Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow."''|'''The [[Magic Mirror]]''', ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs]]''}}

Dark hair and pale skin as an indication that a character is beautiful. In Western culture, this is a [[Cyclic Trope|once-dead, now reviving trope]], thanks to the [[Goth]] and Retro movements bringing an increased awareness of this and the 1950s pin-up style regaining popularity. In addition, the ~~current~~ vampire fad and the rising fear of skin cancer have helped with the resurgence of this trope. This is also quite popular in Eastern media, being the traditional standard of Asian beauty, and the fact that most of the Japanese population has [[Shiny Midnight Black|black]] or very dark [[Brainy Brunette|brown]] hair helps. The [[Chiaroscuro|high contrast]] also makes for a striking and visually appealing appearance.

Dark hair and pale skin as an indication that a character is beautiful. In Western culture, this is a [[Cyclic Trope|once-dead, now reviving trope]], thanks to the [[Goth]] and Retro movements bringing an increased awareness of this and the 1950s pin-up style regaining popularity. In addition, the vampire fad of the 1990s and 2000s and the rising fear of skin cancer have helped with the resurgence of this trope. This is also quite popular in Eastern media, being the traditional standard of Asian beauty, and the fact that most of the Japanese population has [[Shiny Midnight Black|black]] or very dark [[Brainy Brunette|brown]] hair helps. The [[Chiaroscuro|high contrast]] also makes for a striking and visually appealing appearance.

Commonly a requirement for the [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] type and is also known as the Yamato Nadeshiko look. In fact, a '''Raven Hair, Ivory Skin''' [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] is a stock character for the [[Harem Genre]].

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And please, people, before adding to this list, consider whether or not the character was clearly meant to be attractive, explicitly stated to be attractive, and/or regarded as attractive by any other characters. Do not add them to this list just because [[Your Mileage May Vary|you find them to be attractive]].

{{noreallife|this is a trope about how characters are depicted in media.}}

== Anime & Manga ==

== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]'': Kiri Komori and Itoshiki-sensei are both seen as this.

* ''[[Black Jack]]'': one episode featured a strong example of this—Souno, a [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] young girl from an old and rather traditional Japanese family, who had been kept indoors all her life due to suffering form a debilitating disease that would cause her life to drastically shorten if she was exposed to sunlight (as well as killing her off before she turns 18 even if she avoids it). She's spent most of her life in a sealed room, practicing Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, under the watch of her very severe [[Overprotective Dad]]; thus, Souno is perfectly pale, with perfectly black hair, and a perfectly exquisite face...a beauty in a bottle. (Remember, the "Nadesico" part of [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] refers to a particular type of flower—probably a deliberate parallel in this case.) Fortunately, Doctor Blackjack is there to help—along with his [[Cheerful Child|lively assistant]], Pinoco, who strikes a really cute [[Intergenerational Friendship]] (sorta) with Souno and gives her the courage to get the treatment she needs.

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* Sebastian from ''[[Kuroshitsuji]]'' is a male example.

* Ruri "Kuroneko" Gokou from ''[[Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai!]]'', especially when she is in [[Elegant Gothic Lolita]] garb.

== Arts ==

* This trope is quite popular in 1950s pin-ups, and modern women like Rita Von Squeeze have helped bring the art style back to life.

== Comic Books ==

* Death and Desire from ''[[The Sandman]]'' qualify (two other members of the Endless have the right hair and skin for it, but Morpheus is extremely gaunt and [[Looks Like Cesare]] and Despair is a [[Gonk]]); Death was based on a myth (Kabbalistic, I think) in which the Angel of Death appears to the deceased as a woman so beautiful [[Even the Girls Want Her|their]] soul leaves their body in ecstasy, and, being [[Your Heart's Desire|the personification of desire]] and all, Desire is ([[Informed Attractiveness|supposed to be]]) the embodiment of perfect androgynous beauty.

* Domino and Sage from ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]''.

== Comic Strips ==

* Dethany Dendrobia from ''[[On the Fastrack]]''.

* ''[[Nemi]]''.

== Fairy Tales ==

* The eponymous [[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|Snow White]], the "fairest of them all" princess, making this trope [[Older Than Radio]].

== Fan Works ==

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* Terra from ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5330983/1/Convergent_Paths Convergent Paths]'' is described as dark-haired, fair-skinned, and very beautiful.

* The young assassin Elandria from the ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' fanfic ''[[Secret War (fanfic)|Secret War]]'' is described as this, even while she's amped up on combat drugs.

== Films ==

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* The heroine of ''[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|Snow White]]'' retelling ''[[Snow White: A Tale of Terror]]'' of course has this coloring. Monica Keena, a natural blonde, dyed her hair black for the film.

** The same goes for ''[[Snow White and the Huntsman]]'', ''[[Mirror Mirror (film)|Mirror Mirror]]'' and any other live-action ''Snow White''.

== Literature ==

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* Sabriel and Lirael from the ''[[Old Kingdom]]'' trilogy.

* [[Big Bad|Tom Riddle (AKA Lord Voldemort)]] from ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' had pale skin and dark hair, and was frequently noted to be very handsome before he started ripping out chunks of his soul and putting them in [[Soul Jar|Horcruxes]].

== Live-Action TV ==

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* ''[[Firefly]]'''s Inara Serra is a Companion, licensed to entertain the wealthy and powerful, who compliment her looks of dark curly hair and fair skin.

* Chloe in ''[[Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23]]''

== Music ==

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** [http://nogoodforme.filmstills.org/stvincent.jpg Annie Clark] herself fits the trope, which is remarked upon by [http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2012/04/live_review_4_24_12_tune-yards_st_vincent_oakland_fox_theater.php?page=2 every] [http://www.spin.com/articles/style-issue-st-vincent single] [http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/05/just-the-gist-st-vincents-annie-clark journalist].

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== Myths and Legends ==

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== Myths & Legends ==

* A male example is Naoise, lover of Deirdre in the Ulster Cycle of [[Celtic Mythology]].

{{quote|'''Deirdre:''' ''(After seeing a raven drinking blood out of the snow)'' I will love a man with hair the color of the raven, skin as white as snow, and lips as red as blood.}}

== Video Games ==

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* Two of the five princesses depicted in the second ''[[Dark Parables]]'' game have this; of course, one of them ''is'' [[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|Snow White]].

* Ashei, the lady knight in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]'', has the physical characteristics of this trope, but whether other characters consider her beautiful is never stated.

== Web Original ==

* Amusingly averted by Weiss Schnee of ''[[RWBY]]'', who despite being based on Snow White is a platinum blonde. Her teammate Blake Belladonna, however, fits the trope to a T. ~~And~~ Ruby Rose would, too, except for the reddish highlights in her hair. Among the adults in the cast, siblings Qrow and Raven Branwen, although Qrow displays some premature grey.

* Amusingly averted by Weiss Schnee of ''[[RWBY]]'', who despite being based on Snow White is a platinum blonde. Her teammate Blake Belladonna, however, fits the trope to a T. (Ruby Rose would, too, except for the reddish highlights in her hair.) Among the adults in the cast, siblings Qrow and Raven Branwen, although Qrow displays some premature grey.

== Western Animation ==