Men Are Generic, Women Are Special: Difference between revisions

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Likely caused by (or at least exacerbated by) the fact that [[Most Writers Are Male]].
Likely caused by (or at least exacerbated by) the fact that [[Most Writers Are Male]].

{{examples|Examples}}
{{examples|Examples}}


* One of the most obvious consequences of this trope is the role of [[The Chick]] in the [[Five Man Band]]. Males tend to have more diverse personality traits ([[The Big Guy]], [[The Smart Guy]]) that may or may not fit the traditional defintion of "masculinity", whereas [[The Chick]] is often defined solely by her femininity/typically feminine character type.
* One of the most obvious consequences of this trope is the role of [[The Chick]] in the [[Five-Man Band]]. Males tend to have more diverse personality traits ([[The Big Guy]], [[The Smart Guy]]) that may or may not fit the traditional defintion of "masculinity", whereas [[The Chick]] is often defined solely by her femininity/typically feminine character type.
* The tropes [[Womens Mysteries]] and [[Wondrous Ladies Room]] both depend on the idea that the female lifestyle is completely alien to men.
* The tropes [[Women's Mysteries]] and [[Wondrous Ladies' Room]] both depend on the idea that the female lifestyle is completely alien to men.
* Uni-sex clothing has the same cut as male clothing, impliying that male is the default body type. Also, a woman wearing "men's clothing" is more socially acceptable than a man wearing "women's clothing".
* Uni-sex clothing has the same cut as male clothing, impliying that male is the default body type. Also, a woman wearing "men's clothing" is more socially acceptable than a man wearing "women's clothing".
* [[Men Are the Expendable Gender]].
* [[Men Are the Expendable Gender]].
* Boys' toys will more often feature a girl playing with them in their advertising than girls' toys will feature a boy. One philosophy followed in the advertising industry is "If you have a product aimed at both boys and girls, and you can only use one child in the advertisement, you use a boy, because girls will listen to a boy, but boys won't listen to a girl."
* Boys' toys will more often feature a girl playing with them in their advertising than girls' toys will feature a boy. One philosophy followed in the advertising industry is "If you have a product aimed at both boys and girls, and you can only use one child in the advertisement, you use a boy, because girls will listen to a boy, but boys won't listen to a girl."
* [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]] are more commonly applied to female characters than males. The implication here is that viewers will always percieve a cartoon creature as male unless given plenty of evidence to the contrary. [[Non Mammal Mammaries]] may serve a similar function. Additionally, androgenous or sexless beings will often be portrayed as having a masculine physique.
* [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]] are more commonly applied to female characters than males. The implication here is that viewers will always percieve a cartoon creature as male unless given plenty of evidence to the contrary. [[Non-Mammal Mammaries]] may serve a similar function. Additionally, androgenous or sexless beings will often be portrayed as having a masculine physique.
* This trope also applies to sexual relations, where women are generally seen as "desirees" and men as "desirers". This has the [[Unfortunate Implications]] of goods (supply and demand) but it can also be described as follows: women "own" something special that men both lack and want.
* This trope also applies to sexual relations, where women are generally seen as "desirees" and men as "desirers". This has the [[Unfortunate Implications]] of goods (supply and demand) but it can also be described as follows: women "own" something special that men both lack and want.
* Even in shows that have a roughly even gender split in their audience, the viewer is usually treated as if "he" is a heterosexual male, hence most [[Fan Service]] being of the [[Male Gaze]] variety, and the prevelance of [[Girl On Girl Is Hot|attractive lesbians]] having a relationship over [[Guy On Guy Is Hot|attractive gay men]].
* Even in shows that have a roughly even gender split in their audience, the viewer is usually treated as if "he" is a heterosexual male, hence most [[Fan Service]] being of the [[Male Gaze]] variety, and the prevelance of [[Girl On Girl Is Hot|attractive lesbians]] having a relationship over [[Guy On Guy Is Hot|attractive gay men]].
* In advertising, when there's a generic couple considering buying a product, [[Men Buy From Mars Women Buy From Venus|the man will often be too much of a stupid slob to understand how great the product is]], while the woman is [[Closer to Earth|"special" enough]] to appreciate how very "special" the product is.
* In advertising, when there's a generic couple considering buying a product, [[Men Buy From Mars, Women Buy From Venus|the man will often be too much of a stupid slob to understand how great the product is]], while the woman is [[Closer to Earth|"special" enough]] to appreciate how very "special" the product is.
* A philosophy adopted by some male writers and directors, such as [[James Cameron]], is that the secret to writing a strong female character is to write her as a male [[Gender Flip|and then change the pronouns]]. (Yes, we could talk about the [[Unfortunate Implications]] of that until the cows come home, but the ends justify the means.) What it means with regard to this trope is that it takes a lot of effort to write a female character that is free from all of these "special" characteristics associated with femininity.
* A philosophy adopted by some male writers and directors, such as [[James Cameron]], is that the secret to writing a strong female character is to write her as a male [[Gender Flip|and then change the pronouns]]. (Yes, we could talk about the [[Unfortunate Implications]] of that until the cows come home, but the ends justify the means.) What it means with regard to this trope is that it takes a lot of effort to write a female character that is free from all of these "special" characteristics associated with femininity.
** Additionally, characters originally written to be male can be easily changed to be female with few alterations; however, a character written to be female has to undergo more significant revisions to be [[Gender Flip|re-written as male]]. Otherwise he might come off as a bit... "special".
** Additionally, characters originally written to be male can be easily changed to be female with few alterations; however, a character written to be female has to undergo more significant revisions to be [[Gender Flip|re-written as male]]. Otherwise he might come off as a bit... "special".
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