Men Are Strong, Women Are Pretty: Difference between revisions

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These differing standards lead to the genders being held to equally damaging but different standards of attractiveness and have numerous [[Unfortunate Implications]].

For women the implication is that your actions are irrelevant to your attractiveness to the opposite sex. As long as you're beautiful, even if you're 105 lbs of [[The Load|useless deadweight]] or [[Woman Scorned|utterly psychotic]] you're still desirable.

For women the implication is that your actions are irrelevant to your attractiveness to the opposite sex. As long as you're beautiful, even if you're 105 lbs of [[The Load|useless deadweight]] or [[Woman Scorned|utterly psychotic]] you're still desirable.

The [[Unfortunate Implications]] for men is that men are shallow and [[All Men Are Perverts|only after one thing]], thus they don't care if a woman is a dynamic, active character. Also, male characters will end up pulling more than their own weight, [[Hysterical Woman|emotionally]] and [[Men Are the Expendable Gender|physically]], in works where this trope is in effect.

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* [[No Guy Wants to Be Chased]], [[No Guy Wants an Amazon]], [[All Amazons Want Hercules]], [[Best Her to Bed Her]]: Women want men who are stronger than they are. Some women are seen as [[Weakness Turns Her On|attracted to weak men]] however the assumption is that they are attracted to [[The Woobie|these men]] in order to [[Dominatrix|dominate]] and [[Chew Toy|abuse them]]. Or, in lighter versions where the man is [[Hurting Hero|justifiably]] [[Iron Woobie|weak]], [[Florence Nightingale Effect|she is attracted to him]] because of his need for [[Intimate Healing|healing]]. The man in these more acceptable scenarios is still a [[Badass]] or a former [[Shell-Shocked Veteran|badass]].

* Compare [[Heroic Build|male superheroes]] with [[Most Common Superpower|their female counterparts]]... yeah.

* The fact that [[Faux Action Girl~~|Faux Action Girls~~]] can exist. It's not really necessary to establish them as strong as long as they're hot. A male character who is supposed to be [[Badass]] needs to live up to his reputation through acts of strength and manliness, while a female character does not.

* The fact that [[Faux Action Girl]]s can exist. It's not really necessary to establish them as strong as long as they're hot. A male character who is supposed to be [[Badass]] needs to live up to his reputation through acts of strength and manliness, while a female character does not.

* Our so-called modern attitudes regarding sexuality betray this trope. Men are seen to give women pleasure through their actions; while men get pleasure from women's bodies in a way that women don't from men's. Thus the emphasis is on men's technique, or their agency, and women's bodies, or their passive attributes, in sex.

* Pretty much every group of [[True Companions]] in [[Shonen]]. In good shonen [[Manga]], every character in the group is useful in their own way. Meaning [[The Smurfette Principle|the majority (the men)]] can be [[~~Gonk|gonks~~]] as long at they're also [[~~Badass|badasses~~]]. Women however, no matter how competent, must ALSO be (at the very least) cute. And of course, in poor shonen manga, the females tends to be regulated to being [[Ms. Fanservice|eye candy]], her looks being [[Flat Character|her only interesting point]].

* Pretty much every group of [[True Companions]] in [[Shonen]]. In good shonen [[Manga]], every character in the group is useful in their own way. Meaning [[The Smurfette Principle|the majority (the men)]] can be [[gonk]]s as long at they're also [[badass]]es. Women however, no matter how competent, must ALSO be (at the very least) cute. And of course, in poor shonen manga, the females tends to be regulated to being [[Ms. Fanservice|eye candy]], her looks being [[Flat Character|her only interesting point]].

* [[Abhorrent Admirer]], [[Fat Girl]], [[Hollywood Homely]], [[Hollywood Pudgy]]: Women are basically not allowed to look "plain", let alone be ugly. In the off-chance an ugly woman makes an appearance on screen, chances are she's a [[Foil]] to a [[Unkempt Beauty|frumpy]] yet [[Beautiful All Along|eventually attractive]] woman; or she's a [[Beauty Equals Goodness|villain]]. Additionally, women are ''forbidden'' to look for physical attractiveness in men as it makes them pass off as shallow bitches.

* [[Bury Your Disabled]], [[Inspirationally Disabled]]: Disabled men are always seen as sexually undesirable and forcibly chaste. Being unable to take physical action to advance the plot, they can only hope to be [[Mission Control|supportive characters]], or brainy ones, but romance is definitely off the table, ''unless'' the story wants to [[Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped|drop an anvil]] about accepting people for who they are.

== Specific Examples: ==

== Specific Examples ==

=== [[Live Action Television]] ===

* Invoked in ''[[Who Wants to Be a Superhero]]'', where the comic covers for the potential contestants had the men with bigger muscles than the real ones, and the women are likewise depicted with [[Most Common Superpower|bigger breasts]].

== Inversions: ==

== Inversions ==

=== [[Comic Books]] ===

* ''[[Y: The Last Man]]'': The central cast is a badass secret agent and bodyguard, an [[Insufferable Genius]] cloning expert and the crucially important survivor. The first two are both women, the last is a [[Non-Action Guy]].