History Main / MotherNatureFatherScience

[[caption-width-right:350:'''Left to right:''' ''VideoGame/CookingMama'', ''VideoGame/SciencePapa'']]

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''I, Robot'': Averted by the coldly logical (and somewhat misanthropic) robopsychologist Susan Calvin. Calvin is misanthropic in the sense of the word that means she doesn't much care for ''anybody'', regardless of sex. The most emotional she ever gets is in the story "Liar!," where she becomes absolutely ''vitriolic'' towards a robot that basically tricked her into revealing that she had ''feelings'' for another person.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'', where the science-loving [=GLaDOS=] is clearly female.

* Even today there tend to be more men in STEM majors and more women in humanities majors, all around the worldl.

* ''Anime/PonyoOnTheCliffByTheSea'': Ponyo's mother is a goddess of mercy, and her father a scientist. (Well, sort of a wizard, but a very mad-science-flavored wizard.) However, there's a bit of a subversion in that her father is [[OverprotectiveDad motivated more by love for his family than anything else]] and cares deeply about nature, to the point of [[YouAreWhatYouHate hating humans]] for unbalancing the ocean's ecosystem.

Compare ClarkesLawForGirlsToys, MenBuyFromMarsWomenBuyFromVenus, MarsAndVenusGenderContrast, and EmotionsVsStoicism. See also TheChick, TheSmurfettePrinciple, StrawVulcan, and StrawmanEmotional. Contrast WrenchWench and MotherlyScientist (usually female, but not always).

* In ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanet'', the Planeteers are led by Gaia, the spirit of the Earth. The main villains are almost all male, [[AvertedTrope except for one ]]--Dr. Babs Blight, a rare ''female'' MadScientist. The male villains tend to be in business, though Duke Nukem used to be a scientist as well.

** A few Witch characters have been seen to use wizard magic, which is a variety of [[FunctionalMagic Rule Magic]] and so there is really no reason why not. No wizard has been seen to use Borrowing or any other of the Witch specialties, but on the other hand, there has never really been any suggestion that they couldn't if they wanted to. Granny once fought a magical duel with the then-current Archchancelor, and they fought to a standstill. In ''Literature/EqualRites'', Eskarina Smith succeeds in being accepted as the first-ever female student of Wizardry. When she's reintroduced in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'' she's taken a much CloserToEarth approach to the discipline than the male colleagues of hers that we've seen.

* In ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'', the hippie environmentalist faction is led by Deirdre Skye, a woman, and the scientific-technological faction is led by Prokhor Zakharov, a man. ''Alien Crossfire'' then inverts this by introducing Aki Zeta-5, an EmotionlessGirl leader of an entire faction of [[TheSpock Spocks]], and Cha'Dawn, a young man who is supposedly a MessianicArchetype, head of the Cult Of Planet. The expansion also played it straight with the two alien factions: the Caretakers, led by a female sworn to preserve the planet, and the Usurpers, led by a male and hellbent on exploiting its power for their own gain. As an inversion, the expert hackers (Data Angels) and the ultra-militaristic faction (Spartans) are led by women, while the humanitarian Peacekeepers are led by a man.

* ''FanFic/TheBridge'' goes all over the place with this. Two of its prominent characters gives us a contrast between Princess Luna and Godzilla Junior. The former is very clearly a magic user and while the latter doesn't use technology, his powers came about due to [[ILoveNuclearPower radiation he was exposed to]] since he was an egg. Furthermore, the most proficient magic user amongst the heroic kaiju, Mothra Lea, and naturally most of the magic-using Equestrian heroes are all female. Inversely, male kaiju Anguirus and Rodan have their roots in {{Magitek}} and female kaiju Destroyah was born out of a science super-weapon.

* A non-human example with Franchise/{{Godzilla}} and Film/{{Mothra}}. Once Mothra was fully integrated into the pantheon of the Godzilla universe following her success in her solo films, later films would establish her as the classically heroic feminine {{Foil}} to the antiheroic masculine Godzilla. A major difference between them is that Godzilla is the mutated product of [[ILoveNuclearPower nuclear radiation]], while Mothra is solely a product of nature. Where Godzilla is a destructive [[IWorkAlone loner]] with a heart full of rage, Mothra is widely venerated as a benevolent guardian of Earth, she [[TechnicalPacifist seeks peaceful solutions whenever possible]], and she often serves as a communicator and a peacemaker between {{Kaiju}} and humans, since her twin guardian fairies can translate Kaiju language into human speech.

* ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'': Dick is a physicist and his love interest and co-worker Mary is an anthropologist. On the other hand, Dick is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} alien while Mary is a cynical GrumpyBear. Ironically, Dick's mission as an alien observer of humanity makes him an anthropologist as well, just on a much larger scale.

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* Inverted in Creator/ETAHoffmann's 1816 story ''Literature/TheSandman'', with superstitious, (over)sensitive proto-EmoTeen Nathanael and his hardheaded rationalist girlfriend Clara.

If a show has men and women both from an academic background, the man will typically have a degree in science, math, or engineering, while the woman will have one in arts or literature. (This may be why so many {{mad scientist}}s are male.) Even if both characters are scientists, expect the man to research physics or mathematics and the woman to research psychology or biology. (This particular aspect is currently TruthInTelevision -- men usually outnumber women in university courses in mathematics, engineering, chemistry and physics, while women outnumber men in the humanities and in social and biological sciences.) Even when a character works in a field not usually associated with their gender, gender may still affect the approach they take -- for instance, a female engineer may be portrayed as understanding machinery in an intuitive way, while a male gardener might see himself more as a botanist than as a caretaker who loves beautiful flowers. Even people in the exact same careers will often change their approach; female doctors in fiction are likely to view themselves as compassionate healers, while men in the same profession will often see themselves as problem-solving scientists (hence why DrJerk is virtually AlwaysMale). This may lead to HarmonyVersusDiscipline conflicts.

Note that which approach is portrayed as better varies widely; see RomanticismVersusEnlightenment. In many works that come down on the side of Enlightenment, you'll see women portrayed as [[HystericalWoman hysterically]] [[StrawmanEmotional irrational]] and [[WeakWilled easily manipulated]], while their male counterparts' hard-nosed, [[StreetSmart pragmatic]] rationalism proves to be [[ScienceHero the key to saving the day]]. More Romanticist works, on the other hand, often portray men as [[TheStoic cold]], [[InsufferableGenius arrogant]], [[LackOfEmpathy heartless]], and [[MeasuringTheMarigolds unable to appreciate beauty or emotional realities]], while the women are [[CloserToEarth more balanced]], [[TheHeart compassionate]], and [[NatureHero in tune with nature]] (though it must be said that not all enlightenment or romanticist works conformed to these generalizations). In some works, it will be suggested that [[TheKirk both approaches are necessary]] and [[EmotionsVersusStoicism have to balance each other]]. (Note that this doesn't entirely get rid of the UnfortunateImplications if it's still implied that your gender determines which approach you have to take.) Nowadays, due to widespread awareness of this trope and its UnfortunateImplications, it's increasingly common to see {{inver|tedTrope}}sions, with [[MasculineGirlFeminineBoy a sensitive, expressive man and a logical, stoic woman]]. Again, which one is portrayed as right will still vary, although works like this are perhaps slightly more likely to go with the "both sides are necessary for balance" approach.

* Keyleth and Percy from Campaign 1 of ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'' have this dynamic; Keyleth is a [[NatureHero kind-hearted druid]] who is on a quest to master natural magic and the guardianship of the four elemental planes, while Percy is a [[TheSmartGuy polymath gunslinger]] who forges his own weapons and ammunition and accomplishes many feats of engineering. They sometimes clash on how to handle a given situation, with Percy's shrewd pragmatism battling Keyleth's upright compassion, but they're also each other's best friends and have nothing but respect for each other.

* Keyleth and Percy from Campaign 1 of ''[[WebVideo/CriticalRole]] have this dynamic; Keyleth is a [[NatureHero kind-hearted druid]] who is on a quest to master natural magic and the guardianship of the four elemental planes, while Percy is a [[TheSmartGuy polymath gunslinger]] who forges his own weapons and ammunition and accomplishes many feats of engineering. They sometimes clash on how to handle a given situation, with Percy's shrewd pragmatism battling Keyleth's upright compassion, but they're also each other's best friends and have nothing but respect for each other.

* In ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' both Bruce Banner and Betty Ross were scientists working on the serum that lead to Bruce's transformation. Bruce is Marvel's resident Gamma radiation and physics expert whereas Betty is a professor of biology.

* ''Series/TeenWolf'' subverts this trope with the two resident [[{{SmartGuy}} Smart Guys]] Lydia and Stiles. Female Lydia is a mathematical and scientific genius who reads physics books for fun and can whip up a molotov cocktail from memory, while the male Stiles mainly focuses on research - largely into supernatural history - and has excellent investigative skills that rely on intuitive leaps.

** ComicBook/PoisonIvy and ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} fit the trope. Poison Ivy can control the growth of plants with her mind and is often depicted as being mothering to plants and so in harmony with the natural world to the point that she hates anything man-made. Catwoman is not so obvious, but she has an unexplained and very odd affinity with cats. In some continuities, even tigers will discard habitual ferociousness if she gives them the right look. In contrast, the logical/scientific villains like ComicBook/MrFreeze or the ComicBook/TheRiddler tend to be male, although the Penguin does have an affinity with birds.
** Even ComicBook/ThePenguin shows this when compared to Catwoman. Both have an affinity with an animal (Birds and Cats respectively), Penguin shows a higher preference for high tech gadgets (like his trick umbrellas) than Catwoman who relies on a plain whip, claws, and acrobatics.

** ComicBook/PoisonIvy and ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} fit the trope. Poison Ivy can control the growth of plants with her mind and is often depicted as being mothering to plants and so in harmony with the natural world to the point that she hates anything man-made. Catwoman is not so obvious, but she has an unexplained and very odd affinity with cats. In some continuities, even tigers will discard habitual ferociousness if she gives them the right look. In contrast, the logical/sciencey villains like Mr. Freeze or the Riddler tend to be male, although the Penguin does have an affinity with birds.

** Poison Ivy and ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} fit the trope. Poison Ivy can control the growth of plants with her mind and is often depicted as being mothering to plants and so in harmony with the natural world to the point that she hates anything man-made. Catwoman is not so obvious, but she has an unexplained and very odd affinity with cats. In some continuities, even tigers will discard habitual ferociousness if she gives them the right look. In contrast, the logical/sciencey villains like Mr. Freeze or the Riddler tend to be male, although the Penguin does have an affinity with birds.
** Even Penguin shows this when compared to Catwoman. Both have an affinity with an animal (Birds and Cats respectively), Penguin shows a higher preference for high tech gadgets (like his trick umbrellas) than Catwoman who relies on a plain whip, claws, and acrobatics.
** Then there's Harley, the mad psychiatrist. She may have started off as a psychiatrist, but she is driven by her insanely emotional devotion to ComicBook/TheJoker.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}} Xenoblade Chronicles]]'' takes place on two giants, each controlled by a god: the natural Bionis and the mechanical Mechonis. [[spoiler:The gender roles are reversed though, as Lady Meyneth is Mechonis while Lord Zanza is Bionis. They do keep their gender's personality traits, as Meyneth cares for the people on both giants, while Zanza only cares about himself.]]