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1%% Image replaced per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1296889297034020100
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4[[quoteright:321:[[Series/UglyBetty https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Bettyugly_9704.jpg]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:321: AAAAGH! She's... [[Creator/AmericaFerrera hideous]]?]]
6
7->''"She’s supposed to be a frumpy nerd. But since Creator/HalleBerry is the exact opposite of that, they’ll just bury her in plus-size clothes and make her super clumsy."''
8-->-- '''[[WebVideo/HonestTrailers Honest Trailer]]''' for ''Film/Catwoman2004''
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10%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.
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12%% Quote changed per thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1327331003042025100&page=243
13
14Let's say a storyline requires a character who is [[LoserProtagonist unappealing, unattractive]], and has a hard time finding dates. However, actual plain-looking actors ([[DoubleStandard especially women]]) are almost never cast for leading roles in Hollywood -- producers know that "beauty is money", after all, and are therefore disinclined to cast ''genuinely'' unattractive people even as villains or extras -- so this "homely" character will very often be played by someone more gorgeous than most people you'd meet in real life, with said homeliness mostly just ''implied'' via in-universe reactions.
15
16Characters are made "plain" by giving them [[TheGlassesGottaGo thick glasses]], [[BracesOfOrthodonticOverkill braces]], [[YouthfulFreckles freckles]], unfashionable clothes, and an unflattering hairstyle, and surrounding them with people who are more attractive. A subtle method used is to give the actor clothes that clash with their natural skin color, making them look pale or blotchy, a method also used in "[[BeforeAndAfterPictures before-and-after]]" shots for diet-pill commercials. Bad lighting is also a good trick. The character may also be a SicklyNeuroticGeek.
17
18'''Note:''' Just because a character is tormented by a vampy AlphaBitch, it doesn't necessarily mean they're considered ugly InUniverse. As in real life, fictional bullies can often target attractive rivals because they're insecure and [[GreenEyedMonster envious]] of [[SoBeautifulItsACurse that person's good looks]]. Likewise, a character can be [[ObliviouslyBeautiful oblivious to their own good looks]] and have a poor self-image without being considered Hollywood Homely. Since beauty is very subjective in real-life, this trope only counts if the character is considered unattractive by a majority of other characters InUniverse.
19
20'''See also''': GenericCuteness is the animated equivalent of this trope, and the result is a ''very'' InformedDeformity. AdaptationalAttractiveness, BeautyInversion, ImNotPretty, BeautifulAllAlong, UnconvincinglyUnpopularCharacter, FormerlyFat, HiddenBuxom, HollywoodPudgy, and SheIsAllGrownUp. Contrast InformedAttractiveness and GorgeousGorgon. Tends to go hand-in-hand with the UnnecessaryMakeover, with an attempt to undo this resulting in a character looking ''less'' attractive.
21----
22!!Example subpages:
23[[index]]
24* [[HollywoodHomely/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
25* HollywoodHomely/LiveActionTV
26[[/index]]
27
28!!Other examples:
29
30[[foldercontrol]]
31
32[[folder:Advertising]]
33* Teleflora. The theme in their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1vYArrKHok 2010 Super Bowl commercial]] is ''supposed'' to be "Hot but [[AlphaBitch bitchy girl]] gets the bad flowers; frumpy but [[PluckyOfficeGirl hard-working girl]] gets the good flowers." Apparently, "frumpy" means "not willing to wear short skirts and go-go boots to work".
34* Creator/DisneyChannel used to run a PSA that was all over this trope. A very attractive teenager is sitting in front of a poster of a pop star, lamenting how plain and unattractive she is. The pop star springs to life from the poster and tells the girl that she shouldn't worry, because it's all Hollywood magic. The pop star is then stripped of all the makeup, fancy clothes, etc, and reduced to ... really attractive.
35* American Eagle's Aerie Real campaign, which features the slightly plump plus-size model Iskra Lawrence as their spokesperson, is a slave to this trope. Iskra, bless her, frequently uses her fame to speak out for a "realistic body image" for girls. Thing is, [[https://i.pinimg.com/564x/3a/80/40/3a80403492df20a6d0ac721817614291.jpg she's STUNNING.]] Although as she points out, for years she couldn't get a modeling contract because, by the standards of that hideous industry, she is homely. Aerie eventually tripped over the trope by launching the oh-so-funny parody video for their nonexistent "Aerie Men" campaign, which featured a bunch of chubby guys feeling good about their body image. Nope. Sorry, men are not allowed to be happy as they are.
36* This trope isn't limited to humans. Ugly Animal Preservation Society ran a campaign to choose its mascot. Eventually, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blobfish the blobfish]], which is indeed ugly, won the most votes, but second place went to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo the kakapo]], a cute, fluffy parrot.
37* Whether the winner of the World's Ugliest Dog Contest is legitimately hideous (Mugly, Elwood, most infamously Sam), UglyCute (Gus, Yoda), or normal-looking with some unfortunate features (Walle's strange mish-mash of body parts, Pabst's underbite) varies from year to year.
38* In a Dannon Oikos Greek yogurt ad, two ladies are discussing how eating it turns the next man you see into John Stamos. The man who comes in next is treated as if he's an unattractive slob but is actually an above average looking guy with a sunburn. The comments on the Website/YouTube posting of the advert verify this with many girls saying they thought the first guy was hot and some preferring him over John Stamos.
39* [=SlimQuick=] commercials, which advertise drinks to women. The commercial starts off with an overweight couple, and as the woman talks about all they've been doing to lose weight, the man gets skinnier while the woman gets frustrated. The commercial ends showing the woman how skinny she would look if she tried the drink. But due to GenericCuteness, both the [[BigBeautifulMan man]] and [[BigBeautifulWoman woman]] were already attractive before they both lost weight, whereas after they just look generically good looking.
40* An Israeli ad campaign for Bacardi Breezers suggested that women "[[https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/06/22/bacardi-says-get-an-ugly-friend-to-make-you-look-better/ get an ugly girlfriend]]," offering fat women to pose as friends so the Bacardi customers will look better by comparison. Thing is, despite the copy describing their alleged hideous features, the "ugly women" mostly just look like normal women without makeup -- at worst, they have glasses, a lazy eye, or are overweight. The feminist backlash was swift and the campaign was cancelled with an apology.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
44* ''Manga/AbsoluteBoyfriend'': Invoked by Mika. Riiko is often described as either ugly or not as pretty as Mika. This was the point, since [[BitchInSheepsClothing Mika went a long way to ruin Riiko's self-confidence, by calling her those names]] and seducing every guy Riiko liked. The manga itself never seemed to find Riiko ever unattractive, just...[[ACupAngst not very busty]].
45* [[ButtMonkey Makoto]] of ''Anime/AKB0048'' is supposed to be plain-looking but a portion of the fanbase considers her to be the cutest understudy.
46* Guts from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' is supposed to be more brutish looking in [[NobleMaleRoguishMale comparison]] to the angelic {{Bishonen}} Griffith. This does fall flat when fangirls and women InUniverse note that Guts is an obviously handsome {{Hunk}} [[SheCleansUpNicely especially when he wears noble attire]], but since he has the FaceOfAThug most of the time it’s played straight. Similarly, Casca has BoyishShortHair and is mistaken for a man by the princess (whom she is envious of), leading to Casca thinking she is unattractive and shuns of her femininity in general. Like her lover Guts, this is subverted as Casca looks stunningly beautiful in [[SheCleansUpNicely fancy dresses]] and [[AllMenArePerverts most of the men]] in the series want to get in her pants.
47* [[https://bleach.fandom.com/wiki/Ganju_Shiba Ganju Shiba]] is a male example from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. Despite being tall, very muscular, having a chiseled face, a deep voice, and a masculine attitude, Ganju, unfortunately, lives in a world where most of the male characters are {{Bishonen}}, and is thus considered a {{Gonk}}, [[JustifiedTrope by the local dandy]], Yumichika.
48* ''Manga/BootyRoyaleNeverGoDownWithoutAFight'': Secondary character Yashiki Kurisu is an InUniverse example. While far from ugly, she's half-Caucasian and has freckly skin and fair hair, and therefore has trouble getting modeling jobs because she doesn't fit typical Japanese beauty standards. She briefly tries to join the second generation of gravure idol troupe Japan KGB as the G-cup, but the agency president rejects her on the spot on the grounds that an in-house D-lister won't generate any buzz.
49* ''Manga/BoysOverFlowers,'' Makino Tsukushi is frequently called plain. In the J-Drama, she's played by [[http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/8754/maoinouepix018lq.jpg Inoue Mao]]. It's ultimately averted as the only people who claim she isn't cute are people who hate her.
50* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', WordOfGod says that L was designed to be "ugly” in comparison to Light: scruffy and unkempt with messy hair, bags under his eyes, and the impression of having a permanent hangover. While hardly a conventional {{Bishonen}}, he doesn't look that bad...and has more than his share of fangirls.
51* ''Manga/DevilsAndRealist'': Although William has a bishonen design, numerous people say he only has his good grades going for him while saying that [[DudeLooksLikeALady Sitri]] has good looks going for him.
52* In ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'', the entire focal point of Ranamon's character is that her beast form, Calamaramon, is regarded by everyone as far uglier than her humanoid form, to the point of her in-universe fan club rejecting her for it. Calamaramon does have [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent an entire multi-eyed giant squid instead of a lower body]], which has a tendency to throw off the average, but her upper body is a CuteMonsterGirl at worst. The entire reasoning for it seems to be that Calamaramon looks older than Ranamon, with longer hair, lined eyes, and larger breasts, bringing up an OldMaid connotation--a connotation most people outside of Japan (and many in it) find downright baffling even in contexts that don't involve giant monsters. Later shows seemingly gave up on the pretense of Calamaramon being an ugly monster and drew her appearances as being [[MsFanservice downright fanservicey]].
53* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
54** Gohan during his high school days in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' looks dorky in his baggy clothes and is shy enough that JerkJock Sharpner and other boys mock him for being a nerd calling him “brain boy”. [[ChickMagnet Subverted]] with the girls: Erasa has the hots for Gohan as soon he comes into class and tries to get him to take her home when school finishes and Angela draws pictures of Gohan in class and makes trouble just so she can [[StandingInTheHall stand next to Gohan in the hall and ask him out]]. Videl treats him like a weak loser at first but warms up to him quickly and marries Gohan years later.
55** Downplayed in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. The running gag about Bulma's boobs starting to become saggy is clearly a crack about her age, but at the same time, the gag never explicitly says that they (or Bulma) are growing less attractive as a result; just more saggy/chronologically older. Not to mention, her ''Super'' redesign clearly makes her look much younger than how she appeared during the Buu saga of ''Anime/DragonBallZ''.[[note]]The latest movies lampshaded this explaining that Bulma keeps summoning Shenron to make her look a bit younger.[[/note]]
56* At the start of ''Manga/FailedPrincesses'', Nanaki Fujishiro, a vain gyaru, bullies her classmate Kanade Kurokawa for being plain-looking and having BigOlEyebrows. While Kurokawa isn't as good-looking as Fujishiro, and initially has no interest in makeup or fashion, many readers find her fairly attractive in her own right.
57* ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'' plays with this trope. Ohno is called an "Ordinary person who is cute" and that Saki is "like a model", but Ohno is just as attractive as Saki. [[JustifiedTrope The main difference is the effort the two put into their appearances]] - Ohno ''doesn't'' outside of cosplay (where heads turn so fast you could hear bones snap), while Saki puts in the effort to maintain a model-like air and appearance.
58* ''[[Manga/CountCain Godchild]],'' In the ''Scold's Bridle'' story arc.
59** Drew is supposedly so plain that other upper-class girls won't give her the time of day - something which the mangaka illustrates by giving her [[{{Meganekko}} quite good-looking round glasses]], freckles and a braid. (She also seems to have real curves compared to the waifish characters) The art style may be partly at fault, but the fact remains that she looks no less pretty than any other girl in the manga.
60** Viola wears a mask because she is disfigured, but when she takes it off [[spoiler: it turns out that her face is perfectly fine apart from a finger-sized acid burn on one cheek. This one is justified in that she is insane and is probably exaggerating the extent of her scarring]].
61* ''Manga/{{Gokusen}}'': Quite a few characters like to point out how "plain" the protagonist is. This also comes into play in the drama, but here she is played by [[http://wallpaperzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Yukie-Nakama-Sexy-Wallpaper.jpg Yukie Nakama]]
62* [[NationsAsPeople Ukraine and Belgium]] from ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'', while not ugly, are supposed to be plain or uninteresting (Belgium [[IAmNotPretty by her own admission]] and Ukraine according to Russia in the dub). The art (and fandom) disagrees. Lithuania is described as looking plain, but he's often drawn looking very feminine and {{moe}}. His hair has also become ''gorgeous'' from ArtEvolution.
63* ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle'' is a complicated case of PlayingWithATrope.
64** Sophie considers herself plain compared to her sister. Her sister looks like a garish parody plastered with makeup, while Sophie's features are more natural. However, the soldiers at the beginning of the movie and Howl himself seem to find Sophie quite attractive and The Witch of the Waste curses her with truly ugly old age because she feels threatened by her.
65** Given the nature of the curse, there's also the implication that a lot of Sophie's "homeliness" are self-esteem issues on her part. In scenes where she shows confidence, she becomes younger and prettier while insecurity or defensiveness lead to the older and wrinkled curse form.
66* Sakie Sato in ''Manga/InterviewsWithMonsterGirls'' {{invoke|dtrope}}s this trope, because she's a [[SuccubiAndIncubi succubus]] but is [[ReluctantMonster unwilling to seduce anyone]], so she tries to make herself less attractive by wearing a track jacket and pants and gives herself an unflattering hairdo. Even all that doesn't stop others from considering her to be pretty.
67* In ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', Kagome is stated several times to be "average" in looks and appearance (by Inuyasha). However, it is noted (even the characters state it), that she looks almost exactly like Kikyo, [[spoiler: her previous incarnation]], who is stated to be beautiful. In Inuyasha's case, this may be justified; he recognizes Kagome by smell, not sight, and he probably finds the scent of things like body wash and shampoo strange and off-putting.
68* ''Manga/ItazuraNaKiss'': It's a major plot point that Kinnosuke is ''way'' out of his league with Chris, the girl he ends up with, and that Chris (and her mother) are genetically attracted to ugly guys. Except that Kinnosuke is certainly no worse than "Women fall at his feet" Naoki.
69* ''Manga/MakenKi'': Even though Minori's drawn to appear reasonably attractive and physically fit, the guys at Tenbi treat her as if she's a hag. That includes ''[[AllMenArePerverts Takeru]]'', the biggest perv at the school. Made more egregious, considering Ms. Aki is [[LustObject lusted after by nearly the entire male student body]], despite looking no different than Minori.
70* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'': Lotte, who is no uglier than Eva or Nina, is deemed so unattractive that guys will dance with her on a dare only.
71* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'':
72** The protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, is often described as "plain-looking" with a forgettable face by those around him in-universe. Out of universe, he's usually described by fans as quite cute-looking or is often considered ruggedly handsome due to his [[VisualDevelopment increasingly muscular build and a growing number of scars]]. In-universe, Uraraka also has a crush on him and [[DarkActionGirl Himiko]] develops an interest in him after [[BloodKnight seeing him fight]]. As some fans pointed out, Shindo You, a character the author has described as being someone he tried to design as a handsome guy, looks exactly like Izuku but a little taller and with less round eyes.
73** Tsuyu Asui aka Froppy being a [[FrogMen frog girl]] is supposed to be “the weird one” due to her elongated hands, wide mouth, and oval-shaped eyes. She’s commonly placed alongside her friend, the stunningly beautiful and shapely Momo Yaoyorozu, as a deliberate contrast. Of course, this backfired as Froppy is [[EnsembleDarkHorse absolutely beloved by the fans]] who think she’s adorable and like her unique design.
74** Similarly Kyoka Jiro isn’t made out to be as strikingly attractive as Momo or Ashido Nina, being quite dour-looking. InUniverse shallow pervert Minoru Mineta peeps on all the girls except her, which really hurt poor Jiro’s self esteem. Like Froppy however, she’s considered gorgeous among fandom, lampshaded in the fancy dress promo art, as Jiro is wearing a jacket over her pretty gown and [[ShrinkingViolet hiding]] behind Momo. Ironically, despite being introverted Jiro has a BeautifulSingingVoice that left her classmates in awe.
75** All Might is ashamed of his skinny form, seeing it as a shell of his old self when he was a {{Bara}} {{Hunk}}, and he frequently coughs up blood, but fans still find his skinny form to be quite cute-looking [[CreepyCute in an unconventional way.]]
76* ''Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular'': The main character Tomoko Kuroki is supposed to be a creepy girl that no one wants to be around. While her personality fits this, it is hard to take it seriously when the show tries to play her up as ugly. She is quite adorable, and not in an UglyCute kind of way either. The bags under her eyes are not fooling anyone. The show has to have her make really weird facial expressions for her to look even remotely ugly.
77* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
78** Usopp borders on this, he’s clearly not as handsome as other male MainCharacters i.e Luffy, Zoro and Sanji thanks to his GagNose, and he is even mistaken for a Fishman in Arlong Park. But Usopp definitely isn’t {{Gonk}} as Kaya is taken with him and post TimeSkip he gets a HeroicBuild that Nami takes note of.
79** [[spoiler: Charlotte Pudding, due to her ThirdEye, is considered a freak and was tormented by others to the extent she does think she’s a monster and hides her “deformity” behind her fringe. When Sanji points out the obvious - that the extra eye makes her even more beautiful and unique - Pudding has a VillainousBSOD as she expected him to be disgusted and she’s never had anyone compliment it before. She fails to kill Sanji because of his words and pulls a HeelFaceTurn thanks to him.]]
80** [[spoiler: Similarly Charlotte Katakuri has ScaryTeeth that, like Pudding, he hides from most of his family and when he reveals it one of his sisters and others react in disgust and mock him. As sharp as his teeth are, Katakuri has not lost his army of fangirls and fanboys, so this response to his “scary face” is almost ludicrous.]]
81* Lina Inverse from ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' is described as being awkward in appearance, ranging from flat-chested to lanky to having a pug nose. While it's true that she occasionally travels with the scantily-clad and [[BuxomBeautyStandard buxom Naga]], the beautiful Sylphiel, or the short-but-busty Amelia, Lina is regularly drawn in a very attractive light and seems to only slightly pale in comparison to her female companions' exceptional beauty. There's also Prince Phil. He is not the young and handsome PrinceCharming Lina assumed he'd be from his title, but he's certainly not hideous, and he's actually well liked by some fans who prefer older, burly, manly men over pretty boys.
82* ''Manga/WanderingSon'': Makoto is at least cute. She finds herself unattractive due to her YouthfulFreckles and NerdGlasses. She's chubbier and rounder than the other characters, as well. {{Justified|Trope}} since most of the criticism is her own opinion, and at least every other character has gone out of their way to tell her she's cute; Mako doesn't have good self esteem. Seya once thought she made an ugly girl when she met him in girl mode, though.
83* Uozumi and Akagi of ''Manga/SlamDunk'' who are described as "gorillas" because they are extremely built. This means they fit a different standard of beauty than the local {{Bishonen}}. Yay for ValuesDissonance!
84* ''Bara no Tame ni'': Yuri is constantly referred to as fat and ugly despite looking only slightly pudgy and having the same "pretty girl" face as the supposedly more attractive girls in the story. The Taiwanese drama based off of this is even more egregious, as she's played by girl group member and actress Ella Chen.
85* Shouma of ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'' is said to be merely plain-looking but if you look at his design he's quite {{Bishonen}}.
86* In ''Manga/RedRiver1995'', Yuri is a Japanese teen who gets magically transported to the ancient Hittite Empire. Yuri is, naturally, drawn to look very cute, but most people in the ancient times comment on her being very scrawny and plain, and more than once she is mistaken for a young boy. This is {{justified|Trope}} as a case of DeliberateValuesDissonance: back in such times, feminine beauty was defined by a full and voluptuous body, not the slim builds generally considered more attractive today. Early in the manga, Prince Kail is shown attempting to fatten her up, as he considers that to be more attractive.
87* Makoto (Or [[DubNameChange Lita]]) from ''Anime/SailorMoon'' is regarded as a highly unattractive girl in-universe due to [[HugeSchoolgirl her tall height]] and [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon powerful strength]], and thus has a hard time getting dates. But she doesn't look any ''less'' attractive than the other girls, is surprisingly graceful, and most of the fanbase adores her, especially the male fans who view her as a BigBeautifulWoman. That's not even mentioning her [[BuxomBeautyStandard incredible]] [[DubText "talent"]].
88* Aya from ''Manga/StrawberryOneHundredPercent'' is very cute in a nerdy way, despite being told she isn't attractive.
89* ''Manga/{{Yuureitou}}'': Amano frequently can't attract girls and he's the opposite to the ChickMagnet Tetsuo. Numerous characters call him "ugly" and "horrible looking," especially when they compare him to [[{{Bishonen}} Tetsuo]], although when Amano is not making weird faces and drawn normally he actually can look cute, especially when he crossdresses as Tetsuo's wife he's considered attractive by numerous guys at a village.
90* [[spoiler:The original Homura]] in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' was apparently meant to be the class dork--due to her conspicuous glasses, oversized braids, and chronic awkwardness, her classmates want nothing to do with her. After she [[TheGlassesComeOff removes the glasses]] and [[LettingHerHairDown braids]] and adopts a permanent DeathGlare, she becomes the cool kid. The trouble is, many of the fans found the dork-edition [[{{Moe}} adorable]]. Lots of merchandise was made to cater to this. TheMovie plays with the trope by bringing back her original look; this time, the class likes it just as much as the "cool" version.
91* In ''Manga/ToiletBoundHanakoKun'', Nene is often described as not pretty, rejected every time when she confesses to someone, and is frequently insulted over her [[InformedDeformity "fat radish ankles"]], despite being drawn as cute and adorable as any of the other cast. The Hell of Mirrors even says she is a "four" in terms of attractiveness, compared to Mitsuba who is a "eight".
92* In ''Literature/TheMoomins'' story ''Finn Family Moomintroll'', Snorkmaiden feels jealous when Moomintroll becomes obsessed with a figurehead of a beautiful woman, so when the Hobgoblin offers her a wish, she asks for her eyes to be like those on the figurehead. Unfortunately, those eyes don't look good on her face, and everyone is horrified, including Snorkmaiden herself, forcing Snork or Moomintroll (depending on the version) to use his own wish to change her eyes back to normal. Although she does have distractingly oversized eyelashes and huge pupils in [[https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4dD8UDFq2ps/VL4KkCNBzRI/AAAAAAAAG1I/xZBkSYR7Hx8/s1600/moomin_woodenqueen.jpg the book's illustration]], justifying the reaction, [[https://i.imgur.com/R9k7ONI.png the 90's anime]] just gives her eyelashes that, while quite pronounced, actually don't look THAT bad, especially if you're used to the whole "[[TertiarySexualCharacteristics cartoon girls have noticeable eyelashes]]" thing.
93[[/folder]]
94
95[[folder:Comic Books]]
96* ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'': Thanks to ArtEvolution, Ethel has become this. Originally she dressed in a conventionally unattractive manner and looked [[{{gonk}} gangly and awkward]]. Over the decades they've toned her down to just being an [[HugeSchoolgirl above average height]] girl with buck teeth and a different build from [[OnlySixFaces the norm]].
97* ''ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}}'': A running joke in the books for a long while was of villains saying that [[Characters/MarvelComicsCarolDanvers Carol]]'s [[HollywoodPudgy fat]]. The closest this came to being accurate (i.e. not even remotely) was the fact that she had a bigger backside than most similarly stacked female characters.
98* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'':
99** Wade Wilson aka [[Characters/MarvelComicsDeadpool Deadpool]] was once conventionally attractive like all the other average comic-book leading men. He became ugly due to an experimental cancer treatment that saved his life and gave him superpowers but made him look like Freddy Krueger. Being ugly is a big part of his character, and one of the things that he's very insecure about. DependingOnTheArtist, he can actually look the part, and be very repulsive. In other instances, [[http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/silverfang2/29185537/1133289/1133289_1000.png he can almost be handsome again.]] Which is justified to an extent, because Deadpool doesn't actually have a fixed appearance. His HealingFactor also heals his cancer and spreads it to every cell of his body, yet at the same time heals the damage done by the cancer. So his skin is constantly changing rather than permanently scarred, meaning that sometimes it looks much worse than others.
100** Dr. Ella Whitby, his one-time prison psychiatrist. She's referred to by several characters as fat and/or ugly (including Deadpool, who at one point had a crush on Creator/BeaArthur, but finds Dr. Whitby revolting). In actuality, she's fairly pretty and barely 20 lbs. heavier than anyone else. Also, another patient, the ComicBook/{{Foolkiller}}, is actually madly attracted to her but his feelings go unreciprocated.
101* ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'' has Emp herself, who is extremely attractive, but is continually insulted by the other heroes for being "fat" (usually specifically referring to her butt), which she's particularly sensitive about because her powers come from her literally skintight costume that doesn't work if she wears anything over it. Not a truly straight example, because her inner circle (her boyfriend, her best friend, and the caged eldritch being from another dimension that lives on her coffee table) don't think she's fat (well, what Demonwolf says implies he does think she has a bigger-than-average butt, but he also seems to be kind of into that and phrases it in generally positive terms), and even most of the people who insult her seem to covertly find her attractive (the male ones, at least)...they're just insulting her because they're jerks. [[spoiler: We find out later that Sistah Spooky, fueled by her own issues, inadvertently cursed Emp so that she's continually the target of ridicule and humiliation]]
102* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] regarding Betty Ross. On her own, she is considered quite attractive, but she comes under this trope when paired with former supermodel Marlo Chandler. Not helped by the fact she can at times be an UnkemptBeauty.
103* ''ComicBook/MisterMiracle'': [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in [[Creator/TomKing Tom King's]] ''ComicBook/MisterMiracle2017'' run, where Big Barda's insistence that her husband, Mister Miracle, is out of her league is treated as just one of her many self esteem problems; nearly everyone else think it's the other way around, and her complaints about being [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon too tall]] are almost laughable when most people [[AmazonianBeauty consider it a positive]]. You know you have body image issues when someone like ''[[{{Sadist}} Granny Goodness]]'' tells you that you're selling yourself short.
104* ''ComicBook/{{The Sandman|1989}}'': DependingOnTheArtist, several of the female characters either avert or play this straight. [[TheFairFolk Nuala]] usually appears as a tall, slender, alluring blonde. However, we learn during the Season of Mists storyline that her appearance is a glamor, and her true form is short, with dirty, unkempt brown hair, and genuinely scraggly and underfed, [[ProgressivelyPrettier though subsequent artists usually make her more cute and childlike]]. The interesting thing is that despite this, she comes to prefer her true form (probably because Dream prefers it, and [[spoiler:it's implied she's in love with him]], though it's also implied to be part of her overall rejection of the decadent culture of Faerie). Thessaly usually looks genuinely plain, as even without her NerdGlasses she has a very odd-shaped face. Then there's [[{{Gonk}} Despair]]. Thessaly's spin-off comics make her look adorable.
105* ''ComicBook/SinCity'': Marv states that he's so intimidating that he can't hire a prostitute. While Marv is a hulking, scary-looking guy, his features are traditionally masculine so he's referring to his FaceOfAThug.
106* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParker Peter Parker]] was supposed to be a gangly bespectacled nerd (Creator/SteveDitko even based Peter's appearance off himself as a boy) who gets rejected by the likes of Liz Allen and bullied by JerkJock [[Characters/MarvelComicsFlashThompson Flash Thompson]] for being a wimp. When Peter gets bitten by a radioactive spider, his social life [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatHotness improves]] thanks to newfound strength and confidence as Spider-Man, and he gets a girlfriend in Betty Brant and a [[ChickMagnet dozen others]] after her before settling down with the supermodel actress [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]]. It's worth noting Peter's bad luck with girls in high school mostly stemmed from his shy wallflower nature, and probably thanks to Aunt May choosing all his clothes for him, making him look dorky as hell.
107** DependingOnTheArtist factors, too, Ditko only made Peter more traditionally attractive in later comics, while John Romita Senior drew him as outright handsome and most artists followed suit. When it flashbacks to pre-spider bite days, most comics have Peter be bespectacled and much less striking and more geeky than he is now.
108* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': H'el, an enemy of Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}}, considers himself a hideous freak. Like the ''Beastly'' example, H'el has a rock star's deathly pale skin, black eyes, and a bunch of manly scars on top of the chiseled physique of an Olympic bodybuilder and the flowing black hair of a Renaissance painter's ideal man. Frankly, this "freak" looks like a god that descended from Mount Olympus, even more so than Superman. Most people would consider themselves quite fortunate to be half as "hideous" as H'el.
109* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan:'' In the change-over to ''Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man'', MJ suddenly gains a pair of glasses and less fashionable clothing. The intention of making her look nerdy falls flat given that the art style means she still looks exactly as good-looking as she did before, since none of the cast are unattractive by any means, just she now has glasses.
110* ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'': In the graphic novel, Wesley Gibson's girlfriend is repeatedly described as fat, and implied to be fairly unattractive, though she is not drawn this way at all. Seeing that she's knowingly cheating on him, [[UnreliableNarrator this might be his way of expressing his anger with her]].
111* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: The first Silver Swan, Helen Alexandros, is treated as if she were a hag but despite having freckles and an overall mousy demeanor, she is actually quite cute.
112* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
113** The short-time member Marrow is a complicated example that has more to do with her self-confidence and backstory than anything else. In her original appearances as a Morlock terrorist and her initial HeelFaceTurn, she ''was'' quite ugly (to varying degrees DependingOnTheArtist). During an adventure on an alien planet, however, Marrow was wounded and placed in a regeneration chamber, which also smoothed her facial features. Despite her newfound beauty, she was still self-conscious about her appearance due to having a visible mutation and the fact that her mutation involves growing more bones out of her body.
114** Callisto, TheLeader of the Morlocks, is a similar case. The Morlocks are a group of mutants that live in the sewer because their mutations make them look deformed and inhuman, and therefore easy to recognize and target among normal humans. While most of them are distinctively inhuman in appearance, Callisto herself is not, as she is actually originally beautiful in her pre-Morlock life, but "ugly" because of her now-usually unkempt, haggard, and malnourished appearance due to living homeless in sewers, and also due to the facial scars she got in a fight (which actually amounts to one lost eye) rather than because of her mutation, but because of her solidarity with the Morlocks she has a similar view of herself. But a '90s storyline involved her being stripped of her memories and healed of her scars and her missing eye, at which point she actually became a ''[[SheCleansUpNicely supermodel]]'' when she lived a normal life in New York City, although she regained those scars and lost her eye again -- and regained her memories -- in yet another fight, at which point she returned to being a raggedy sewer-dweller. However, she has still remained reasonably attractive ever since then, depending on the artist. Although she did briefly have her arms replaced with CombatTentacles -- in exchange for having the rest of her supermodel appearance restored, with her scars removed and eye healed, when she became a freelance mercenary -- she lost those after [[ComicBook/HouseOfM M-Day]] and is now [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcQ0g2dJpdupvRzRBiUPRKjGlMPUZP3rH5uJC_Q1lj4eqcw_NOuR back to living in sewers and just as "ugly" as she ever was originally (minus the scarring though she wears the eye patch for cosmetic purposes)]], which is to say that she's still rather attractive, just not ''supermodel''-attractive, like the average comic-book leading-lady, pending adequate nutrition and proper grooming. It's implied that Callisto's original scarring and eye loss was due to her being gang-raped by thugs as a young woman, after which the trauma caused her to become homeless and live in the sewers. Her name itself hints at this, being extremely [[MeaningfulName symbolic]], as it was taken from the Greek myth of the most beautiful nymph in Greece who was [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] by the god Zeus (who is of course infamous for his [[DepravedBisexual libido]]) and thereafter was transformed into a bestial appearance.
115[[/folder]]
116
117[[folder:Comic Strips]]
118* ComicStrip/{{Luann}} is typically assumed in her world to be plain, at best (at least as compared to the local high school AlphaBitch, Tiffany), even though she is drawn attractive. In one arc boys lined up around the block to throw baseballs at a dunking machine [[SexySoakedShirt so as to get Tiffany wet]]; when it was Luann's turn, all the boys mysteriously vanished. (This was the {{Punchline}}). It's not like her boob size (again, as drawn) is any less ample than her rival's, either. To be fair, in earlier comics, the younger Luann '''was''' drawn very plainly. She grew up nice, but tends to retain a bit of "Ugly Duckling Syndrome".
119* [[http://www.barnaclepress.com/comic/Ella%20Cinders/ Ella Cinders]] is another case of this condition: She is generally shown as being rather hideous with her disheveled appearance, with her brother [[PunnyName Blackie]] and [[{{Gonk}} Waite, the ice-man]] being the only ones not to mock her for her looks. But when she appears in decent clothes, she's more of the UglyCute kind, even attracting quite a few [[TheBeautifulElite good-looking, wealthy men]].
120* ''ComicStrip/{{Dustin}}'': The title character's [[BrattyTeenageDaughter teenage sister]] is depicted as being quite unattractive ([[{{Gonk}} she was once compared to her dad]]) [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption and a failure with boys]] ([[HormoneAddledTeenager which might contribute to her often-excessive focus over them]]). However she is not that far from her mother in the looks department, her "ugliness" having more to do with her frumpy clothes and her low dating record is likely linked to a family condition.
121* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'': Diner waitress Irma isn't exactly model-quality, and her appearance has gone back and forth over the years, but she's never been as repulsive as Garfield would have had you believe in an early strip where he believes Jon was trying to flirt with her:
122-->'''Irma:''' [[LampshadeHanging Do you take your cat everywhere?]]\
123'''Jon:''' ''[takes her hand]'' Yes, we do everything together, my dear.\
124'''Garfield:''' [[AsideGlance Except make passes at ugly waitresses.]]
125[[/folder]]
126
127[[folder:Fan Works]]
128* In ''WebVideo/UltraFastPony'', Cheerilee can't get any dates because she's so ugly. Except she's exactly the same character model as every other mare (including Rarity, [[InformedAttractiveness who's stated to be hot]]). Either pony beauty standards are very dependent on coat color and mane style, or [[MST3KMantra we're overthinking]] a GagDub.
129[[/folder]]
130
131[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
132
133* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'': Beast is supposed to be "hideous", as pointed by the narrator in the prologue. He breaks mirrors to not look at his own image and everybody who sees him thinks he is horrifying; even Belle is repulsed at the first time she sees him. However, he looks much more attractive than Gaston, who is considered "handsome" by the villagers; most fans actually lament that Beast has become a prince in the end, claiming that he was a lot prettier than his human self. Some even say that GASTON is ugly!
134* In ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'', Victoria's parents say that she has "the face of an otter" and considered her a disgrace to the family. Seeing how they are [[JerkAss Jerkasses]] and [[TheUglyGuysHotDaughter honestly ugly themselves]], this could be because they needed someone to look down on. Ironically, Victoria is one of the most HUMAN-looking puppets for the production.
135* In the AnimatedAdaptation of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheWinds'', the evil sister supposedly loses all her beauty when she is turned into an old woman. In fact, only her clothes definitely grow shabbier, while she herself still looks quite adorable, just slightly plumper than before (and without her greyed hair, no viewer would guess she becomes elderly). To a part of the viewers, even with the grey hair she remains prettier than the kind sister.
136* ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'':
137** Fiona's ogre form. Compared to her human form, she's merely chubbier and green. Yet she's supposed to be so ugly that Donkey can't bring himself to lie about it. Shrek, however, thinks her ogre form is beautiful.
138** Shrek himself is pretty hideous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shrekcover.jpg in the original book]]. In the movie, his green skin and odd ears don't make him ugly, and aside from that, he looks like an average stocky guy with a potbelly. Sure, he's no PrinceCharming but [[InformedAttribute he hardly lives up]] to the MirrorCrackingUgly hype he gets InUniverse.
139* ''WesternAnimation/{{Uglydolls}}'':
140** The movie itself has a case of this being a plot point. To the audience [[spoiler:and the children that eventually get them]], the Uglydolls are a bit quirky and misshapen, but still cute, being rejected dolls from the conveyor belt. To the Perfection citizens, they're hideous freaks of nature. This overexaggeration of their ugliness helps point out how the citizens of Perfection are, ironically, not as perfect as they're made to be.
141** Furthering the hypocritical nature of the Perfection citizens is how Nolan is treated. Aside from lopsided sleeves, freckles, mismatched eyes, and a clunky streak of green in his hair, he looks exactly like the other Perfection dolls. However, he's immediately pegged as "ugly" by them thanks to these small "imperfections".
142* ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney's'' Quasimodo is deformed and treated as if he's hideous, but he's clearly designed to be UglyCute.
143* WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameGoldenFilms managed to do this with Quasimodo by not only taking away any true deformity (opting instead for bad posture and messy hair) but he's still treated as being monstrous, even by the supposedly sympathetic heroine who consoles him about his ugliness. This is all meant to play into a BrokenAesop about outward looks not mattering when Quasi is revealed to have been BeautifulAllAlong. Reviewers Phelous and Diva in particular have ripped this movie a new one for that.
144-->'''Diva''': So...Quasimodo is just a guy with bad posture and an awful haircut? How does that make him different from your average sixteen-year-old?
145-->'''Phelous''': Yes, now that I'm ''confirmed'' handsome, my looks really don't matter anymore.
146[[/folder]]
147
148[[folder:Literature]]
149* ''Literature/ANamelessWitch'' by A. Lee Martinez parodies this:
150-->I had yet to dare look in the mirror for fear of being driven mad by my own hideousness. Now I chanced a sidelong glance through the corner of my eye. It was not the sanity-twisting sight I had expected, but still a far cry from lovely.\
151"But what about these?" I cupped the large, fatty mounds on my chest.\
152"Those are breasts," Ghastly Edna said. "They're supposed to be there."\
153"But they're so...so..."\
154"Round. Firm." She sighed. "That's how they're supposed to be. Ideally."
155* While Lulu from ''Literature/DeathMarchToTheParallelWorldRhapsody'' is considered a Bishoujo by those from Japan, she is considered to have an unfortunate, ugly look in her own world.
156* Isabella in ''Literature/HollowPlaces.'' The protagonist describes her as, "Pretty enough to star in a medicine ad." Attractive but noticeably plain.
157* A perennial favorite of tabloid magazines is to show candid photos of starlets without makeup. But since most of the women featured are still beautiful with or without cosmetics, tabloids will choose the most unflattering photos possible: bad lighting, bad angle, bad posture, being tired or upset, hair tied back, ''in addition'' to not wearing makeup.[[note]]If they're over the age of 50, you get the added bonus of rumors that they're sickly and near death.[[/note]] If all that wasn't enough, the photos are then compared to their most airbrushed glamour shots, with the rather hypocritical implication that nothing in Hollywood is real.
158* Nerdanel in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' is described as homely, but this is also [[TheFairFolk an Elf]]. This most likely means she is still very attractive when compared to an attractive human female - just not nearly as beautiful as Galadriel, Lúthien, or Arwen.
159* In ''Literature/GoneGirl'', Nick considers his twin sister Go to be this in-universe, commenting that she's actually quite pretty in an offbeat, old-fashioned kind of way. She's only considered plain or ugly because she's a "strange-faced" {{tomboy}} living in an era where society favors slender, polished, ultra-feminine women. Nick compares her to the leading ladies of [=1930s=] screwball comedies, and theorizes that she'd have been considered attractive if she lived in that decade.
160* In-universe version in ''Literature/{{Uglies}}''. All of society has been conditioned to view surgical perfection as the baseline for merely being normal, while actually normal-looking people are considered monstrously hideous. Teenagers who've aged out of being adorable children, but aren't old enough for the surgery to become Pretties, are called the Uglies and constantly have it hammered into them how disgusting they are. At one point the main character is manipulated into becoming a spy for the corrupt government just by showing her a closeup of her own face--a perfectly ordinary teenage girl face with a little bit of acne--and threatening to withold the surgery.
161* The ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': Occurs in-universe among the students at SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy. Between 15-20% of all mutants are Exemplars (that is to say, idealized humans, [[HeroicBuild superhero-beautiful]]), and there are those who have auras and {{Glamour}}s which make them even more attractive. Non-exemplars, even when they're on a level with otherwise gorgeous baselines like Hollywood actors/actresses, don't stand a chance. Example: Aquerna. She's hardly worth a second glance on campus, but several [[MadScientist devisors]] think she's hot, and when she goes home for the holidays with her pal Rhiannon, lots of guys are hitting on her. Even those Exemplars who are merely good looking, such as She-Beast, tend to get a bit fixated on this (with Jadis' specific complaint being that she didn't get the MostCommonSuperpower, which she mentions [[ConversationalTroping by name]]).
162[[/folder]]
163
164[[folder:Music]]
165* Saving Jane. The whole point of the song "Girl Next Door" is that the singer feels inadequate compared to this other girl who is described as "perfect skin, perfect hair, perfumed hearts everywhere...."
166* Bill Kaulitz, lead singer of Music/TokioHotel has stated on multiple occasions that he looks ugly without his makeup. When seen without his makeup, [[DudeLooksLikeALady he looks more like a man than usual.]]
167[[/folder]]
168
169[[folder:Music Videos]]
170* Music/AvrilLavigne. In the video for "Girlfriend", we're supposed to believe that Avril's bratty punk-like "bad girl" character is more desirable than the nerdy girlfriend. That's a tough sell.... (WordOfGod says it's supposed to be satirical, but if that's true, it sure has one hell of a MisaimedFandom).
171* Music/LittleMix. In the "Black Magic" music video, the band acted as unpopular nerds the BigManonCampus doesn't notice and whom the AlphaBitch walks over before their "magical makeover" thanks to the spell book they found. But the dressing down isn't very convincing because it only includes putting them in plainer clothes and hairstyles, Perrie and Jade wearing NerdGlasses [[TheGlassesGottaGo before they stopped using them]], and [[ShrinkingViolet acting shy and clumsy]].
172* Music/TaylorSwift. In the video for "You Belong with Me", they put her in NerdGlasses and a band uniform and we're supposed to believe she's The Plain Girl. Yeah, right. Just to drive the trope home, the "hot cheerleader" is played by...Taylor Swift, in a brunette wig.
173* Music/KatyPerry. In the video for [[WildTeenParty "Last Friday Night (TGIF)"]], they give her stereotypical nerdy big glasses, headgear, and a ponytail, and they still cannot hide the fact that it's Katy Perry under there. Just ask the Hollywood Homely guy that falls for her.
174* In the music video for Music/{{Marshmello}} and Music/{{Bastille}}'s "Happier", the protagonist is bullied by her soccer teammates for her looks. Given that she's played by Creator/MirandaCosgrove and they made little effort to make her appear ugly outside of giving her frizzy hair and braces, it's a hard sell.
175[[/folder]]
176
177[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
178* Early 90s WCW, Wrestling/TerriRunnels was working as Alexandra York. Alexandra was a frump who dressed in unflattering business suits and boxy glasses, but it was still obviously an attractive woman trying to portray an unattractive one.
179* Wrestling/{{Madusa}} in Wrestling/{{WCW}}. She had long been teased by {{heel}} wrestlers as "ugly" but was still presented as attractive for her whole career, up until WCW, [[BrawnHilda where looking ugly compared to non-wrestlers became her gimmick]]. And though [[YouGoGirl everyone remembers her Cruiserweight title run]], she spent most of her time in WCW as a ''valet''.
180* Wrestling/{{WWE}} spoofed this when they had Wrestling/LayCool mock Wrestling/MickieJames by claiming that the extremely fit Diva was fat and calling her Piggy James. Even though they were doing it for some {{cheap heat}}, and the announcers pointed out how ridiculous it was, some people thought the WWE was seriously calling her fat. According to Mickie, that angle came about because Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon wanted to do a storyline about bullying. Even with that, many fans still believe Mickie being punished for being a prima donna backstage. The fact that she was fired a few months afterward just adds to the belief.
181* Wrestling/MollyHolly was given the gimmick of a self-righteous prude after her 2002 FaceHeelTurn, which was accompanied by a shorter haircut, going from blonde to brown and more conservative ring attire. Jerry Lawler would refer to her as "old and ugly", even though she was one of the youngest women on the roster at that point. When her hair grew out and she switched to wrestling in corsets, this died down a little. However, according to the lady herself, she would still get chants from fans claiming she looked pregnant.
182* Wrestling/CodyRhodes:
183** He adopted a vain PrettyBoy gimmick and came out to cut a promo on how "dashing" he is. He then referred to Todd Grisham as "overweight" and "plain". [[http://onlineworldofwrestling.com/pictures/t/toddgrisham/01.jpg Yeah]], not getting oxygen to the brain there Cody.
184** Cody then suffered a blow to the face from Wrestling/{{Rey Mysterio| Jr}} and supposedly required reconstructive surgery. He went from considering himself as 'dashing' to 'hideous' and 'deformed' as a result. He wore a see-through plastic mask to 'protect' his face, but it was clear that his face looked exactly the way that it always did, especially as he liked removing the mask to hit people with it. After a few months, he dropped the gimmick and mask and all without his looks changing in the slightest.
185* Wrestling/AJLee on NXT was a form of a nerd and people were constantly remarking on how she'd have a hard time getting dates. The aforementioned Cody Rhodes remarked that she'd probably never kissed a boy before. She got into the act herself and called out the other Divas in saying she couldn't get into the WWE just by being cute as the rest of them. She's a hot girl who loves cars and playing video games - she's had boys lining up down the street for the chance to kiss her hand for a while now. [[http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/pictures/a/ajlee/17.jpg Need anything else said?]] And actually in her autobiography she claims she was eliminated from NXT because WWE higher-ups told her she wasn't attractive enough.
186* Wrestling/TheaTrinidad (Rosita, Divina Fly) stated on one of her Website/YouTube videos that she was told she was too ugly to be a wrestler. Tell that to the people she '''''models''''' for.
187* A back handed variation with Wrestling/BethPhoenix when she began her 2011 feud with Wrestling/NatalyaNeidhart against the 'Barbie Doll Divas'. WWE were clearly hoping to recreate the 'beast vs. beauty' feud they'd had in the past with the likes of Jazz vs. Trish Stratus, Bull Nakano vs. Alundra Blayze, etc. Except Beth was an AmazonianBeauty and presented as such beforehand (her RedBaron was 'The Glamazon') who had provided plenty of {{Fanservice}} in Diva photoshoots as well. It's suspected the storyline was originally for Wrestling/KiaStevens.
188* Natalya as well downplays this. Around 2011-2012, she was often treated like a ButtMonkey by heel commentators who would say that she couldn't get a date. This ignores that the other Divas out of kayfabe would refer to Natalya as one of the best dressed women on the roster - which would become obvious whenever she appeared backstage done to the nines.
189* {{Wrestling/Paige}} merged this with NotLikeOtherGirls with her RedBaron 'The Anti Diva'. Merely because she didn't tan and had a Goth look. Before getting signed by WWE, she was a HeadTurningBeauty whose own mother realised the marketing potential of putting her daughter's face on merchandise.
190* [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]]'s Claire Lynch was often attacked -- both in-universe and out -- for being unattractive. [[https://www.presentingjulia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/JuliaReillyMaroontop-small.jpg This]] is Julia Reilly, the actress who portrayed Lynch.
191[[/folder]]
192
193[[folder:Roleplay]]
194* ''Roleplay/TheGunganCouncil'': Feena's avatar could be viewed as pretty, yet her character in narrative is described as being borderline ugly.
195[[/folder]]
196
197[[folder:Theatre]]
198* In Leoš Janáček’s ''Theatre/{{Jenufa}}'', the main heroine’s face is slashed with a knife, which is supposed to leave her so badly scarred that her beauty is destroyed forever. In many productions, she only has a thin, often barely visible scar on her cheek.
199* ''Theatre/{{Passion}}'': When the Music/StephenSondheim musical was in previews, the director James Lapine had great trouble settling on a make-up look for the character Fosca. Fosca is ''supposed'' to be ugly - that's the entire point of her character - but whenever they used prosthetics to make the actress Donna Murphy look genuinely ugly, the audience lost all sympathy for the character. They ended up making Murphy up in pale "no make-up" make-up, giving her a mole, and dressing her in unflattering clothes; that was as much ugliness as the audience could take. Lest tropers unfamiliar with the work think poorly of those audiences, the character of Fosca isn't beautiful on the inside, either - she has deep psychological scars from a disastrous first marriage and spends most of the show pursuing a man who has clearly and calmly indicated that 1. He's not interested and 2. He's already in a relationship (with a married woman, but still...). [[spoiler:When he finally reciprocates at the end, it's not clear if he has learned to love her or if she has simply broken him.]]
200* ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'': Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, is supposed to be so hideous that her father cannot look at her upon her birth. She even describes herself as "ugly". Still, she is played by actresses such as Shoshanna Bean, Eden Espinosa, and the incredibly attractive Creator/IdinaMenzel, with no further pains taken in making her look unattractive than painting her green.
201* Neil La Bute’s “reasons to be pretty” features the main character of Steph, described by her boyfriend as “just normal looking” and another character as “a dog”. On Broadway, the character was played by [[http://images.bwwstatic.com/upload/27079/tn-500_ireland.jpg Marin Ireland]] and in London by [[https://i.pinimg.com/474x/b9/7e/23/b97e230faa09b58d4b5a0d0323e4b937.jpg Sian Brooke]].
202* In the ballet ''A Legend of Love'' Mekhmene Banu sacrifices her beauty so her sister Shirin can live. Few productions attempt to make the ballerina dancing Mekhmene look unattractive afterwards; in most versions she wears a veil that does nothing to hide her face.
203* ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' intentionally uses this for humor.
204** Harry, Dumbledore, and especially Ron, will deliver entire ''monologues'' about the horrid ugliness of Hermione, who is played by a very pretty actress. Draco tries this as well, but the most scathing thing he can come up with is that she's an 8 out of 10 (Maybe an 8.5... No more than a 9.8!)
205--->'''Ron:''' It was inevitable that one day Hermione would realize that no guy would ever like her, because of her obnoxious personality, and her ugly face, and her misshapen body, but I figured she'd get in at least ''one'' night of happiness before she realized she was going to be growing old alone, you know?
206** A few minutes after that she enters Ron and Draco break into a CounterpointDuet about how they're falling in love (falling in love, falling in love) with Hermione Granger (Danger...)
207** Happens to Ginny as well. Harry calls her a "butterface" (in the sequel) and Harry makes it clear that he doesn't find her attractive, though she's played by a pretty actress.
208* Sally in ''Theatre/MeAndMyDick'', played by the same actress as Ginny in ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical''. It's lampshaded when after Joey realizes that she's the one for him, and he says "You know, I don't know why I ever thought she was that ugly, she's really not that bad."
209[[/folder]]
210
211[[folder:Video Games]]
212* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
213** Given Japanese media's issues with GenericCuteness, it's noteworthy that the first game avoids this. Will Powers, the defendant in the third case, is genuinely rough-looking and unattractive. Maya, who has never seen him out of his Steel Samurai costume, is more than a little stunned. There are many who find Will's cragginess rather appealing, and the constant hullabaloo about how "frightening" he looks a straight invocation of this trope.
214** The sequel has some more good times on this subject: Will, who lacks the skills or training for anything but television, has been reduced to hosting a children's exercise program in a rabbit costume that hides his face, Will's successor, Matt Engarde, usually looks about as attractively sixteen as you can get (until [[spoiler:he pushes back his hair and reveals the extreme scar across his eye, which also signals his switch into his real personality as an inhuman, manipulative monster]]), and Matt's supposed rival, Juan Corrida, is frequently mocked for being ugly and looking so much older than Matt (i.e. he looks to be in his early-to-mid twenties, which he is, and he looks pretty good for it too).
215* In ''VideoGame/CondemnedCriminalOrigins'', Ethan Thomas is an aversion as he looks believable as an average police detective. In ''VideoGame/Condemned2Bloodshot'', he's built like a football player despite the fact that he's been spending the year between the two games living as an alcoholic vagabond. The only signifier of his degenerate status is his scruffy facial hair. He also [[RaceLift became much paler]] than his originally [[AmbiguouslyBrown bronzed skin tone]].
216* ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal2012'' plays this trope for drama with Dollface. In the new version, she is a former supermodel who gets a (minor) scar on her face, decides that [[BeautyToBeast her beauty is ruined]] (even though everybody, including her doctor, can plainly see that she's wrong), and starts wearing a mask to hide her "imperfection." David Jaffe said that her story is a satire of the extreme standards of beauty that are presented to women by pop culture.
217* ''VideoGame/FreedomForce'': Invoked. Shadow is a masked villainess who is obsessed with creating an underground civilization filled with ugly, disfigured people and destroying the attractive surface dwellers. Then her mask comes off, and she's revealed to be a gorgeous former supermodel...with a tiny scar on her cheek. She screams about her hideousness but everyone else agrees she's beautiful...including her deformed minions, who promptly attack her.
218* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', Solid Snake is supposed to be so ugly as a result of his accelerated aging disease that at one point, when he takes his shirt off, he actually makes a grown woman cry. (His younger self was supposed to be a [[SlidingScaleOfBeauty World Class Beauty]], and women immediately show interest in him when he's wearing [[LatexPerfection makeup to look like his younger self]].) In practice, he still has a great body and finding him more attractive than his younger self is ''not'' a niche opinion amongst Solid Snake's generous EstrogenBrigade; people frequently remark that his younger self as it was rendered in ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' looks awkward-looking or even outright ugly, but as an old man he is extremely charismatic. The bottom line is that he looks like a very fit 80-year-old when he's 42.
219* Zig-zagged in regards to Mileena from ''Franchise/MortalKombat'', being an EvilKnockOff of the beautiful princess Kitana using Tarkatan DNA she’s got [[ButterFace a curvaceous]] body but has heaps of massive ScaryTeeth which causes people to dub her as a hideous monster, even though she’s appeared in Magazine/{{Playboy}}. The games up until [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 MK9]] have all portrayed her facial features as scary, but [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX MKX]] changed her design, giving Mileena actual lips which threw Mileena into this trope as people still call her [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQNqxLO72VGqyApzcnXAp45mboJUFIzg-5ycA&usqp=CAU hideous when at worst she’s got some toothy cheeks]] and otherwise she’s beautiful. [[VideoGame/MortalKombat11 MK11]] goes some way to correct this giving Mileena [[https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-18NSQCn3V9g/X4B1oTGiShI/AAAAAAAADrU/XV6-mMtO2boWky_Mk9gYQP4YSVMcHe0kACNcBGAsYHQ/w0/mortal-kombat-11-mileena-uhdpaper.com-4K-8.199-wp.thumbnail.jpg a larger and more frightening mouth with more teeth and red gums]], but the problem is thanks to advanced graphics the rest of her face is still quite attractive, so the numerous cracks about her appearance come off as exaggerated especially coming from the likes of [[FacialHorror Kabal]].
220* ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji|2016}}'''s Mushishi complains that she's ugly while looking like [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/306skin1.png this]].
221* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Aveline asks Isabela how she's able to attract men, given that she's not especially good looking. The tone of both Aveline's question and Isabela's response indicates that this was a serious question, despite Isabela's character model being a MsFanservice and Aveline herself is quite attractive.
222** Aveline's exact words are "You're not ''that'' good-looking," implying less that Isabella lacks physical charms and more than those charms alone aren't enough to explain [[ReallyGetsAround the sheer amount of sex she manages to have]] (though Isabella later admits that she doesn't have quite as much sex as her reputation suggests).
223* In the DatingSim ''VideoGame/AlwaysRememberMe'', the protagonist occasionally remarks how plain and average she is, but there's nothing to indicate that she's any less attractive than the NewOldFlame or the rest of the all-{{bishonen}} cast.
224* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'': Yue Ying, the wife of Zhuge Liang, is described as "ugly" in her historical records character profile and some games make passing mention of her supposed unattractiveness. The viewer will likely find her to be anything but...though, given that she doesn't meet the ''conventional Chinese standards of beauty'' and on top of that acts nothing like the Confucian ideal of a perfect wife (i.e. ExtremeDoormat), maybe it's not a stretch that she's considered to be some sort of horrible hag.
225* Huang Yueying in ''VideoGame/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdomsKoei'' used this as a SecretTestOfCharacter - the rumors of her ugliness were her own invention and used to ensure any man who pursued her was interested in her vast intellect and writings. Her "ugliness" was said to be red hair and dark skin.
226* The survivors in the ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' series are supposed to fall into the trope since they are the "everyman" caught up in a ZombieApocalypse and are not military trained or anything that you would see in Hollywood films. The survivors look a little ragged, but their faces for the most part still look pretty/handsome. This is mostly due to Valve using the faces of professional models to create the look of the survivor characters.
227* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
228** ''VideoGame/Persona3'': The [[FranchiseOriginalSin infamous scene]] at the end of the BeachEpisode, where Junpei, Akihiko and the Protagonist talk to an older women who's drop-dead ''beautiful''... [[UnsettlingGenderReveal and the guys discover soon afterwards she trans]] based on [[{{Profiling}} her slight facial hair]], and [[ValuesDissonance run off with the moment being played for gross-out factor]]. This was a game, needless to say, that was from the UsefulNotes/TurnOfTheMillennium, sadly. Which is all the more baffling, because she is downright ''[[https://i.imgur.com/MPxp2rG.png gorgeous]]'', and it makes a lot of the transphobic joke outright unfair given how downright beautiful she looks. ''VideoGame/Persona3Reload'' would change this to the woman instead turning out to be a crazy conspiracy theorist instead.
229** In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', a lot of people casually dismiss Chie, especially since she spends so much time around YamatoNadeshiko-in-training Yukiko. In the AnimatedAdaptation, even [[TheStoic Yu]] nearly chokes in surprise when he finds out Kou has a crush on Chie. At worst Chie suffers from GenericCuteness, her TomBoy nature, a BoyishShortHair cut and a casual disregard for her appearance.
230*** It's worth noting that Chie was ''intentionally'' [[InvokedTrope designed with the trope in mind]]. Her more realistic attractiveness was meant to contrast with the idol Rise and the traditional ideal Yukiko.
231*** Ironically Chie [[SheCleansUpNicely does look beautiful when she dolls up]] for the New Years' date and in the Japanese Character Poll ''she actually beats out Yukiko and Rise in popularity!'' Western Polls are more decisive, with the ironically even more boyish Naoto surpassing Chie in popularity.
232* Played for laughs in both ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' games. [=GLaDOS=] [[spoiler:and Wheatley]], amidst taunting her about being an orphan, repeatedly point out that [[http://i1.theportalwiki.net/img/4/40/Chell.png Chell]] is fat, pale, and ugly to try and demoralize her. [[TheVoiceless It]] [[{{Determinator}} doesn't]] [[TheStoic work.]]
233* Dorothy of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' is supposed to be homely. She has a short, boyish haircut, beady eyes, and a rather unflattering brown outfit, but is otherwise downright adorable. Her in-game portrait makes her look plainer than her artwork, but is still far from ugly.
234* Being the ultimate VirtualPaperDoll game series, you can make any Sim you want like this in most versions of ''VideoGame/TheSims''. Step 1, make an attractive sim. Step 2, give them an unflattering hairstyle, bad clothes, and even braces or blemishes if you wish (if you have the mods for those, that is). Step 3, give them personality traits that make them bad at socializing... and voila! You have a hopelessly awkward, Hollywood Homely plaything at your disposal.
235* In ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'' the in-game notes and [[ComicBook/TombRaider comics]] make out that Lara Croft (''[[ThirdPersonSeductress yes that Lara Croft]]'') is a shy college girl, who failed to make friends with the popular girls being a history dork and who needed her real BFF Samthara to drag her away from the books and go have "adventures" and be social. It's very hard to believe that Lara, who is dubbed "beautiful" by guys likes Jonah and Alex and has a creepy cultist have [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty get all up in her personal space]], could ever be considered unappealing or unpopular.
236** From the same game, Alex the technician of the endurance is supposed to be a stereotypical bespectacled nerd who’s got an AmazonChaser crush on Lara, but he's clearly [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcQXRS5RrWCarIfYT5y_SA30FjPWy4QZBctEJTKGBsgzDt_EQfoo pretty handsome]], so every crewmate treating Alex like a dork is strange. Lara at least, thinks he's sweet [[spoiler: and even kisses him before he dies]].
237* The genre of [[http://www.dressupwho.com/makeover-games/ online makeover games]] fall hard into this trope. In them, your goal is to make a girl pretty with beauty products and makeup...but more often than not, the only things that make the girl "ugly" or "plain" to begin with are acne, unfashionable clothes, and occasionally bad teeth. It's especially laughable in the makeover games featuring [[Franchise/DisneyPrincess Disney princesses]] in which the pre-makeover girl is clearly a stock image of the already-beautiful Disney princess [[http://www.dressupwho.com/games/snow-white-makeover-salon/ with some pimples and blemishes drawn on her face]], not to mention the makeover games in which the ''only'' criteria for the girl needing a makeover are that she has [[http://www.girlsgogames.com/game/from-naughty-to-hottie dyed hair and tattoos]]!
238* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'': Lt. Eva Lee, who serves as the Allied MissionControl. While she's clearly beautiful, she's much less obvious {{Fanservice}} than her latex-clad Soviet counterpart and even on her own team her looks are far more downplayed compared to [[ActionGirl Agent Tanya]]. When SheCleansUpNicely for the final cinematic of the ExpansionPack, it's a genuine surprise.
239* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': Sky is called fat as a RunningGag during the third game, including her own [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents parents]]. She has a very nice figure much like the rest of the main female cast.
240* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'': Aerith is utterly beautiful, but many characters in-game doubt her potential to be chosen as Don Corneo's bride because of her dowdy clothes and lack of upfront sex appeal (much to her chagrin). Notably, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSrRf8tehqI if you half-ass it and get the "low-tier" dress]] (first one) for her, Aerith believes it looks super-bad on her, but check the comments underneath; most players think she looks adorable in spite of it. To say nothing of the "mid-tier" and "top-tier" dresses, which are "Wow, she looks really great in that" and "Even the mercenary hardass main character is left staring at her in stunned awe" respectively.
241[[/folder]]
242
243[[folder:Web Animation]]
244* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': "Spring Broken" has the rest of IMP learn that Blitzo once dated a Succubus Popstar named Verosika Mayday, with all three of them agreeing that he's way too ugly for her. Even the normally polite-to-a-fault Moxxie has an out of character moment that's PlayedForLaughs where he says with a bewildered expression "Is she blind? Suffering some form of brain damage?". But if this [[https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0284/5558/products/PinupStandee_Blitz.png?v=1686244722 limited edition Blitzo standie]] is anything to go by he's got good looks to spare.
245* The Ugly One in ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'' seems to be based on this trope; she has all the usual traits of people trying to pull this off (glasses, curly hair, HugeSchoolgirl), but the art style is so basic that she looks no more or less attractive than any of the others. It's implied that she has the worst fashion sense and hygiene of the group, though, and of course, she CleansUpNicely.
246* This is used intentionally in ''WebAnimation/EverySimsMachinimaEverParody'' to poke fun at ''Sims'' {{machinima}}s. Chloe is an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary middle schooler]] with slightly messy black hair and large glasses. As a teenager, she looks perfectly attractive but the GirlPosse bullies her anyway. Ella ends up getting a makeover and looks ''[[UnnecessaryMakeover worse]]''.
247* Charmander from ''WebAnimation/StarterSquad'', sees Hitmonchan as exceptionally hideous, even though Hitmonchan don't seem to look ''that'' hideous.
248[[/folder]]
249
250[[folder:Webcomics]]
251* in ''Webcomic/BetterDays'', both [[http://www.jaynaylor.com/betterdays/comic/BD235.05-07-15.gif Marvin]] and [[http://www.jaynaylor.com/betterdays/comic/BD225.05-06-10.gif Marissa]] are treated as being pretty unattractive. Fisk is shocked the instant he sees Marissa, having assumed she got some of the "hereditary hottability" that her cheerleader sister had, and Lucy reacts with pity the instant she sees Elizabeth with Marvin. The trouble is, both of them are drawn in the standard cute animal style, so it's really impossible to tell that they're supposed to be that undesirable. In the case of Marissa, it has more to do with her Che Guevara t-shirt and the implications of her political leanings than what she looks like. Fisk is an {{Author Avatar}} of Jay Naylor, who is opposed to communism and hates Che Guevara.
252* After the new character Yvan first appeared in ''Webcomic/MenageA3'', nobody in Internet discussions seemed to think that he was especially unattractive - even given the comic's sky-high level of GenericCuteness. However, when she first saw him and knowing that she might have to flirt with him, [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/menage-a-3/get-a-better-look Zii gave a mental yelp of shock]]. He appears to be flagged as "homely" by being a little heavier-built than most of the cast, having PermaStubble, posing a little, and using AnticipatoryBreathSpray. Or maybe Zii is a bit of a snob.
253* In ''Webcomic/NipAndTuck'', [[http://web.archive.org/web/20120512011240/http://www.rhjunior.com/NT/00772.html objecting to this trope is one reason to avoid movie romances.]]
254* Donut from the webcomic ''Webcomic/LilyLove'' describes herself as ugly, being chubby with large legs, small breasts, and a large forehead. The {{Animesque}} art doesn't really show it, as her breasts aren't really small, she's very skinny, and she has normal legs. Here is an image made by the [[http://three-musqueerteers.tumblr.com/post/136379527141/donut-postcard-art-from-lily-love-vol-3-by#notes author herself.]]
255* Sophie from ''Webcomic/MyDeepestSecret'' is an unusual example. She believes herself to be ugly despite several characters telling her otherwise within the story. This belief runs so deep that [[spoiler: she turns on anyone who tells her she's actually ''not'' ugly, believing them to be toying with her]].
256[[/folder]]
257
258[[folder:Web Original]]
259* ''Website/GaiaOnline'': Timmy; he came down with [[PlotRelevantAgeUp Megapuberty]] and turned into a grown man... Where Gaia users had been expecting another {{Bishonen}}, they instead got a lanky man with a PornStache and messy hair, and clothes that fit him better when he was twelve. Based on ''Nicholas Cage''. The fans were screaming "change him back". [[note]] Just as many users were complaining about the [[{{Flanderization}} stupidity]] that began when he grew up, or had simply [[TheScrappy gotten tired of Timmy altogether]]. [[/note]]
260* A post on the blog [[https://invadingnirvana.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/chicago-pretty/ Invading Nirvana]] touches on the reason for this trope. In it, the author recounts the experience of a friend of his who is a director in L.A., who invited an actress he knew from Chicago out to audition for a particular role. When he sees her standing with all the L.A. actresses who are also present, he thinks to himself
261-->"Oh. My mistake," he thought, looking at his beautiful, Midwest friend. "You're not L.A. pretty. You're ''Chicago'' pretty."
262* A common criticism of Platform/{{Wattpad}} protagonists is that the leading lady claims that she is too ugly and ordinary for a boyfriend, yet the author will describe her as a voluptuous, petite blonde/brunette with glowing, beautiful eyes (and that's not including when the author wants Creator/ScarlettJohansson or Creator/AmandaSeyfried [[HypotheticalCasting to play her]]).
263* The [[https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1287555 "Distracted Boyfriend"]] meme. Not only is the angry girlfriend very attractive, but the object of the boyfriend's disloyalty is not appreciably more attractive than her.
264* In Smosh's Try Not to Laugh series, Kimmy does a bit playing 'the Nerd in every teen movie', becoming hot just by taking off her glasses and throwing her hair back. Keith rejects her anyway.
265[[/folder]]
266
267[[folder:Web Videos]]
268* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick'':
269** Nella is a BigBeautifulWoman but is treated as repulsive for laughs.
270** The Chick sees ''herself'' this way. In fact, it was once revealed that she hired Nella to hang around her specifically so she could feel better about herself.
271* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'':
272** {{Troll}} Douchey Mcnitpick is still just Creator/DougWalker in a wig, bad glasses, unflattering shirt, and a constant scowl. If he smiled, cut his hair and wore nicer clothes he would be pretty cute. ([[{{Jerkass}} Then he starts talking]].)
273** Chester A. Bum is depicted as a dirty, crazy homeless man with old clothes and unkempt hair. But it's still Doug Walker. This is (probably unintentionally) {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by a Website/YouTube user that uploads Bum Reviews whose handle is "hotbumfan".
274* Allison Raskin from ''WebVideo/JustBetweenUs'' believes herself to be this. She has said she'd be "killing it" in the midwest but isn't up to Los Angeles standards.
275* Parodied in WebVideo/ShipwreckedComedy's "American Whoopee," where the "plain jane" character was played by [[https://i.pinimg.com/736x/6d/a8/19/6da819ba903c9e85f04173815d22ed0c.jpg Sinead Persaud]], and looks exactly the same before and after her makeover.
276[[/folder]]
277
278[[folder:Western Animation]]
279* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''[=/=]''The New Batman Adventures'' lampshades it with one VillainOfTheWeek, Calendar Girl. She was once a renowned model who was fired for getting old, unable to compete with younger models. She tried to make the transition to acting, and even managed to get the role as a mother on a sitcom, but was subsequently fired from ''that'' job when the network decided they wanted to go in a "younger direction". She eventually decides to wreak bloody vengeance on the network and modeling executives who ruined her career, but she had so much plastic surgery done before turning evil that she wears a full-face mask. At the end of the episode, Franchise/{{Batman}} defeats her and the police unmask her, whereupon she begins to scream and sob upon the ground. She's only in her mid-30s and still quite attractive, even in comparison to other models, but she is absolutely horrified that everyone can see her "old, ugly" face.
280-->'''Characters/{{Batgirl}}''': I don't get it, she's beautiful.
281-->'''Batman''': She can't see that anymore. All she can see are the flaws.
282** For bonus points, she's voiced by Creator/SelaWard, an actress and former model who had similar experiences as she reached middle age (minus the supervillainy, of course). During casting for the Franchise/JamesBond movie ''Film/GoldenEye'', she was passed over for the Bond Girl role because they wanted Sela, "but Sela ten years ago," despite the fact that she was [[DoubleStandard only three years younger than]] Creator/PierceBrosnan. In response, she produced a documentary, ''The Changing Face of Beauty'', about the media's obsession with youth and its effect on women.
283* [[Characters/BobsBurgersBobBelcher Bob Belcher]] of ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' is frequently referred to as being particularly fat and/or unattractive, but due to the show's art style he doesn't look any more so than the other characters.
284* ''{{WesternAnimation/Daria}}'':
285** "Quinn the Brain"; while Daria is generally described as plain or even ugly (by people who believe that AllGuysWantCheerleaders), and usually shows disdain for makeup and clothing, but proves that she can match her fashion-crazed sister Quinn to make a point to her. Note that Daria and her pal Jane are the only girls in the school who are drawn with no bust ''at all''.
286* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Timmy frequently describes Tootie as "creepy" (yeah, she follows him around, but in one episode, he had a hard time calling her "lovely" without throwing up), but her "ugliness" only seems to be a matter of unflattering glasses, braces, and a bland outfit; [[AbhorrentAdmirer plus the stalking]].
287* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
288** Meg Griffin, who was originally supposed to be plain, has been flanderized into being monstrously hideous based on the reactions of those around her. Characters have committed suicide by fire upon sight and have (claimed to) kill family members to generate excuses to avoid her. In the episode, "Don't Make Me Over" all that was easily fixed with a new hairstyle and color, a tan, fashionable clothes and make up. The main difference between how Lois (considered in-universe to be smoking hot) is drawn and how Meg is drawn is that Meg has brown (instead of red) hair, is shorter (to be expected, considering she's supposed to be about 16), and wears glasses and a hat. Meg is also slightly chubbier than Lois, but you have to specifically be looking for it to notice, since she's a twig compared to Peter or Chris.
289** The trope is parodied in one episode in which the Griffins star in a reality TV show. Meg is recast and her part played by a gorgeous starlet, but her character is otherwise unchanged. The starlet complains that she'll "never have full beautiful breasts like these," as she gestures toward her generous assets.
290** If there's a CutawayGag is about a famous woman, half the time it'll be about how she's an absolute hag[[note]]The other half are about her being a giant bitch[[/note]]. The list of women so insulted includes Creator/HelenHunt, Creator/KirstenDunst, Creator/SarahJessicaParker ("she looks like a foot!"), Creator/LauraLinney, Creator/LauraDern, Creator/KateWinslet, Creator/MaggieGyllenhaal, Greta Van Susteren, Rachel Maddow, Creator/PenelopeCruz, and countless others, most of whom are considered very beautiful. This has the [[UnfortunateImplications unfortunate effect of making the writing staff look like misogynists]].
291** Peter's boss, Angela, is also supposedly ugly to the point where Quagmire couldn't stand having to sleep with her and Peter had to disguise himself as another man that was attracted to her to make her feel attractive seeing as no one else thought she was attractive. Truthfully, though, compared to the other characters, she's more average looking than actually ugly. Angela is stated to smell bad, and have aggressive gingivitis that causes her gums to bleed, but neither of these are apparent to the audience.
292* Played with regarding Leela from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', thanks to her [[{{Cyclops}} massive solo eyeball]] she has scared off multiple men and even claims people have tried to burn her in the past. While there is some level of uncanniness to Leela somewhat justifying people’s reactions that still doesn’t change the fact she’s still very attractive being a prominent MsFanservice in the show which means Fry and Zapp Brannigan’s attraction to her isn’t unfounded. It gets worse given Matt Groening revealed he made Leela be a cyclops in the first place so fans would have less incentive to [[PerverseSexualLust fetishise]] her… '''boy was he mistaken'''.
293** [[Characters/FuturamaPhilipJFry Philip J. Fry]] is said to be an ugly loser when he's average looking at worst.
294* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': [[Characters/HeyArnoldHelgaGPataki Helga G. Pataki]] describes herself as not being the prettiest compared to other girls. She is drawn in a odd comedic style at first. However, she's way better looking than characters such as Harold or Sid who are downright bizarre in appearance. Harold also frequently taunts her on her looks and calls her ugly. Her worrying over her looks is partially what stops her from confessing her feelings to her crush Arnold. However, when she gets a proper makeover she looks gorgeous. It also helps that [[ProgressivelyPrettier that she's gotten cuter as the animation improved]].
295* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'':
296** {{Sidekick}} [[Characters/KimPossibleRonStoppable Ron Stoppable]] was supposed to appear as a buffoon type of character, but he ended up appearing cute to the viewers.
297** [=DNAmy=] is supposed to be desperately unattractive but in her case it's her creepy [[StalkerWithACrush stalker-like]] personality that puts off most men.
298* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'': Velma Dinkley used to be decidedly plain; she wore glasses, her hairstyle was unflattering at best, her face was nothing to get excited over, the sweater she always wore was shapeless, and her figure could generously be described as resembling a barrel on legs. No-one in the series ever explicitly states that she is unattractive, ''but'' in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryInc'', a landlady wouldn't let Velma sleep in the same room as Daphne because she [the landlady] thought Velma was a boy[[note]]either a Scot or a cross-dresser, apparently, since Velma nearly always wears a pleated skirt[[/note]]. Her Hollywood Homely became a RunningGag in the second season.\
299\
300This was enforced by the producers of the show; the original pitch called for Velma to be a DistaffCounterpart to Fred, both intelligent and attractive, and there was also an airheaded hippie-chick for Shaggy to pal around with, but the suits felt [[UnfortunateImplications an intelligent AND attractive woman was unbelievable]], so the hippie girl was excised and Fred's counterpart was split into the airheaded, gorgeous Daphne and intelligent, "ugly" Velma. [[ValuesDissonance Changing standards]] over the years now mean Velma has no shortage of admirers both in-universe ([[{{Crossover}} including]] WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo) and [[PerverseSexualLust out]].
301* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraBolin Bolin]] (especially in Season 1) is clearly supposed to be more homely and buffoonish compared to his TallDarkAndHandsome older brother Mako whom titular heroine choses over him, but the {{Irony}} is Bolin succeeds in being a massive {{Hunk}} to women InUniverse and out while Mako becomes very polarizing thanks to his treatment of his girlfriends. So the show's attempts to diminish Bolin backfire hard, and make Korra look shallow for breaking his heart.
302* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parodies this with the character "Ugly Bob." [[InformedDeformity It's stated in universe]] that his face "looks like somebody tried to put out a forest fire with a screwdriver," but he's rendered in the same minimalist style as the rest of the Canadians in the show. As explained later in the series, Ugly Bob is perceived as hideous only by other Canadians, whereas to foreigners he looks just like every other Canadian.
303* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'': Irma. Glasses? Ponytail? Baggy clothes? Check check and check - now everyone will know she's supposed to be the ugly one. Okay, always being around April is hard but was she deserving of this piece?
304-->'''Leonardo:''' ''(suffering from amnesia)'' Fear not, beautiful maiden; I'll save you!
305-->'''Donatello:''' Irma? Beautiful?
306-->'''Raphael:''' The poor guy got konked harder than we thought.
307* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Pygmoelian", Moe gets plastic surgery and becomes much more attractive. Given the art style it's not always easy to judge subtle differences in attractiveness, but Moe goes from outright {{Gonk}} to looking like one of the in-universe movie stars, at which point he's immediately hired for the part he auditioned for years ago. A flashback to the audition provides this exchange:
308-->'''Producer:''' What were you thinking?\
309'''Casting:''' Well, you said you wanted gritty. In other words, ugly.\
310'''Producer:''' I wanted Mary Ann on ''Series/GilligansIsland'' ugly, not Cornelius on ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' ugly. TV-ugly, not...ugly-ugly.
311-->'''Moe:''' ''[back to the present]'' I've been called ugly, fugly, pugly, pug-fugly...but not ''ugly''-ugly![[note]] He didn't get the part, because he's ''actually'' ugly. [[/note]]
312* Jay Sherman on ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' appears mildly overweight, balding, and short to viewers, but InUniverse he appears to resemble a disgusting animal to everyone around him.
313* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''; at first Blackarachnia’s hideousness comes off like an InformedAttribute and a poor self-image on her part. Then her helmet gets knocked off and we learn her armor is mostly there to hide her ''very real'' deformities; the only part of her head that still looks normal is her mouth. The rest is best described as [[BodyHorror a gnarled mass of spikes and eyes]].
314* As usual, played with in the "Fractured Fairy Tales" segment "The Ugly Duckling" on ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle''. The titular duck goes to Hollywood, hoping to become an actor, but is rejected for his ugliness. He gets plastic surgery and becomes quite handsome. However, he learns to trend is now towards monster movies, so the studios ''want'' ugly ducklings. The segment ends with the now-attractive duck getting pummeled with baseballs at a carnival game, determined to get ugly again and be a star.
315* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' has Lucy, who is supposed to be so ugly that it makes her desperate enough to get the Trix to cast a magic illusion that makes her appear as a beautiful ballerina, all just to win a beauty pageant. However, due to OnlySixFaces being in effect, the only non-cosmetic differences between her real, "ugly" face and her "beautiful" face are that her real face has a square chin (which is also seen on the male characters) and a slightly hooked nose. Without those two features, she would look exactly like the other teenage girls in the show (that is to say, pretty).
316* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'':
317** Steve Smith is often treated as utterly repulsive by girls. Steve looks like a normal, if nerdy, teenage boy.
318** Zig-zagged with Hayley. While she has no shortage of admirers, there are occasions where she's taunted for supposedly being fat, dirty or having a masculine face. Usually, these insults come from Roger, but others have joined in on occasion. The episode "Dr. Klaustus" has Jeff, her own husband, admitting that he doesn't consider Hayley to be sexually appealing and can only have sex with her by fantasizing about Francine. The only real physical differences between Hayley and Francine are height, hair color, attire and bust size. It's suggested at the end that attire and poor hygiene is the what turns Jeff off.
319---> '''Roger''' (as Sgt. Pepper): And you, gussy up for your husband! Maybe some sort of bra?! And wash your hair. Hippies are not sexy, they're dirty!
320* Yung Hee from ''WesternAnimation/MikeTysonMysteries'' is an {{expy}} of Velma, so she's naturally prone to this treatment. She's often mistaken for a boy as well.
321[[/folder]]

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