History Main / VanityIsFeminine

The trope's premise in any incarnation is the polar opposite to the concept of metrosexuality, and its popularity has waned as morals change and gender stereotypes are discarded, but it is not yet a DeadHorseTrope.

* {{CreepedOut}}. Kiera is obsessed with taking selfies, but when she’s not taking selfies or working at her job she is obsessing over he face and putting makeup on. She takes selfies with loads of makeup on and claims the selfies are showing how she wakes up, but there not. After Kiera loses one of the things that she is most vain about, she becomes more mature, stops constantly taking selfies and even starts to be less lazy.

* {{Creeped Out}}. Kiera is obsessed with taking selfies, but when she’s not taking selfies or working at her job she is obsessing over he face and putting makeup on. She takes selfies with loads of makeup on and claims the selfies are showing how she wakes up, but there not. After Kiera loses one of the things that she is most vain about, she becomes more mature, stops constantly taking selfies and even starts to be less lazy.

# '''Women are vain, and ''this is a bad thing''.''' Sometimes the trouble brought on by vanity will be strictly limited to comedy--e.g., women will pack two week's worth of clothing for an overnight trip and primp and preen in front of any shiny surface they happen past. At other times it will cause more serious plot-related complications, as even the most level-headed female types will promptly turn into a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter if they are paid an appearance-based compliment by an antagonist. Women will also be tempted, ''far'' more than their male counterparts, by promises of youth and beauty at whatever cost. There's a reason the VainSorceress and the PlasticBitch are an almost [[AlwaysFemale exclusively female]] character type. At the most misogynistic end of the scale, women being vain is linked directly to their own downfall and often the downfall of any men who fall for their [[TheVamp wiles]], thus presenting women as the inherently less moral sex, and vanity as an inborn proclivity to sin that women must strive much harder to overcome if they wish to be truly virtuous. In such a narrative, a non-vain, or less-vain, woman is shown as a model of virtue (and often an UnkemptBeauty). MakeUpIsEvil is often in full play, with vanity leading naturally to deceit, and in older works, reckless endangerment of health, perhaps with lead-based or arsenic-based makeup.

The implications of this trope tend to be equally nasty when applied to men, where having such a feminine vice implies that this character is "not a real man." The audience may get a chuckle out of a manly man evaluating his PermaStubble in a store window, but a consistently and overtly vain man is a joke. He will be foppish, cowardly, and quite possibly gay (especially in a narrative which assumes rugged heterosexuality is the default male state). The SissyVillain owes much to this trope. On the other hand, {{Drag Queen}}s typically ''[[InsultBackfire embrace]]'' the trope, and have no end of fun making jokes about [[SelfDeprecatingHumor how well it fits "girls" like them]].

** Kasumi confronts Ranma after he'd once again insulted [[{{Tsundere}} Akane]] on her appearance, saying he needed to apologize and cheer her up. When he needs to know why, she replies that while Akane may be stubborn, awkward and tomboyish... "she's still a girl."

* ''Anime/{{Vandread}}'': Men and women both exist on two seperate planets, one with an abundance of resources, and one with hardly any. The men's world is therefore much less advanced and has no concept of holidays, luxury, or design as anything but practical. As such, they have become highly resourceful, learning to do as much as they can with as little as they can. By contrast the women's planet is far more advanced and plentiful. However, they take their vanity to the extreme, wasting their resources thoughtlessly. One example is making their homes nicer looking than their neighbour's, which results in blackouts the likes of which caused many of the space pirates to lose their home.

* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' has ComicBook/TheEnchantress, a VainSorceress whose entire identity (and much of her power set) flow directly from her epic, supernatural beauty, and its effect on both men and gods. Her vanity (though certainly not unfounded) is nearly as legendary as her beauty, and she never hesitates to mock women who are not as attractive (Jane Foster) or who she sees as too 'mannish' for any male to find appealing no matter what their actual appearance (The warrior goddess Sif). The comic itself seems to be of two minds regarding The Enchantress: On the one hand, she is most often treated as a shallow, selfish and bratty annoyance by many of the more powerful Asgardians. On the other hand, her exquisite face and body do give her immense influence over most males, be they god, human or superhuman, and even such wise individuals as Heimdal (and, occasionally Thor) have either succumbed to her wiles, or sought them out willingly. So, basically, the excessively vain girl is silly, petty, and should be dismissed accordingly... but she happens to be [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman so genuinely, insanely hot]] that in practice she usually gets exactly who and what she wants.

* In the comic ''ComicBook/{{Sha}}'', the soul of a witch who was burned at the stake by the Inquisition in the 14th century returns in the 22nd century to exact revenge on the five reincarnated demons responsible for killing her in their past lives. While the four men among them are all killed one by one, the woman who betrayed her is instead [[CruelMercy left alive with a debilitating disease that will slowly take away her beauty from her]].
* Believe it or not, ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' was a pretty big example of this back in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, where she was much more of a GirlyBruiser than the more hard-bitten warrior woman portrayal today. One particularly infamous story had her ''deliberately go blindfolded'' through enemy territory, rather than pull at the duct-tape her kidnappers put over her eyes (which would've risked damaging her eyelashes).

* In one Avar fairy tale, there is a beautiful maiden who lives in her castle and shows herself to no one. Should you come to the castle and call her three times without her answering, you turn into stone, and there are plenty of statues there already. The hero tries to get her to come out, but fails. His sister comes to rescue him, calls the maiden twice, but fails as well. Then she shouts, "Are you more beautiful than me, that you are so vain!?" Three seconds later, the doors slam open with a loud "WhoDares!"

* ''Film/TroopBeverlyHills'' uses this comedically and positively. Phyllis and all her girls are vain, and are able to charm a female judge by complimenting her. When Annie does her HeelFaceTurn, it is accompanied by a new and more flattering wardrobe. The villainess Velda is plain, mannish, and cruel, plainly uncomfortable the one and only time she's seen in a very conservative dress. She is portrayed as a bad mother (who doesn't even like to be addressed as such), and her unattractiveness is made fun of.

--> ''Are you telling me I'm not a pretty guy?''

* In ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'', the T-X (a female "Terminatrix") walks past a mirror while battling the male T-850, and her head immediately whips to the side for as long as she's reflected in it. There was no reason offered for why she'd do this in the middle of a fight (aside from the obvious point of this trope) and it [[FreezeFrameBonus happens so fast that many viewers likely missed it.]] In fairness there's a moment in the first film where a male Terminator (after gouging his eye out and hiding the damage with sunglasses) then takes a moment to fix his hair.

* ''Film/CatWomenOfTheMoon''. After blasting off in their RetroRocket, the first thing TheSquadette does on getting out of the acceleration couch is not check her instruments but open a [[NoBudget wooden desk drawer]], take out a comb and mirror and start doing her hair. One of the other male crewmembers made a SideBet that she would too.

* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' Keifer Porter was very vain, and very evil, a gender-flipped variant A of the trope. Then it is somewhat inverted with Corelle, who lets her hair grow longer to impress the neighbour boy. Her elder sister tells her to cut it - only the boys are allowed to have impractical long hair.

* The ''Literature/{{Narnia}}'' books have a fair amount of this. The otherwise down to earth Polly immediately starts to trust Diggory's ObviouslyEvil uncle after he calls her pretty. Lucy, generally shown as more virtuous than her older and vainer sister Susan, is so tempted by the idea of being more beautiful and desirable than her that only the appearance of Aslan stops her from casting a spell allowing her to do so.

* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this trope]]. Certainly no female is established as neglecting her physical appearance when she had any other option available. While 7000-year-old Belgarath appears as an old man (and in fact takes care to look like a vagabond), his 3000-year-old daughter Polgara appears eternally 20 -- by (subconscious[[note]]It involves shapeshifting and mental self-images[[/note]] -- the idea only comes up in ''Literature/TheMalloreon'', and it's explicitly just a theory) choice, since while an elderly ''male'' sorcerer may appear learned and formidable an elderly female sorceress would be seen as a crone. As a child she kept herself filthy and unkempt but after her sister's marriage she came out of her shell and went to the opposite extreme entirely; constantly bathing, preening, and dressing flatteringly.

* Played with in ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', where not only Frasier and Niles' excessive vanity about their clothes and grooming, but simply the fact that they have good taste and style, is seen as effeminate and therefore undesirable. This is despite the fact that they [[SharpDressedMan always look good]] because of this -- oh no, men are supposed to just ''accidentally'' throw on random clothes that they happen to look dashing in.

* ''Series/ExtremeMaleBeauty'': On the one hand, the presenter Tim Shaw examines how vanity has become more commonplace amongst men today and reveals that [[CampStraight straight manly men can be just as vain as gay men]]. On the other hand it's criticising the model industry in every other scene and the final episode hammers home the Aesop that a man who takes pride in his appearance will come across as fake and arrogant and should have that kind of thinking stamped out of him.

* ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'': In "Only Sin Deep", one of Sylvia's fellow hookers comments sarcastically on the amount of time she spends preening in front of mirrors. Sylvia shrugs it off and seems to assume it is the natural state of affairs for someone as as beautiful as she is.

* Music/ShaniaTwain's song "That Don't Impress Me Much" says vanity in men is unattractive but in the next verse is says machoness is also a turn off.

-->I can't believe I fell in love With someone that wears more make up and...\\

* ''VideoGame/DragonAge Inquisition'' provides an interesting case, [[Characters/DragonAgeVivienne Vivienne]] is a stand out example of a type three where DecadentCourt of Orlais regularly sees assassinations' and murders at parties. This is all part of the game where everyone needs to take care to keep an eye on their appearance and presentation as any showcase of weakness is an open invitation. The only difference is that Vivienne is an exponent of the politics there and is the players guide to that world.
* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'''s Pierre is first met admiring himself in the mirror, and joins your party stating they will be the thorns decorating his lovely rose. He turns out to be MilesGloriosus; a phony and all but useless in combat. However, if you get him a complete set of 'Hero' equipment, he becomes AgentPeacock. This only works for him.

* Neil, descendant of Narcissus, from ''WesternAnimation/ClassOfTheTitans''. Like his ancestor, he's exceedingly vain and spends half the episodes he's in admiring his own reflection. This coupled with his problems wielding weapons, fashion expertise and tendency to emit a [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl high-pitched girlish scream]] when frightened makes him a part of this trope.
* Rarity from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is the most feminine of the Mane Six, and also the most concerned with her appearance. Her fussiness has caused conflict in a couple of episodes, but she's usually willing to overcome these bad habits for the sake of her friends. "Sisterhooves Social" showed her willing to hide in a pool of mud as part of a ploy to make amends with her little sister Sweetie Belle, though Rarity insisted on a trip to the spa to clean up afterwards.

* The narcisstic Peacock from Polish animated series ''WesternAnimation/HipHipAndHurra''. While he has a very manly voice, he's not only very feminine but tends to faint every single time his beautiful tail gets dirty.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'': [[MeaningfulName Vanity Smurf]] fits the bill; a narcissist never seen without a mirror at hand. Naturally, he is AmbiguouslyGay.

[[quoteright:285:[[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vanity_3.png]]]]

# '''Women are vain, and ''this is the natural and correct state of affairs''.''' A shy girl who starts primping and preening might be said to have [[SheCleansUpNicely "come out of her shell"]]. A tomboyish child who suddenly starts caring about high heels and lipstick will be [[SheIsAllGrownUp "growing up"]]. This narrative to a degree reverses the notion of vanity-linked immorality, so while a vain woman may still be flawed, a woman who ''shuns'' vanity utterly may be seemingly "unnatural" (in the worst-case scenario, ButchLesbian with all that implies). This kind of approach seemingly lends itself very easily to notions of MarsAndVenusGenderContrast, and in particular often likes to couple itself with the AllMenArePerverts trope--all men want to look at women, but all women want to be looked at by men, so it all balances out in the end, right?

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

[[folder:Fanfic]]
* In ''FanFic/HeroesAndVillains'', Buffy's pre-Sunnydale personality carries through, unchanged by her awakening powers and the trauma of her battles. As a result, we get a [[VillainProtagonist heroine]] who is [[ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful conceited]], bratty, and shamelessly [[DistractedByMyOwnSexy obsessed with her beauty]]. That being said, she can still [[GirlyBruiser totally destroy you]] with her nothing but her dainty, perfectly manicured hands, so watch your step.

[[folder:Film]]

-->'''Loki''': I can't see into the future, I'm not a witch.\\
'''Thor''': No? Then why do you dress like one?\\
'''Loki''': ''(offended)'' Hey.

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]

-->'''Zeena''': "The last time we met, you ruined my nail art. Now I have to reapply a whole new coat."\\
'''Sonic''': "Oh, my gosh, are you serious?! I am so, so sorry."\\
'''Zeena''': "[[SarcasmBlind Oh! Well, in that case...]]"\\
'''Sonic''': "Uh, no. What I meant to say is [[BackhandedApology I am so sorry that you have nothing better to do in life!]]"

* The poem "The Spider and the Fly" focuses on a specifically male Spider trying to coax a Fly (referred to with feminine pronouns) into his den. While the Fly avoids most of the Spider's enticing offers and starts to leave, the Spider pulls out one last trick to get her: complimenting her beautiful shiny wings and calling her good-looking, while putting down his own drab appearance. ''That'' was enough for her to come back, and he whisks her up into his den to eat her.

# '''Women are vain, and ''this is a bad thing''.''' Sometimes the trouble brought on by vanity will be strictly limited to comedy--e.g., women will pack two week's worth of clothing for an overnight trip and primp and preen in front of any shiny surface they happen past. At other times it will cause more serious plot-related complications, as even the most level-headed female types will promptly turn into a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter if they are paid an appearance-based compliment by an antagonist. Women will also be tempted, ''far'' more than their male counterparts, by promises of youth and beauty at whatever cost. There's a reason the VainSorceress is an almost [[AlwaysFemale exclusively female]] character type. At the most misogynistic end of the scale, women being vain is linked directly to their own downfall and often the downfall of any men who fall for their [[TheVamp wiles]], thus presenting women as the inherently less moral sex, and vanity as an inborn proclivity to sin that women must strive much harder to overcome if they wish to be truly virtuous. In such a narrative, a non-vain, or less-vain, woman is shown as a model of virtue (and often an UnkemptBeauty). MakeUpIsEvil is often in full play, with vanity leading naturally to deceit, and in older works, reckless endangerment of health, perhaps with lead-based or arsenic-based makeup.

->''"Vanity, thy name is is woman."''

-->--{{Theatre/Hamlet}} ([[BeamMeUpScotty Sort of]])

# '''Women are vain, and ''this is the natural and correct state of affairs''.''' A shy girl who starts primping and preening might be said to have [[SheCleansUpNicely "come out of her shell"]]. A tomboyish child who suddenly starts caring about high heels and lipstick will be [[SheIsAllGrownUp "growing up"]]. This narrative to a degree reverses the notion of vanity-linked immorality, so while a vain woman may still be flawed, a woman who ''shuns'' vanity utterly may be seemingly "unnatural" (in the worst case scenario, ButchLesbian with all that implies). This kind of approach seemingly lends itself very easily to notions of MarsAndVenusGenderContrast, and in particular often likes to couple itself with the AllMenArePerverts trope--all men want to look at women, but all women want to be looked at by men, so it all balances out in the end, right?

* In the ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'' issue where Sally [[ImportantHaircut cuts her hair]] and coyly asks Sonic if he likes it, he responds that he'd never known her to be "so... girly." (Ironically this was intended as a sign of her '''de'''-{{Chickification}}, which had had her mooning and crying and generally being passive and ineffective.)

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1603043217005500600

[[quoteright:285:[[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vanity_3.png]]

[[quoteright:225:[[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Vanity_9528.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:225:Don't hate him because he's beautiful.]]

The implications of this trope tend to be equally nasty when applied to men, where having such a feminine vice implies that this character is "not a real man." The audience may get a chuckle out of a manly man evaluating his PermaStubble in a store window, but a consistently and overtly vain man is a joke. He will be foppish, cowardly, and quite possibly gay (especially in a narrative which assumes rugged heterosexuality is the default male state). The SissyVillain owes much to this trope.

** [[GenderBender Ranma]] himself is an excellent example. Though he believes himself handsome in either form, insulting his looks as a man will merely annoy him. Insulting his looks as a ''woman'' will send him into an absolute berserker rage.

* In a 2018 Australian [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7uor1h fashion promo video,]] there are two male models, and the one with black hair (whom {{Trekkie}}s would recognize as Evan Evagora, the model-turned-actor who portrayed Elnor on ''Series/StarTrekPicard'') is presented as being more [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide androgynous]] than his more manly friend in various ways, including being vain. Evagora's character is a slender, clean-shaven PrettyBoy who wears a fancy ''woman's hat'' which is no less elaborate than the female model's, his suit features a very distinct floral print, he briefly glances at the camera as if it were a mirror and checks if his hat is on correctly and if his face looks nice. Later, he adjusts his blazer.

* In one Avar fairy tale, there is a beautiful maiden who lives in her castle and shows herself to no one. Should you come to the castle and call her three times without her answering, you turn into stone, and there are plenty of statues there already. The hero tries to get her to come out, but fails. His sister comes to rescue him, calls the maiden twice, but fails as well. Then she shouts "are you more beautiful than me, that you are so vain!?"... Three seconds later, the doors slam open with a loud WhoDares!.

-->Whatever happened to Fay Wray?
-->That delicate, satin-draped frame?
-->As it clung to her thigh
-->How I started to cry
-->`cause I wanted to be dressed just the same.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': A darker take on the trope, judging from the way Balon treats Theon and his rather gaudy choice of dress, which is nevertheless positively ''understated'' compared to some of the styles we see in King's Landing.

-->I never knew a guy who carried a mirror in his pocket
-->And a comb up his sleeve - just in case
-->And all that extra hold gel in your hair oughta lock it
-->'Cause Heaven forbid it should fall outta place

-->I can't believe I fell in love With someone that wears more make up and...
-->Cue the chorus: You're so gay and you don't even like boys.

-->But you make me want to act like a girl
-->Paint my nails and wear high heels

* Narcissus of ancient Greek myth makes this OlderThanFeudalism, in fact as the root of the word "Narcissist" he might even count as the UrExample. He is vain to the point of starving to death because he couldn't tear himself away from admiring his reflection.
** In some versions of the tale he drowned while trying to [[ScrewYourself make love to his own reflection]] and his body [[JustSoStory became the first Daffodil]] (scientific name Narcissus).
* The Ancient Greeks were big on vanity in general - maybe it had something to do with their obsession with {{Hubris}} - but they often connected this specific trait to femininity. The most flagrant example is when the goddess [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Eris]] throws a golden Apple of Discord into the wedding of sea goddess Thetis, with a message inscribed: "For the Fairest." This caused an all-out ''brawl'' among all of the goddesses and female spirits at the wedding, and the fighting went on for years. By the time the married couple's first child had grown up into a great warrior, the bickering had finally died down to three of the most powerful goddesses of all: Hera, Queen of Olympus; Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty; and Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, who usually didn't seem to care about her reputation as a beauty. Suffice to say, when an outsider judge finally did pick one of them as the Fairest, the other two were not happy.

[[/folder]]

* In ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'', the T-X (a female "Terminatrix") walks past a mirror while battling the male T-850, and her head immediately whips to the side for as long as she's reflected in it. There was no reason offered for why she'd do this in the middle of a fight (aside from the obvious point of this trope) and it [[FreezeFrameBonus happens so fast that many viewers likely missed it.]]

* Mitsuba Higashikata from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureJojolion'' regularly goes to T.G. University Hospital to receive beauty enhancing treatments, initially going to receive a breast enhancement surgery. What she doesn't know is that these "treatments" are actually experiments by the Rock Humans to test the [[EquivalentExchange powers]] of the Rokakaka fruit. While she initially seems to go along with it without question, [[spoiler:she changes her tune when [[MamaBear her unborn child is threatened]]]].