History Main / ShowingUpChauvinists

* Given its FeministFantasy premise, nearly all the heroines of the Literature/TortallUniverse have to do this to get taken seriously in an overwhelmingly patriarchal society. Their attitudes towards it range from amused (Daine) to annoyed (Kel) to ''highly'' annoyed (Alanna), since they're all very dedicated to their jobs and having to deal with sexist nonsense gets in the way of getting actual ''work'' done.

See also MarsAndVenusGenderContrast, BreakingTheGlassCeiling. This trope is to gender what JackieRobinsonStory is to race, making them sister tropes. The DistaffCounterpart to BillyElliotPlot. Contrast NeverASelfMadeWoman, MenAreBetterThanWomen, StayInTheKitchen.

* A villainous/ReverseMole example in ''Literature/AliceGirlFromTheFuture'': when Alice infiltrates a juvenile delinquents' school, she becomes the best student, in particular, by excelling in subjects usually reserved for boys, such as fighting dirty. When she first shows up to fight, the teachers allow her to participate because they think [[WouldHitAGirl defeating a girl]] would be amazing training for the boys.

* In ''Anime/GhostInTheShellArise'', Batou often shows disapproval of being ordered around by the Major, who gave him the only option of [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse joining her team instead of rotting in jail]]. When he finally confronts her about her leadership style, he takes a swing at her, but she easily dodges and lays him out in a single punch. In a later incident, she hacks his cyberbrain and make him punch himself out for saying something chauvinistically stupid.

* Implied to the case in the flashbacks of Carol in ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'' with her being taunted by males whenever she seemed to fail at something while growing up (Go-Kart, Baseball, Military Training, etc). Once she managed to get her memories back, we see her getting back up in each of the memories despite the taunts, ready to try again [[spoiler: and indeed comes into play when she confronts Yon-Rogg and he tries to get her to fight him to prove to him she is the better fighter in a callback to the start of the move when he was training her and beat her easily. She just simply blasts him instead.]] Considering she was indeed a jet pilot back before the accident, it's very clear she proved her male jeerers wrong.

* In ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', Batou suggests that the Major ([[TheSmurfettePrinciple the only female member in Section 9]]) should switch out her female chassis to a male body instead, reasoning that she'll be physically stronger and that the others would respect her authority more. Motoko asserts her position as the leader by smiling at Batou, hacking his cyberbrain and making him [[StopHittingYourself punch himself out]]. She tells Batou that as long as she has no problem literally make others do what she wants, her current body suits her just fine.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheThreeMusketeers'', Barbie/Corinne sets off to become a musketeer, but is mocked for her dreams by several who believe a girl can't be a musketeer, [[BerserkButton which angers her]]. She and her three friends end up proving them wrong by defeating the villain, Philippe, who attempts to kill his cousin, the prince. At the end, the prince becomes king and the four heroines become royal musketeers.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': When Peter B. outlines the steps of his infiltration plan of Alchemax Labs to obtain the plans for the Super-Collidor that is threatening to destroy Brooklyn, he assumes the head scientist is male. He learns that EvilGenius transcends gender as the head scientist is a frizzy-haired hipster woman. This prompts him to add a step to ''"re-examine my personal biases"''.

* The made-for-TV movie ''The $520 An Hour Dream'' from 1980, stars Linda Lavin as Ellen Lissick, who works at an automobile plant doing "women's work." However, as a divorcee, Ellen needs more income to keep her children fed, clothed and housed, so she applies for the higher-paying engine assembly job. This is considered "man's work," and the entire assembly section is male. However, the supervisor likes the idea of an in-house transfer rather than a "cold" hire, so he coaches Ellen well enough that she can pass the tests set by a pessimistic auditor, and slowly earns the respect of the male assemblers.
* Implied to the case in the flashbacks of Carol in ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'' with her being taunted by males whenever she seemed to fail at something while growing up (Go-Kart, Baseball, Military Training etc). Once she managed to get her memories back, we see her getting back up in each of the memories despite the taunts, ready to try again [[spoiler: and indeed comes into play when she confronts Yon-Rogg and he tries to get her fight him to prove to him she is the better fighter in a callback to the start of the move when he was training her and beat her easily. She just simply blasts him instead.]] Considering she was indeed a jet pilot back before the accident, it's very clear she proved her male jeerers wrong.
* ''Film/HiddenFigures'' follows three female mathematicians recruited by NASA to calculate the ideal time and trajectory for putting John Glenn into a stable Earth orbit. At first, some of the senior staff disbelieved that women could handle the number-crunching of rocket science. The documented calculations of these women consistently checks out, quieting the doubters.

* ''[[Literature/AMagesPower A Mage's Power]]'': Tiza thinks she has something to prove because she's in a mercenary guild. To this end she makes everything into a competition and doesn't like Nolien taking a leadership role among the three novices. This confuses her teammates because they don't think she has to prove anything. Two of the five guild captains are female, the other three captains have female lieutenants and the overall guildhead is female as well.

* Downplayed in the ''Aratta'' series by Maria Semyonova and Anna Gurova. In the Nakh tribe, a woman is required to be TheAmazon ''before'' her marriage (she can't even marry without proving herself on the battlefield), but afterwards she ought to make a 180-degree turn and become a ProperLady housewife basically locked up in a tower, leaving the leadership to her husband. The ''saari'' (head) of the Bungar family is a woman who defied the custom, refused to marry and have children, commanded her family's army and eventually managed to earn fame and respect among the male leaders.

** When Jesus visits Martha and Mary (the sisters of Lazarus) in ''Literature/TheFourGospels'', Martha is annoyed that Mary doesn't help her with the cooking and instead sits and listens to Jesus's sermon. When Martha complains about this, Jesus tells Martha that she worries too much about minor matters, while paying attention to God's word is a lot more more important. Some theologians who analyze this part note that the fact of women learning religion just like men (or ''better'' than them, since it's a group of women, Martha and Mary among them, who get to be the first to know about the Resurrection and believe in it!) was quite a sensation in the 1st century AD-Middle East.

* ''Delilah And The Space Rigger'' is a 1950s story by Creator/RobertAHeinlein about the first woman working on a SpaceStation. The main character worries about all the trouble a woman will cause. One scene has him telling her to listen to another technician, because he's very good. She replies, "I know. I trained him."
* ''Literature/EqualRites'' sees the rather insular and chauvinistic world of magic receive a reality lesson at the hands of Discworld's witches. Prior to the mix-up at birth that led to Eskarina Smith becoming a wizard despite the handicap of being born female, the wizards held to the smug and inaccurate point of view that women were incapable of doing ''serious'' magic. Although they could be trusted with the small mundane stuff such as healing, blessing and sustaining - all the better for the ''men'' to get on with the ''important'' stuff. Esk and her mentor in witchcraft, Granny Weatherwax, go on to prove them wrong.

Most aspects of society are dominated by men. Business, engineering, mathematics, science, the military [[MostWritersAreMale fiction]]-- the list goes on. But once in a while, a woman comes along and shows just how successful she can be in this field, to the surprise of all around.

SuperTrope to WrenchWench, PassionateSportsGirl, ActionGirl, {{Hackette}}, HotScientist, YouGoGirl, IWasBeatenByAGirl, PirateGirl, TheQueenpin. WomenAreWiser can also come into play, if the woman's solutions are more practical on top of being better than her male critics. Can also veer into CommonMarySueTraits and FlawlessToken in the hands of a timid or inept writer, especially if the critics of the female characters aren't developed past StrawMisogynist.

See also MarsAndVenusGenderContrast, BreakingTheGlassCeiling. This trope is to gender what JackieRobinsonStory is to race, making them sister tropes. BillyElliotPlot is the GenderFlip version of this trope. Contrast NeverASelfMadeWoman, MenAreBetterThanWomen, StayInTheKitchen.

* ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces2017'': Penelope’s motive in "Race to the Moon" is to prove herself as a capable woman astronaut in a male-dominated field. Lampshaded by I.Q., who goes on a tirade about [[TakeThat outdated rules placed on women by society]], complete with caption slides reading "SUBTLE SOCIAL COMMENTARY" and [[SelfDeprecation "NOT SO SUBTLE, ISN’T IT?"]].

Some aspects of society are dominated by men. Business, engineering, mathematics, science, the military -- the list goes on. But once in a while, a woman comes along and shows just how successful she can be in this field, to the surprise of all around.

* ''Discworld/EqualRites'' sees the rather insular and chauvanistic world of magic receive a reality lesson at the hands of Discworld's witches. Prior to the mix-up at birth that led to Eskarina Smith becoming a wizard despite the handicap of being born female, the wizards held to the smug and inaccurate point of view that women were incapable of doing ''serious'' magic. Although they could be trusted with the small mundane stuff such as healing, blessing and sustaining - all the better for the ''men'' to get on with the ''important'' stuff. Esk and her mentor in witchcraft, Granny Weatherwax, go on to prove them wrong.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': Peter B. is surprised to learn that the head scientist at Alchemax is a frizzy-haired woman, mentioning that it shattered his "preconceived notions".

Some aspects of society are dominated by men. Business, engineering, mathematics, science, the military---the list goes on. But once in a while, a woman comes along and shows just how successful she can be in this field, to the surprise of all around.

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* Implied to the case in the flashbacks of Carol in ''Film/CaptainMarvel'' with her being taunted by males whenever she seemed to fail at something while growing up (Go-Kart, Baseball, Military Training etc). Once she managed to get her memories back, we see her getting back up in each of the memories despite the taunts, ready to try again [[spoiler: and indeed comes into play when she confronts Yon-Rogg and he tries to get her fight him to prove to him she is the better fighter in a callback to the start of the move when he was training her and beat her easily. She just simply blasts him instead.]] Considering she was indeed a jet pilot back before the accident, it's very clear she proved her male jeerers wrong.

''[{{Beat}}]''\\

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* Implied to the case in the flashbacks of Carol in ''Film/CaptainMarvel'' with her being taunted by males whenever she seemed to fail at something while growing up (Go-Kart, Baseball, Military Training etc). Once she managed to get her memories back, we see her getting back up in each of the memories despite the taunts, ready to try again [[spoiler: and indeed comes into play when she confronts Yon-Rogg and he tries to get her fight him to prove to him she the better fighter in a callback to the start of the move when he was training her and beat her easily. She just simply blast him instead.]] Considering she was indeed a jet pilot back before the accident, it's very clear she proved her male jeerers wrong.

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--> '''Thor:''' And who proved wrong all who scoffed at the idea that a young maiden could be one of the fiercest warriors this realm has ever known?
--> '''Sif:''' I did.
--> ({{Beat}})
--> '''Thor:''' ...true, but I supported you!
* All over ''Film/NineToFive''. The PointyHairedBoss is just as much a sexist (and sexual harassing) creep as he is a completely inept blowhard. The heroines kidnap him and keep him away from the office, taking over and implementing policies more favorable to the mostly-female staff, sending productivity through the roof.

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* ''Delilah And The Space Rigger'' a 1950s story by Creator/RobertAHeinlein about the first woman working on a space station. The main character worries about all the trouble a woman will cause. One scene has him telling her to listen to another technician, because he's very good. She replies," I know. I trained him."

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* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': Peter B. is surprised to learn that the head scientist at Alchemax is a frizzy-haired woman, mentioning that it shattered his "preconceived notions".

* ''Series/TheOrville'': {{Downplayed}} with "About a Girl" and "Sanctuary." The Moclans are a ProudWarriorRace and OneGenderRace that identifies as male...mostly. If one of their species is born female, [[{{Gendercide}} their gender is "corrected,"]] and it's mostly an unquestioned custom...until the Moclan Bortus sues to keep his child from being "corrected." Bortus loses the case, but one of the experts he called to testify in his unsuccessful case is the planet's most celebrated writer who was born female and her parents didn't "correct" her. This causes a huge ripple in their society, as they had to face that female births were far more common than thought and were being covered up. A season later, you find she is heading up an underground railroad of sorts to create a sanctuary for female Moclans who refuse (or whose parents refuse) the gender correction. At the climactic space battle in orbit and the blaster battle on the surface, the ones leading the charge are [[NumberOne Commander Grayson]] (on the ground) and [[CulturalRebel Lieutenant Kilari]] (on the ship), both ''very'' tough {{ActionGirl}}s, and they send the (male) Moclan attackers turning tail. However, they were both backed up by male crew who were fighting just as hard and it's Captain Mercer (male) using his skill with words (which can be seen as a "female" skill) at the Union Assembly that gets the compromise in place to allow the colony to stay.

* ''DelilahAndTheSpaceRigger''. a 1950s story by Creator/RobertAHeinlein about the first woman working on a space station. The main character worries about all the trouble a woman will cause. One scene has him telling her to listen to another technician, because he's very good. She replies," I know. I trained him."

* ''Series/TheOrville'': {{Downplayed}} with "About a Girl" and "Sanctuary." The Moclans are a ProudWarriorRace and OneGenderRace that identifies as male...mostly. If one of their species is born female, their gender is "corrected," and it's mostly an unquestioned custom...until the Moclan Bortus sues to keep his child from being "corrected." Bortus loses the case, but one of the experts he called to testify in his unsuccessful case is the planet's most celebrated writer who was born female and her parents didn't "correct" her. This causes a huge ripple in their society, as they had to face that female births were far more common than thought and were being covered up. A season later, you find she is heading up an underground railroad of sorts to create a sanctuary for female Moclans who refuse (or whose parents refuse) the gender correction. At the climactic space battle in orbit and the blaster battle on the surface, the ones leading the charge are [[NumberOne Commander Grayson]] (on the ground) and [[Lieutenant Kilari]] (on the ship), both female, and they send the (male) Moclan attackers turning tail. However, it's Captain Mercer (male) using his skill with words (which can be seen as a "female" skill) at the Union Assembly that gets the compromise in place to allow the colony to stay.

* ''Literature/DelilahAndTheSpaceRigger''. a 1950s story by ''Creator/RobertAHeinlein'' about the first woman working on a space station. The main character worries about all the trouble a woman will cause. One scene has him telling her to listen to another technician, because he's very good. She replies," I know. I trained him."

* ''Lierature/DelilahAndTheSpaceRigger''. a 1950s story by ''Creator/RobertAHeinlein'' about the first woman working on a epace station. The main character worries about all the trouble a woman will cause. One scene has him telling her to listen to another technician, because he's very good. She replies," I know. I trained him."

Often the women entering the field end up surpassing the men who were once reigning champions, just to drive the point home of how good women can really be.

SuperTrope to WrenchWench, PassionateSportsGirl, ActionGirl, {{Hackette}}, HotScientist, YouGoGirl, IWasBeatenByAGirl, PirateGirl, TheQueenpin. Can also veer into CommonMarySueTraits and FlawlessToken in the hands of a timid or inept writer.

* ''Lierature/DelilahAndTheSpaceRigger''. a 1950s story by ""Creator/RobertAHeinlein'' about the first woman working on a epace station. The main character worries about all the trouble a woman will cause. One scene has him telling her to listen to another technician, because he's very good. She replies," I know. I trained him."

[[/Literature]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson", Lisa enrols at Rommelwood Military Academy, and ends up becoming its first female graduate despite sexist bullying from her peers and the StayInTheKitchen attitudes of many of the staff.

SuperTrope to WrenchWench, PassionateSportsGirl, ActionGirl, {{Hackette}}, HotScientist, YouGoGirl, IWasBeatenByAGirl, PirateGirl, TheQueenpin.