Leg Cling

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Conan the Barbarian

A Film Poster Trope that likely has ties to old pulp comics or adventure book covers. Perhaps popularized by fantasy art via our good friend Frank Frazetta (Warning: it's even less safe for work than the picture to the right.)

Stab the Sky may be employed, in order to emphasize the Alpha Male's Power Phallus, even though he's not compensating for anything showing his dominance over all that surrounds him by having a buxom woman literally clinging to his leg. Often paired with Atop a Mountain of Corpses, as seen in the page illustration.

Some variants don't feature the Leg Cling but retains the notion of the Power Male with a subordinate female.

Common pose used on a Contemptible Cover.

Examples of Leg Cling include:

The Basic Leg Cling

Anime and Manga

  • Volume 1 of the Seinen horror Manga Hanako and the Terror of Allegory features some cowering female clinging to the hero's leg.

Comic Books

Fan Works

Film

Literature

Live-Action TV

  • One promotion picture for Doctor Who has Christopher Eccleston in front with Billie Piper doing this.
  • In As Time Goes By, Lionel is going on a promotion of his book, My Life in Kenya (a story about his time as a coffee planter in Kenya), but the publisher, Alistair, wants him to dress in the classic African Explorer outfit, complete with rifle, and to have a scantily-clad young girl clinging to his leg. "Li" is not happy.
  • The Korean Drama Best Love: Jae Suk during a drunken confession to Dokko Gin.

Music

  • A cover for a Manowar album has the Sons of Odin getting this from nude valkyries.
  • Done in the cover of Exciter's Long Live the Loud.

Music Videos

Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legend

Print Media

Recorded and Stand Up Comedy

  • Henry Rollins had a hilarious routine about van paintings like this, with the barbarian holding his sword aloft and "a wench clinging to his leg, staring wantonly at his nutsack, but he has no time for this woman, he needs to BOND WITH THE GOD OF THUNDER!!!"

Video Games

  • FMV in Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, shows Luna awakened as the goddess Althena, doing this to Magic Emperor Ghaleon.
  • The cover for Kaan: Barbarian's Blade.

Web Comics

Web Original

  • This "historically accurate" model from Doctor Grordbort's Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory. Plus a Golden Metal Bikini poster.
  • A rare male-to-male example can be found in Freddie Wong's "Huge Guns" video, here.
  • In the outtakes for Kickassia, Spoony (who brough a prop lightsaber for the fight) imitates Luke Skywalker for a poster shot while Jew Wario does the leg cling.

Western Animation


Variants without the Leg Cling

Comic Books

Film

Music

Music Videos

  • In the Gorillaz clip for "Feel Good Inc.", once Murdoc Niccals has risen up, he's surrounded by women in this submissive position.

Web Comics

Western Animation

  • In the Chowder episode "Fireheart", during the song montage while Chowder is living with the dragons, there's a still shot of Chowder like this with Panini-Chowder has a stereotypical Conan physique, while Panini, for her part, is wearing a leopardskin bikini, with gigantic hips and Gag Boobs. Must be seen to be believed.