Standard Female Grab Area: Difference between revisions

[[File:female_incapacitation_edit2_1937.jpg|link=Casey and Andy|right]]

No one is quite sure why, but it appears that any female lead's weak point in any given show happens to be on or around her upper arm (or alternatively the wrist). She could be absolutely dominating a fight, but the moment any old mook sneaks up behind her and say, grabs her shoulder, she suddenly [[Faux Action Girl|loses all competency and is reduced to begging the hero to save her, or tries once and again to fight back but is completely useless]]. This trope would make more sense if the [[Mooks|Mook]] also had, say, a gun to her back or something, but too frequently he runs at her unarmed and manages to reduce her to complete harmlessness. Maybe [[Action Girl|Action Girls]] come factory-equipped with an on/off switch in their upper arms.

Giving the benefit of the doubt, this trope exists to keep fights interesting. But since it doesn't happen quite as often to guys, it's more likely that [[Double Standard|gender stereotypes haven't changed as much as we're led to believe]]. Alternatively, when someone tries to calm or incapacitate a guy it's much more socially acceptable to use a believable amount of force--such as punching him, [[Tap on the Head|knocking him out with a weapon]], or beating him senseless. Until the audience gets over its distaste for seeing female characters hurt--and immediately seeing any man who uses force against a woman as a villain--there will be a double standard. A third possibility is that of simple pragmatism: while animators these days have no problems lampshading how ridiculously sexist "chivalry" is, many real life holds on women can come off as perversely sexual (e.g. a full nelson from a strong opponent, while capable of incapacitating the character, also involves her assailant pressing himself behind her, forcing her head down, and spreading her arms from her chest). It doesn't excuse how ridiculous it is for an otherwise strong female to fold this easily, however.

Note that this trope does not apply if the female character is subjected to an actual combat move such as an armbar or a hammerlock. Note also that not every instance of a man grabbing a woman by the arm counts as a use of the [[Standard Female Grab Area]], as there really aren't a whole lot of other places that a man can grab a woman that don't carry [[Unfortunate Implications]], especially on a family-oriented show. This trope only comes into play when use of the [[Standard Female Grab Area]] makes the woman unaccountably helpless or ineffective.

[[Captain Obvious|It should go without saying]] that in [[Real Life]], it will take more than just grabbing your opponent's upper arms or wrists and standing there to stop them, regardless of gender. (This depends on the girl, however; often in many cultures, women are ''conditioned'' to submit reflexively to being physically apprehended by a man or matron-- which is probably the history behind the trope).

** Partially averted--Deunan's larger male comrade also has to grab her by the waist, and visibly struggles with it (you can see him shifting his feet a few times).

* Subverted in ''[[Live Free or Die Hard]]''. Near the end of the flick, a henchman has Lucy firmly subdued via the [[Standard Female Grab Area]] while the [[Big Bad]], Gabriel, threatens McClane... but the second the [[Big Bad]]'s back is turned, Lucy smacks the henchman in the face, ''shoots him in the foot with his own gun'' and [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|basically almost manages to finish out the whole flick by herself]]. When the henchman get her back under control, he grabs her by the throat and shoves a gun in her face.

* Reference in ''[[Shooting Stars]]'' in a segment parodying ''[[The A-Team]]'' - "Look, it's a woman being pushed and pulled about a bit by some communists!" (Two Fidel Castro lookalikes each holding on to the [[Standard Female Grab Area]] and pointlessly pushing her back and forth)