[Valkyrie Profile|Lenneth]] so that Lezard can be the dominant one of the [[Rape as Drama|"relationship"]]. Odlly, it leaves Hrist and Silmeria alone.

* The infamous ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia|Hetalia]]'' fic ''[[All He Ever Wanted]]'' pulls this on the aforementioned Hungary, whom [[Complete Monster|Prussia]] rapes to both force her into a [[Face Heel Turn]] ''and'' "teach a lesson" to her beloved ex-husband Austria, whom Prussia is holding hostage.

** That's barely the only one. In many, ''many'' Prussia/Hungary works, the sweet and gentle [[Meido]] who managed to ''avert'' this trope in canon is portrayed as a weepy mess who secretly pines for Prussia after being forced to marry Austria via the Austro-Hungarian Compromise and/or is abused in many ways by [[Ron the Death Eater|Austria]] so Prussia must hop in to rescue her and show her what true love is. Yes, Hungary has been shown to be physically more powerful than ''both'' Prussia and Austria, but in these fanfics she wails and wangsts endlessly before even ''trying'' to do something to defend herself. For worse, considering the main couple in these fics, it's mixed with [[Die for Our Ship]] since Austria is portrayed as a [[Jerkass]] or even a [[Complete Monster]] to make Prussia look better.

* In ''[[Digimon]]'' fanfiction, you'll be hard-pressed to find a fic that has Rika/Ruki acting anything like herself, preferring instead to make her a weak, weeping wallflower who can't handle ''any'' aspect of life without being rescued by Takato/Jenrya/Ryo. Even people who don't like [[Yuri]] or [[Interspecies Romance]] wind up preferring stories pairing her with Renamon because they're the fics in which she's more likely to be capable of being in a romance ''and'' acting something like herself at the same time.

* While it's safe to say that the entire casts of both [[Mass Effect]] games experience varying degrees of chickification in fanfiction at some point or another; Garrus Vakarian ([[Wimpification|in a rare male example]] of this trope seen near exclusively in het fic where he's paired with Female Shepard), Commander Shepard (usually Female Shepard, though Male Shepard is not immune either), Tali'Zorah and Liara T'Soni experience the heaviest levels of this trope more often than the others.

** Pulled on Katara too. She goes from an [[Action Girl]] [[Team Mom]] with mood swings and [[Hidden Depths]] into a whiny, weepy, selfish bitch whom everyone mollycoddles, who cares more about being Zuko's pasted-on love interest and babymama than anything, and only shows her [[Action Girl]] skills when she {{spoiler|bloodily and horribly kills Mai in [[Revenge]]}}.

* All characters in ''[[Touhou]]'' are prone to this due to their [[Moe]] qualities, but [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire|Remilia Scarlet]] and her sister [[Person of Mass Destruction|Flandre]] are particularly common targets due to fanartists' tendency to exaggerate their childishness.

 

== Film - Animated ==

* [[Mulan]] got both this and a [[Girliness Upgrade]] in all the film's spinoff stories and tie-in merchandise. (Of note is that she's ''always'' seen in a pink dress, and that she's never seen fighting, or indeed doing much other than hanging out with her friends and/or thinking about her boyfriend.) At least she's still tough in [[Kingdom Hearts|crossovers]].

** The same is already happening in the merchandising for ''[[Brave]]'' (although Mérida is at least allowed to use a bow and arrows.)

 

== [[Film]] - Live-Action ==

* ''[[Gone Baby Gone]]'' shamelessly Chickifies Angie, who was much tougher in the novel.

* Jane in ''[[Johnny Mnemonic]]'' isn't exactly weak, but she's not nearly as hard-assed as her counterpart Molly in the original story.

* [[Greg Rucka]], the author of ''[[Whiteout]]'', complained about Carrie Stetko being made weaker in the film adaptation so as to prop up the male characters. "At least they got rid of the scene in the script where she - a U.S. Marshall - hears someone following her and ''runs away''. What's she gonna do, call the cops?"

* An odd variant happens with Mystique in ''X-men: First Class''. Fans familiar with the character in the original trilogy (which ''First Class'' establishes loose continuity with) will probably find it jarring that she goes from being [[The Dragon]] to Magneto and a [[Dark Action Girl]] to being an awkward if [[Adorkable]] girl. Given that the movie is a prequel and that there are certain scenes (for example, Mystique bench pressing an impressive amount of weight), it's likely it's being set up for future badassery.

* ''[[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra]]'' featured Courtney "Cover Girl" Krieger, who in comic-continuity is a former high-fashion model who enlisted and became a missile-tank driver. Who is fond of doing all the [[Wrench Wench|upkeep and repair work on her own tank]]. In the movie, she's Hawk's [[Girl Friday]]. This is a [[Justified Trope]] though, as its explained in the prequel novel that sometime prior to then, she was critically injured during a mission and is no longer physically capable of serving combat duty.

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Days of Our Lives]]'' Stephanie Johnson is one of the most blatant cases. When the character first returned to the show as an adult she was played by redhead Shayna Rose and appeared as a [[Wrench Wench|tough girl race car driver]]. After Rose was fired, the character was recast with brunette former beauty queen Shelley Hennig as a rather uninteresting fashion plate character with little or no real character.

* ''[[Kamen Rider Double]]'' Saeko went from stoic villainess to [[Clingy Jealous Girl]] as soon as her love interest Isaka appeared on the scene, with bonus [[Unnecessary Makeover]] to boot. Some would also argue that Akiko underwent this after her [[Last-Minute Hookup]] with [[Sixth Ranger|Terui]].

* ''[[Power Rangers]]'' Both of Tommy's girlfriends. Kimberly single-handedly defeated monsters such as the Terror Toad and the Snizard, and Kat(herine) was instrumental in nearly ''bringing down the Rangers themselves'' while under Rita's spell. When they started dating Tommy, it seemed that not one episode could go by without one of them screaming "TOMMY!" at the top of their lungs. (On the other hand, given how often Tommy [[The Worf Effect|wound up]] [[Badass in Distress|in need of rescue]]...).

* ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'' Happened to both Marian and Djaq to some extent. Marian is shown to be a capable fighter throughout most of the show, but towards the end of season two she is hit in the face with the [[Distress Ball]] and ends up as the [[Damsel in Distress]] on numerous occasions. In her final appearance, just before Gisborne {{spoiler|stabs her to death}} the writers ensure that our intrepid heroine is denied the opportunity to wield a sword in her defense of the king, and she's reduced to simply flailing her arms around. Djaq kicks ass right to the end, but many were put off by her abrupt declarations of love for Will Scarlett, and the fact that she spent the rest of the finale behaving like a gooey-eyed teenager [[Strangled by the Red String|before opting to stay in the Holy Land to raise pigeons with him]].

* ''[[Sanctuary]]'' has an unusual male version of this, not surprising, since the show likes to [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|genderflip]] [[Badass Longcoat|tropes]]. Will starts out as a [[Badass Bookworm]] and ends up the [[Designated Victim]]. Strangely, only slightly less annoying than the usual way around.

* ''[[Cheers]]'' did it to Ms. Rebecca Howe who went from [[Ice Queen|cold, efficient manager]] in her first appearances to blundering, [[Gold Digger|gold digging]] crybaby by the end of the series.

 

* ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (video game)|Knights of the Old Republic]]'' Inverted: Bastila spends most of Taris in an enemy prison, but once you rescue her she becomes an actual [[Action Girl]].

* ''[[Odin Sphere]]'' Likely as a reference to the above example and general Valkyrie lore, the Valkyries fear this trope. Disobedient Valkyries are punished by being placed into slumber and given away to a man who will be their husband upon awakening, whereas Valkyries who are no longer able to fight are forcefully stripped of their status and married to men, where they must be obedient wives for the rest of their lives. An early Valkyrie NPC in Gwendolyn's story is facing this fate and terrified, whereas Gwendolyn herself suffers the slumbering sort as a punishment early in her story. The rest of her story has her struggling against her growing feelings for Oswald and her new role as a non-warrior. {{spoiler|The game later reveals that Odin only used magic to make Gwendolyn sleep and not to manipulate her emotions. No one actually tells Gwendolyn this, probably because they looked at how hostile she was to Oswald and figured she must already know she wasn't enthralled. She never seems to realize that her feelings for Oswald were always genuinely her own. Ultimately, she decides it doesn't matter if they're fake or not, because Oswald is the first person in her life to treat her like a human being as opposed to her selfish, cold-hearted father. As for fighting, she seems to have little trouble with that and even [[Dude in Distress|rescues her husband herself]] from a dragon, a fire elemental king, and the queen of the dead. Clearly this trope just can't stick to her}}.

* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has done this to [[White Magical Girl|Jaina Proudmoore]]. In ''Warcraft III'' and its expansion, she was one of few people who listened to the Prophet's [[Cassandra Truth]] and led people across the sea to escape the Burning Legion. She even helped ''kill her own father'' when she decided there was no other way to secure a peace between the Alliance and the Horde. In ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', her role until Patch 3.3 was limited to cheering up orphans, and in Patch 3.3 she decided to see if her ex-boyfriend the [[Evil Overlord]] was redeemable. [[Sarcasm Mode|Good luck with that]].

** She suffers from this very badly in the Arthas novel, too, where aside from setting a couple of granaries on fire, she mostly wibbles about said ex-boyfriend, when she's not making out with him.

** Played with in the episode "A Last Time for Everything". Aeon lets Trevor create a copy of her for his own amusement and then switches places with her so she can experience a comfortable domestic life with him while the new Aeon takes over her old life. She then allows the copy to kill her, both to make Trevor miserable and because she was driven to despair by no longer being true to herself. Taken together with the above example (who was her boyfriend at the time) it's possible that being more vulnerable and "feminine" around men she cares about is just another aspect of her character, and one that she's not particularly proud of at that.

* ''[[American Dragon: Jake Long]]'' In an interesting inversion, in the final episode (made at the exact same time by the exact same people), it is the hero Jake who gets KOed by the [[Big Bad]] in the [[Grand Finale]], and his [[Dark Action Girl]] girlfriend Rose who ends up [[All Up to You|saving the world]].

* ''[[Gargoyles]]'' One of the reasons the "Goliath Chronicles" season is so lambasted by the fandom (in addition to its [[Word of God]] [[Canon Discontinuity]]) is that several of its female characters underwent the [[Badass Decay]] that had been scrupulously avoided in the first two seasons. A particularly dire example noted by series creator [[Creator/Greg Weisman|Greg Weisman]] on his blog, concerns [[Dark Action Girl]] Fox in the episode "Ransom", who becomes quite the weepy [[Neutral Female]] after her baby son is kidnapped, as opposed to a previous kidnap attempt (by Oberon, ''[[Physical God|godlike]] king of [[The Fair Folk]]'') where she calmly [[Mama Bear|waiting in front of his crib with a laser gun]].

* ''[[Pepper Ann]]'' parodied this trope in an episode where a cartoon starring fictitious [[Comic Book]] heroine Tundra Woman turns her into a shopping-obsessed bimbo and her archenemy into her [[Shallow Love Interest]] boyfriend. Unfortunately, Pepper Ann's sister's protest campaign causes them to veer [[Real Women Never Wear Dresses|too far in the other direction]].

[[Category:Gender and Sexuality Tropes]]

[[Category:Double Standard]]

[[Category:Character Derailment Tropes]]