History Main / BareMidriffsAreFeminine

* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': The titular Shantae is a frequent source of midriff- and navel-focus as both a Half-Genie and SultryBellyDancer, but pretty much every single other major female character is young, cute, and shows off a [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure slender stomach]]. For that matter, virtually every non-child female character -- including villagers and some {{Mooks}} -- bares her belly or [[NavelWindow shows just enough to reveal the belly button]], suggesting midriff-baring is customary in Sequin Land. In the (very rare) case a female character's abdomen is fully covered, she'll sport a NavelOutline, solidifying the trope of female belly button fanservice as something of a series hallmark. By contrast, male characters like Bolo, Uncle Mimic and the various Barons tend to full shirts, although on some males it's open in the front.

When a culture is portrayed as "exotic" or "primitive", with different nudity taboos from Western civilization, such as BarbarianTribe, HollywoodNatives, or an ancient civilization (such as AncientEgypt or {{Mayincatec}}), it's very common to portray men with bare chests and women with bare midriffs, as a way of avoiding NationalGeographicNudity. This often comes with the UnfortunateImplications of exotification and sexualization of non-European cultures, such as {{Orientalism}}. BedlahBabe is specifically when Middle Eastern women are portrayed in midriff-baring outfits. Similarly, when [[AllCavemenWereNeanderthals cavemen]] or {{Tarzan Boy}}s run around in {{Loincloth}}s, cavewomen and {{Jungle Princess}}es often wear midriff-baring {{Fur Bikini}}s. Women like this will almost always be portrayed as NubileSavage.

* ''Franchise/BlazBlue'': [[Characters/BlazBlueNoelVermillion Noel Vermillion]], [[Characters/BlazBlueMakotoNanaya Makoto Nanaya]] and Mai Natsume wear midriff baring outfits at different points and they're quite girly. Bullet subverts this, since her bare midriff highlights her tomboyishness instead.

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfLegends'': Arri, the Alin princess, shows off a large portion of her belly in an otherwise practical desert outfit.
* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': The titular Shantae is a frequent source of midriff- and navel-focus as both a Half-Genie and SultryBellyDancer, but pretty much every single other major female character is young, cute, and shows off a [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure slender stomach]]. For that matter, virtually every non-child female character -- including villagers and some {{Mooks}} -- bares her belly or [[NavelWindow shows just enough to reveal the belly button]], suggesting midriff-baring is customary in Sequin Land. In the (very rare) case a female character's abdomen is fully covered, she'll sport a NavelOutline, solidifying the trope of female belly button fanservice as something of a series hallmark. By contrast, male characters like Bolo, Uncle Mimic and the various Barons tend to full shirts, although on some males it's open in the front.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldandSoulSilver'': Karen is the only female among the Elite Four and her outfit is a belly-shirt.

* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'': Almost every playable female character wears a midriff-baring t-shirt or tank-top, in contrast to the male characters who wear regular shirts and jackets.

** In general, compared to Daisy who's portrayed more as a TomboyPrincess, Peach, as a feminine and dainty PrincessClassic, has more moments where her midriff goes exposed. Aside from the sports spinoffs, she's also seen in a bikini in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' postgame as well as a mermaid outfit in''VideoGame/PrincessPeachShowtime'', which also contrasts with her other transformations being less-revealing.
* ''VideoGame/WiiFit: The female trainer wears only a sports bra, exposing her stomach, which contrasts toward the male trainer, who wears a shirt covering his entire torso.

* The titular ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' are a teem of teenage girls who all wear outfits that show some skin around the belly area in their Guardian forms. In their New Power forms, only Taranee and Hay Lin do.

* This is a popular look in Franchise/{{RWBY}}. Several characters, including Blake and Yang until the Atlas arc. Emerald, Neo, Cinder in the tournament, and many minor female characters also wear midriff baring outfits. This contrasts with most male characters who wear normal shirts, or walk shirtless like Sun Wukong.

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* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' Many female characters in the series wear crop tops. Notabely Tifa Lockheart.

* ''VideoGame/TheQuarry'': Emma wears a turtle-neck sweater that shows her belly until she and Jacob go swimming, then she finds a grey shirt that she wears the rest of the gam.

* ''Franchise/TombRaider: Lara Croft wore a lot of shirts like this in the series until the 2013 reboot.

* TheQuarry: Emma wears a turtle-neck sweater that shows her belly until she and Jacob go swimming, then she finds a grey shirt that she wears the rest of the gam.

** Ashley from Season 1 wears a knotted crop top that shows her midsection along with her nightwear and bikini to indicate she's a girly {{Cowgirl}} and one of the {{Ms. Fanservice}}s of the show.

* ''WebAnimation/DisventureCamp'': True to its inspiration, there are more than a couple of females who wear this style.

** Ashley from Season 1 wears a knotted crop top that shows her midsection and she's a girly {{Cowgirl}} and the MsFanservice of the season.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' has Team Aqua, where the female grunts and admin Shelly expose their midriff and navel, while the male grunts wear a regular top. Matt, the male admin for Team Aqua, is a WalkingShirtlessScene instead.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldandSoulSilver'': Karen is the only female among the Elite Four and her outfit is a belly-shirt.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'': When playing as Serena, the character is given summer outfits for character customization. Many of these outfits are crop-tops (though the default outfit is not). Calem on the other hand is given winter outfits which are full shirts.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'': Nessa is the Water-type Gym Leader of the region, wears a swimsuit that exposes her entire torso and she's a fashion model on her off time. As part of her GenderedOutfit, Marnie wears a midriff-baring tank-top as Gym Leader.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': Professor Sada from ''Scarlet'' wears a tank-top that shows her abs. This contrasts with her ''Violet'' counterpart Professor Turo, who wears a form-fitting bodysuit instead.
* ''VideoGame/RiseOfLegends'': Arri, the Alin princess, shows off a large portion of her belly in an otherwise practical desert outfit.
* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': The titular Shantae is a frequent source of midriff- and navel-focus as both a Half-Genie and SultryBellyDancer, but pretty much every single other major female character is young, cute, and shows off a [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure slender stomach]]. For that matter, virtually every non-child female character -- including villagers and some {{Mooks}} -- bares her belly or [[NavelWindow shows just enough to reveal the belly button]], suggesting midriff-baring is customary in Sequin Land. In the (very rare) case a female character's abdomen is fully covered, she'll sport a NavelOutline, solidifying the trope of female belly button fanservice as something of a series hallmark. By contrast, male characters like Bolo, Uncle Mimic and the various Barons tend to full shirts, although on some males it's open in the front.

** Ashley from Season 1 wears a crop top that shows her midsection and she's a girly {{Cowgirl}} and the MsFanservice of the season.

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'': Daphne is TheFashionista of Mystery Inc. and in many incarnations (mainly beginning in the 2000s onward) shown wearing some type of midriff-baring outfit whereas Velma, who's the brains of the group, normally doesn't. It's more noticeable in direct-to-video movies such as ''WesternAnimation/AlohaScoobyDoo'' where Daphne goes the whole film wearing a midriff-baring outfit or a bikini compared to Velma opting for a less-revealing but location-appropriate shirt.

* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': The titular Shantae is a frequent source of midriff- and navel-focus as both a Half-Genie and BellyDancer, but pretty much every single other major female character is young, cute, and shows off a [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure slender stomach]]. For that matter, virtually every non-child female character -- including villagers and some {{Mooks}} -- bares her belly or [[NavelWindow shows just enough to reveal the belly button]], suggesting midriff-baring is customary in Sequin Land. In the (very rare) case a female character's abdomen is fully covered, she'll sport a NavelOutline, solidifying the trope of female belly button fanservice as something of a series hallmark. By contrast, male characters like Bolo, Uncle Mimic and the various Barons tend to full shirts, although on some males it's open in the front.

* BellyDancer outfits typically bare the dancer's midriff to draw attention to their hips as they perform dance moves that emphasize their femininity. Notably, these outfits are a Western creation and a result of {{orientalism}} - mostly dating back to the appearance of the exotic dancer [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Egypt_(dancer) Little Egypt]] at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair - as authentic traditional Middle Eastern dancing outfits cover the midriff.

* ''WesternAnimation/AlohaScoobyDoo'': Daphne dresses like this for the entire film — although it's justified in that she's probably wearing a bikini underneath her main outfit for the film.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'': Juniper Lee is a girly teenage girl and she proudly wears a belly-shirt, in contrast to the male characters who do not.

** Ashley from Season One wears a crop top that shows her midsection and she's a girly {{Cowgirl}} and the MsFanservice of the season.
** Yul from Season Two is a male example, since his crop top shows his adds and he's pretty CampStraight.

* Vikki Grimm wears a midriff baring camo tank top in the ''VideoGame/ArmyMen'' series.

* Tanya Adams in the ''VideoGame/CommandandConquer'' series. Natasha and Yuriko in Red Alert 3.
** There's also Sakura in the lesser known first person shooter game in the series, Renegade.

* ''VideoGame/WiiFit: The female trainer wears only a sports bra, exposing her stomach.