Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Difference between revisions

Aaaand there's the rest. I'll copypaste it to the subpage.
(I've fixed the Anime subpage about halfway. I'll eventually get to the rest of it.)
(Aaaand there's the rest. I'll copypaste it to the subpage.)
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*In the ''[[Code Geass]]'' fandom, Shirley gets bashed to the point of being a [[Ron the Death Eater]], which some people claim is just because she's "weak and stupid" for loving Lelouch and not being more badass and stoic about her situations, even when she's ''genuinely scarred'' by something terrible that happens to her! Her girliness may or may not be cited as a reason, but it's a likely part of it.
**There's also people who bash fearless [[Action Girl]] Kallen for having feelings for Lelouch, saying it makes her seem "weaker".
*And while on the subject of ''[[Code Geass]]''... many, ''many'' female characters from series by [[CLAMP]] have fallen prey to fangirl hate for their femininity, with the most blatant examples being Kotori and Kanoe from ''[[X/1999]]''. Kotori is bashed for being a soft-spoken and mentally-fragile [[Shrinking Violet]], Kanoe is hated for being a sexy [[Femme Fatale]]. Many rants against this [[Double Standard]] are stored in this...[http://clamp-rants.livejournal.com/tag/your%20vagina%20is%20not%20a%20dark%20abyss ''special'' tag from the CLAMP rants comm].
*When ''[[Tsubasa]]'' was released, one of the biggest complains was how Sakura was "reduced into a fucking [[Damsel in Distress]]" and "a weak piece of shit" because she wasn't a carbon copy of her [[Magical Girl Warrior]] original self. Nevermind that she had [[Hidden Depths]] like everyone in the series and she upgraded to [[Action Girl]] [[Girls Withwith Guns|with guns]] in the Tokyo arc, since Sakura wasn't ultra physically active in the beginning she had to OMG DIE.
**The end of the Tokyo arc, involving Sakura going off by herself to retrieve a feather proved that Sakura to be one of the most badass characters in the series when she sets her mind to it. The fight against the monster and the trek leading up to it is one of the most brutal scenes in the series up to that point, along with the injuries she sustains, including [[Fingore|getting her fingernails ripped out]] trying to stop herself from sliding down a sheer cliff, [[Eye Scream|suffering eye injury]], and having a metal pipe ''[[To Thethe Pain|skewered through her ankle.]]'' And despite all this, she still manages to get the feather and make it back. And keep in mind that Sakura had no combat experience up to this point, and that this was all in ''acid rain''. If that doesn't earn her some [[Plucky Girl]] points with the fanbrats, then ''what will''?
*What's that, you say? [[ReolutionaryRevolutionary Girl Utena|Utena]] is having an identity crisis over whether or not her desire to be a prince is part of her real personality, and what path she should take in life as part of this [[Coming of Age Story]]? Nonsense! [[Double Standard|She's a dumb slut for daring to be attracted to]] [[White-Haired Pretty Boy|Akio]] and lose her virginity to him! Who cares if she's [[Plucky Girl|strong-willed, determined, and does her best to overcome any character faults that would stop her from making the world a better place?]] Because she challenged Saionjii [[Love Letter Lunacy|over her friend's rejected love letter]], but then was affected by Touga's mind games to the point of an [[Heroic BSOD]], [[Fan Dumb|she's just a girly, airheaded]] [[Attention Whore]]! She should soak her uniform in the blood of anyone who dares look at her funny! And yes, there ''are'' Utena fans who follow this line of reasoning, and it's ''exactly'' as depressing as it sounds.
**This trope is also behind some of the Anthy-bashing that goes on in the fandom; apparently, it's peachy-keen that Akio manipulates and regularly forces himself on his younger sister, but because she's the recipient of it, she's a horrible role model and a disgrace to the female sex. Nevermind that pretty much all of the [[Character Development]] is based on pointing out that these kinds of attitudes are wrong and actively stop people from changing. [[Fan Dumb|Le Sigh.]]
***Ironically, this was actually [[Deconstruction|Deconstructed]] in-series. Some people hate Anthy because they think she's a weak, outwardly emotionless doll who claims to have no opinions outside of the Victor's whims; others hate Anthy because they think she's too powerful and manipulative and evil. And some just hate her because ''she'' gets to sleep with Akio, [[Green-Eyed Monster|and they don't]]. Interestingly, ''the entire spectrum of the fanbase's Anthy-haters are present in the story one way or another:'' Saionji hates her because he thinks she's not obedient enough. (Well, he loves her too, [[Bastard Boyfriend|but beats her often enough to make anyone wonder]]); Juri and Kanae feel threatened both by her [[Emotionless Girl]] persona and [[Devil in Plain Sight|the fear that she might be more sinister]]; several of the Black Rose Duelists (specially Kozue and Wakaba) envy her for "being loved" and "stealing their love interests". Then there's Akio himself, who needs to keep "his woman" under his control in order to keep playing the [[Big Bad]] of the show...Ikuhara really seems to know how society views feminine archetypes, and those views are reflected even in the Utena fandom.
**It's not just the haters; it's her fans too. Some fans, like the characters Miki or at first, Utena, see her as a classic [[Damsel in Distress]] archetype for them to rescue/defend on the forums, in order to boost their own egos. However, it should be noted that people who view Anthy as such are much rarer than the [[Ron the Death Eater|Anthy-Is-Satan variety]], because the series does eventually make clear that Anthy is most definitely not an emotionless doll, but that she is an extremely screwed up [[Broken Bird]] due to how she deconstructs the [[Damsel in Distress]] archetype.
*A wedding motif automatically means that ''[[Wedding Peach]]'' ''must'' be a pile of misogynistic brainwashing destined to convince young girls that they should get married, married, ''married'', and not wish for anything else in their lives? ''Really!?''
*''[[Monster]]'' is a series that brutally deconstructs many, many shonen/seinen tropes. Nina Fortner/Anna Liebert is a [[Deconstruction]] of [[Action Girl]], showing that just because a woman has ass-kicking physical abilities does NOT mean she's automatically immune to [[Break the Cutie|the horrifying trauma]] that Johan (himself a [[Deconstruction]] of the [[Complete Monster]] and [[Magnificent Bastard]] tropes) puts her through. The fandom, however? They refuse to stop think of it and immediately start the wails of [[Chickification]] on sight. One thing is not being satisfied with Nina's [[Character Development]] and thinking it could've handled and/or Deconstructed her trope better, but another is simply pegging her as weak and idiotic for not killing Johan in cold blood when she has the chance.
*Mikan from ''[[Gakuen Alice]]'' gets shit for similar reasons to the previously-mentioned Lucy from ''[[Fairy Tail]]''. So instead of beating up Natsume, Hotaru and others for their treatment of her, she decided to apparently take it, while resolving to start strenghtening herself so they would stop calling her weak? [[Sarcasm Mode|Urgh, what a stupid]] [[Extreme Doormat]] [[Sarcasm Mode|bitch and ''bad'' role model for little girls she is,]] ''[http://caithyra.insanejournal.com/31553.html indeed]''.
*Miaka from ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'' gets hit with this a lot. Okay, so ''can'' she can be quite [[The Ditz]], she isn't the best in her class, [[Distress Ball|she ''does'' have to be rescued by others atoccasionally times]], and she is a [[Big Eater]]; but according to her haters, she is "extremely stupid", "very weak", "always has to be rescued" and "has every guy in love with her", despite the fact that only four or five guys at ''most'' feel that way about her, and certainly not the entirety of the Suzaku Seven. Meanwhile, her [[Plucky Girl]] qualities get completely ignored for the sake of the aforementioned bashing. There's a reason why she is used as the icon for the "Hated Characters" group from [[Live Journal|LiveJournal]], you know.
**It gets worse. Fans of the prequel series ''[[Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden]]'' love to crow on about how Takiko is superior to Miaka in every way for being a "strong" and "mature" [[Action Girl]] who can take care of herself. This would be annoying enough by itself (for starters, the fans forget that Takiko is both older than Miaka ''and'' [[The Roaring Twenties|from an earlier]] [[Imperial Japan|time period]], so she'll naturally be more mature because of the culture she grew up in) but a few people have gone as far as to say they'd be ''personally offended'' if Takiko dies at the end of ''Genbu Kaiden'' while Miaka got to live and be with Tamahome... even though that's a [[Foregone Conclusion]] ''as indicated in the original manga''! That's right, there are fans who want to see a [[Retcon]] ''solely'' because they hate Miaka and love Takiko so much. [[Fan Dumb|Make of that what you will.]]
*Kaoru Kamiya of ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'', full stop. [[Faux Action Girl|Sure, she's not the top fighter in the ''RK'' world]], but the utter crap she gets for being emotional and not having nerves of steel... eugh. And for worse, those who bash Kaoru the most often call themselves "feminists who protest for how anime/manga craps on women!" Such[[Fan hypocritesDumb|Ah, fans...]]
**The Jin-E incident has to be seen to be believed. As far as her bashers are concerned, all Kaoru did was end up fainting. Not only that, they assume that she only recovered because Jin-E killed himself....which is made doubly ridiculous because: a) until she was put in the [[And I Must Scream]] situation, Kaoru was remarkably calm about being kidnapped by the local [[Knight of Cerebus]], something that would ''very understandably'' send others in absolute BSOD's; b) Kaoru broke off said [[And I Must Scream]] situation ''by herself'', which Jin-E himself acknowledged; c) Kaoru breaking free and thus outgambitting him ''was one of the reasons why Jin-E killed himself in the first place.'' (aside of having Kenshin-as-Battousai cripple him before almost giving him the fatal hit that Kaoru ultimately stopped.)
*Sanae Nakazawa of 's'[[Captain Tsubasa]]''. Her pluckiness and cheerful disposition is often ignored or handwaved by "feminist" fangirls/fanboys, who bash her by falsely accusing her of being "weak", "a stalker", "a whore" and "a bad example for girls" because she's less tomboyish as time passes. Blame the [[Values Dissonance]] of the 80's shonen manga, [[Skewed Priorities|not her]]!
*Maka Albarn from ''[[Soul Eater]]'' went through rather emotionally-hard experiences in the Envy and Sloth chapters of the Book of Eibon, needing Soul's help (''[[Justified Trope|as any person in her position would]]'') to both pull through it and also to defeat an ultra [[Ax Crazy]] Giriko in full [[Yandere|Yandere-for-Arachne]] mode. According to fandom, though? Aknowledging that bravery isn't the only thing needed to overcome difficulties and that punching evils with the Fist Of Courage isn't the magical key to victory is "''[[Fan Dumb|OMFG CHIIICKIFICAAAAATIOOOOONSEXIST!!!!]]''". Bet that [[Double Standard|if Soul had been though exactly the same thing]], these "feminists" would cream their pantiesthemselves and call him the biggest [[Woobie]] ever, instead. ◦ Not to mention, Death the Kid was a Distressed Dude and even had a brief Face Heel Turn in that same arc, but Maka is a weak and stupid bitch because of what happened to her while they don't say anything about him. Double Standard, indeed.
**Not to mention, Death the Kid was a [[Distressed Dude]] and even had a brief [[Face Heel Turn]] ''in that same arc'', but Maka is a weak and stupid bitch because of what happened to ''her'' while they don't say anything about ''him''. [[Double Standard]], indeed...
*Aoi Sakuraba. Dearof Gods,''[[Ai AoiYori SakurabaAoshi]]'', natch. She's a slut, she's aan [[Extreme Doormat]], she's a stupid bitch, she is less worthy of Kaoru's love than "super strong girl" Tina... any kind of sexist insult, Aoi has had it thrown at her, [[Values Dissonance|all for being a]] [[Yamato Nadeshiko]].
*''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'': Poor Keiko Yukimura. Not only she is being assaulted by the [[Yaoi Fangirls]], she is also being accused by "anime feminists" for not being an [[Action Girl]].
*Madoka Kaname from ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' is accused of being "weak" and "a bad role model for girls" because she is more hesitant at being a magical[[Magical girlGirl]] than the others because of the emotional damage she's gone through ''and'' because she reacted in a realistic way when she and Sayaka witnessed her [[Big Brother Mentor|Big Sister Mentor]] Mami getting horribly eaten alive. And what's worse, fans of Kyouko Sakura used this platform to bash Madoka on how she's an "ultra-cool-and-strong" girl instead of a "weak, angsty" girl like Madoka. (Not to mention, in their quest for a "feminist role model" in the series, the [[Fan Dumb]] also flanderizes[[Flanderization|Flanderizes]] Kyouko into an [[Ax Crazy]] [[Draco in Leather Pants]], instead of [[Broken Bird|the very]] [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|complex character]] [[Character Development|she truly turned out to be]]). Geez...[[Completely ◦ Mind you this only applies toMissing the current time-line that Madoka is inPoint|Geez. In the other time-lines that are shown, she is a lot more headstrong that her current portrayal. In a odd sense of irony, the same traits used to vilify Madoka can be used against Homura Akemi, since it turns out that when she first started, Homura then and the current Madoka are alot alike. Still this being Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Homura being all cute, weepy, shy and adorable simply doesn't last nearly as long. ]]
◦ And while a part of the Hitomi Shizuki hatedom comes from her being more assertive in romance than Sayaka, at least enough to tell Sayaka straightforwardly that she will confess her feelings for Kamijou if Sayaka doesn't take the initiative - and doing it, a part of it comes back to this trope. Apparently being both a girly girl and more honest/outspoken with her thoughts and feelings than a tomboy is forbidden, and if a said girly girl dares "break" that unspoken rule, she's a whore and a bad person. ◾ And the "feminist fandom" also conveniently "forgets" that Magical Madoka is likely to be the most powerful Magical Girl... and then become almost instantly the most powerful Witch as well as the destructor of the Earth. Taking levels in badass brings huge consequences in this series, but that particular Fan Dumb group doesn't seem to give a shit and DEMANDS for Madoka to ignore them so she can "become a strong female character" that fits their inhumanly huge standards of what a "worthy woman" should be. URGH.
**Mind you, this only applies to the current time-line that Madoka is in. In the other time-lines that get shown, she is ''a lot more'' headstrong that her current portrayal. In a odd sense of irony, the same traits used to vilify Madoka can be used against [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo|Homura Akemi]], since it turns out that when she first started, [[Not So Different|Homura then and the current Madoka were surprisingly alike]]. [[Adrenaline Makeover|Still, this being]] ''[[Deconstructor Fleet|Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'', Homura being all [[Moe|cute, weepy, shy and]] [[Adorkable|adorable]] [[Break the Cutie|simply doesn't last]] [[Broken Bird|nearly as long]].
◾ And for that matter, girls young enough to need role models probably shouldn't be watching Madoka Magica.
**And while a part of the Hitomi Shizuki hatedom[[Hatedom]] comes from her [[Die for Our Ship|being more assertive in romance than Sayaka]], at least enough to tell Sayaka straightforwardly that she will confess her feelings for Kamijou if Sayaka doesn't take the initiative - ''and doing it, ''-a part of it comes right back to this trope. Apparently being both a girly girl and more honest/outspoken with her thoughts and feelings than a tomboy is forbidden, and if a said girly girl dares "break" that unspoken rule, she's a whore and a bad person. ◾ And the "feminist fandom" also conveniently "forgets" that Magical Madoka is likely to be the most powerful Magical Girl... and then become almost instantly the most powerful Witch as well as the destructor of the Earth. Taking levels in badass brings huge consequences in this series, but that particular Fan Dumb group doesn't seem to give a shit and DEMANDS for Madoka to ignore them so she can "become a strong female character" that fits their inhumanly huge standards of what a "worthy woman" should be. URGH.
• In Freezing, it's interesting to try to apply this trope to the main character, Sattelizer L. Bridgette. As a child, she was sexually abused by her half-brother, resulting in her have a paralyzing fear of being touched. At her mother's deathbed, she was told to never give up and not take shit from anyone any longer, and a little later on she became a Super Soldier Action Girl. However, rather that this solving all her problems as per this trope, this in fact did not help at all, as this did nothing for her fear and resulting in her savagely beating the crap out of anyone who came close to her, causing her to be feared and hated by all. It's only when she falls in love with a male, Aoi Kazuya, the first guy to be nice to her, that she slowly starts to get over her problems and work on them.
***And the "feminist fandom" also conveniently "forgets" that Magical Madoka is likely to be the most powerful [[Magical Girl]]...and then become almost instantly ''the most powerful Witch'' as well as the destructor of the Earth. [[Took a Level In Badass|Taking Levels In Badass]] [[Deconstructor Fleet|brings]] ''[[Crapsack World|huge]]'' [[Deconstructed Trope|consequences in this series]], but that particular [[Fan Dumb]] group doesn't seem to give a shit and ''demands'' for Madoka to ignore them so she can "become a strong female character" that fits their inhumanly huge standards of what a "worthy woman" should be. ''Urgh''.
*Fans of Mai Hime have accused Akira Okuzaki of Chickification for wearing girlier clothes towards the end of the story. Not only it ignores that several of the HiMe are actually rather feminine girls or use their feminine wiles for their purposes (Shizuru is a Lady of War, Natsuki is a Gunslinger who wears her hair very long and loves collecting lingerie, Mai herself is very motherly and a [[Supreme Chef]], Nao is a [[Fille Fatale]] who uses [[Zettai Ryouiki]], etc.), but also "forget" that the main reason Akira dressed up as a guy is that she was trying to hide the fact that she was a HiMe in the first place, thus she started wearing skirts only when her mission was over and had no real reason to hide her gender, therefore it was okay to indulge herself a little in girlier stuff if she wanted to. Girliness Upgrade, yeah; Chickification, uhm, no.
***[[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|And for that matter, girls young enough to need role models ''probably'' shouldn't be watching]] ''[[What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?| Madoka Magica]]'' [[Captain Obvious|in the first place]].
*Both averted and not-so-averted in Tiger & Bunny:
*In ''[[Freezing]]'', it's interesting to try to apply this trope to the main character, Sattelizer L. Bridgette. As a child, she was [[Rape as Backstory|sexually abused by her half-brother]], resulting in her havehaving [[Hates Being Touched|a paralyzing fear of being touched]]. At her mother's deathbed, she was told to never give up and not take shit from anyone any longer, and a little later on she became a [[Super Soldier]] [[Action Girl]]. However, rather that this solving all her problems as per this trope, this in fact did not help at all, as this did nothing for her fear and resulting in her savagely beating the crap out of anyone who came close to her, causing her to be feared and hated by all. It's only when she falls in love with a ''male'', [[Non Action Guy|Aoi Kazuya]], [[Because You Were Nice to Me|the first guy to be nice to her]], that she slowly starts to get over her problems and work on them.
**There hasn't been much backlash against the scene in the Grand Finale during which Pao-Lin/Dragon Kid puts on a cute sundress before an outing with her parents. This is probably because it's easy to interpret it as her reaching a compromise with them about acting a little girlier instead of rebelling all the time, rather than as a sign of her relinquishing her determined boyishness.
*Fans of ''[[Mai Hime-HiME]]'' have accused Akira Okuzaki of [[Chickification]] for wearing girlier clothes towards the end of the story. Not only it ignores that several of the HiMe are actually rather feminine girls or use their feminine wiles for their purposes (Shizuru is a [[Lady of War]], Natsuki is a [[The Gunslinger|Gunslinger]] who wears her hair very long and loves collecting lingerie, Mai herself is very motherly and a [[Supreme Chef]], Nao is a [[Fille Fatale]] who uses [[Zettai Ryouiki]], etc.), but also "forget" that the main reason Akira dressed up as a guy is that she was trying to hide the fact that she was a HiMe in the first place, thus she started wearing skirts only when her mission was over and had no real reason to hide her gender, therefore it was okay to indulge herself a little in girlier stuff if she wanted to. [[Girliness Upgrade]], yeah;. [[Chickification,]]? uhm''God, no''.
**In contrast, many people complain about Karina/Blue Rose's role as [[Smitten Teenage Girl]] where Kotetsu is concerned, under the notion that it has become "her only character trait", whining about how she "never gets any character development". Note that Karina is not a main character, and yet is the only member of the supporting cast to get anything resembling a proper backstory; her role as an [[Ordinary High School Student]] is intentionally played to provide grounds for her doubts about full-time superheroing and her eventual developement of confidence as a superhero — despite how her sponsors are specifically marketing her as HeroTV's [[Ms. Fanservice]] + [[Faux Action Girl]].
*Both averted and not-so-averted in ''[[Tiger and Bunny|Tiger & Bunny]]'':
*Nanako Misonoo from Oniisama E gets this from viewers of the anime (especially on YouTube) for being not fighting back from her bullies.
**There hasn't been ''much'' backlash against the scene in the [[Grand Finale]] during which Pao-Lin/Dragon Kid puts on a cute sundress before an outing with her parents. This is probably because it's easy to interpret it as her reaching a compromise with them about acting a little girlier instead of rebelling all the time, rather than as a sign of her relinquishing her determined boyishness.
**In contrast, many people complain about Karina/Blue Rose's role as a [[Smitten Teenage Girl]] where Kotetsu is concerned, under the notion that it has become "her only character trait", whining about how she "never gets any character development". Note that Karina is ''not'' a main character, and yet is the only member of the supporting cast to get anything resembling a proper backstory; her role as an [[Ordinary High School Student]] is intentionally played to provide grounds for her doubts about full-time superheroing and her eventual developement of confidence as a superhero — despite how her sponsors are specifically marketing her as HeroTV's [[Ms. Fanservice]] + [[Faux Action Girl]].
*Nanako Misonoo from ''[[Oniisama E]]'' gets this from viewers of the anime (''especially'' on [[YouTube|YouTube]]) for being not fighting back fromagainst her bullies.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* The creation of ''[[Wonder Woman]]'' was William Moulton Marston's attempt to address this in society:
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