History Main / ActIonGirl

-->-- [[https://youtu.be/Z6xdnA2HMZk?t=11s "I'm Me",]] '''Vanessa Doofenshmirtz''', ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''

An Action Girl is a female badass who is tough and kicks butt. DamselInDistress? Not her ([[BadassInDistress most of the time]]). She's featured in far more than the DesignatedGirlFight. She faces dangerous foes and deadly obstacles, and she ''wins.'' She's a fairly common character in the ActionGenre.

For the longest time in many cultures, {{Double Standard}}s in both fiction and real life meant that when it came to action and fighting, guys definitely outnumbered girls. MenActWomenAre was the rule of thumb, which led to the Action Girl being a subversion of what was acceptable. As society has marched on, this view has faded in some media, leading to stories where Action Girls become the norm rather than the exception, such as stories set in a WorldOfBadass, and especially a WorldOfActionGirls.

The broad Action Girl concept can take many forms. FauxActionGirl is a case of presenting a character as this, only for them not to live up to the standards of this trope. DarkActionGirl is the villainous variety, and AffirmativeActionGirl is a cast addition intended to balance out gender ratios that typically also falls under this trope. Less action-y versions include YouGoGirl and PluckyGirl.

See below for even more subtropes and other variants.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] ''Comicbook/ActionGirl'', a comic series ''about'' an Action Girl. For advice on how to write these types of characters, see SoYouWantTo/WriteAnActionGirl.

!!Sub-tropes:

* ActionFashionista: Action Girl version of TheFashionista

* ActionMom: An action girl (''woman'' more likely) who has given birth and kicks ass.

* BikerBabe: An Action Girl who is also a BadassBiker.

* BoobsOfSteel: When her fighting ability is directly proportional to her bust size.
* BrawnHilda: Big, boisterous woman. Don't laugh or she'll break you over her knee.

* DamselOutOfDistress: Just because this lady was captured doesn't mean she's helpless; she can probably rescue ''herself''.

* FemaleFighterMaleHandler: The Action Girl has a NonActionGuy who handles and/or supports her.

* GirlyBruiser: The Action Girl happens to be a GirlyGirl. Can overlap with ActionFashionista above.
* HatesWearingDresses: Action girls often aren't fond of dresses, and the usual reasons are either because [[{{tomboy}} they're too girly]] or they get in the way of being action-y.

* LadyOfWar: A fine, elegant Action Girl who is just as composed as she is tough.

* LittleRedFightingHood: An Action Girl version of Literature/LittleRedRidingHood.

* {{Warrior Prince}}ss: She's royalty and she fights for her country.

* {{Xenafication}}: The harmless damsel of the novel becomes an Action Girl in the movie adaptation.

* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': Sweet S. is a downplayed example. Her main superpower is creating bubbles rather than an actual attack, and she's nowhere near as strong as the other Supermen, but she's still a hero who can and will help the other Supermen fight evil whenever it's needed.

[[folder:Asian Animation]

An Action Girl is a female badass who is tough and kicks butt. DamselInDistress? Not her. She's featured in far more than the DesignatedGirlFight. She faces dangerous foes and deadly obstacles, and she ''wins.'' She's a fairly common character in the ActionGenre.

* BadassDriver: When a woman is an astonishingly good driver.

This is somewhat of a CyclicTrope, with Action Girls often having surges in popularity in the 1940s, 1970s, 1990s and 2010s, probably not coincidentally times when the women's movement increased in prominence. Action Girls are nigh-omnipresent in action films, especially as the love interest or sister of a male ActionHero. Of course, this doesn't mean lesbian Action Girls don't exist.

This is somewhat of a CyclicTrope, with Action Girls often having surges in popularity in the 1940s, 1970s, 1990s and 2010s, probably not coincidentally times when the women's movement increased in prominence. Action Girls are nigh-omnipresent in action films, especially as the love interest or sister of a male ActionHero. Of course, this doesn't mean lesbian Action Girls exist.

This is somewhat of a CyclicTrope, with Action Girls often having surges in popularity in the 1940s, 1970s, 1990s and 2010s, probably not coincidentally times when the women's movement increased in prominence. Despite all this, Action Girls are still nigh-omnipresent in action films, especially as the love interest or sister of a male ActionHero.

An Action Girl is a female badass who is tough and kicks butt. DamselInDistress? Not her. She's featured in far more than the DesignatedGirlFight. She faces dangerous foes and deadly obstacles, and she ''wins.'' She's a fairly common character in the ActionGenre. Especially if she's TheHero's girlfriend.

This is somewhat of a CyclicTrope, with Action Girls often having surges in popularity in the 1940s, 1970s, 1990s and 2010s, probably not coincidentally times when the women's movement increased in prominence.

An Action Girl is a female badass who is tough and kicks butt. DamselInDistress? Not her. She's featured in far more than the DesignatedGirlFight. She faces dangerous foes and deadly obstacles, and she ''wins.''

JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith ''Comicbook/ActionGirl'', a comic series ''about'' an Action Girl. For advice on how to write these types of characters, see SoYouWantTo/WriteAnActionGirl.

Not to be confused with ''Comicbook/ActionGirl'', a comic series ''about'' an Action Girl. For advice on how to write these types of characters, see SoYouWantTo/WriteAnActionGirl.

* SmallGirlBigGun: Prefers a {{BFG}}.

A SuperTrope To:

Genres and worlds populated by Action Girls:

* GirlsWithGuns: An action genre focusing on badass girls with guns.
* WorldOfActionGirls: For works dominated by this character type.

* BikerBabe: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, an Action Girl who is also a BadassBiker.

* CombatStilettoes: A woman fights in high heels.

* ActionGirl/{{Pinballs}}

* ActionGirl/WebComics

* {{Xenafication}}: The frail lady of the novel becomes an Action Girl in the movie adaptation.

-->-- "[[https://youtu.be/Z6xdnA2HMZk?t=11s I'm Me]]", '''Vanessa Doofenshmirtz''', ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''

* BattleHarem: À group of action girls who fight with/for a same [[LoveInterest lover]].

* BrawnHilda:Big, boisterous woman. Don't laugh or she'll break you over her knee.

''[[IAmSong I'm me!]]"''