Line #89 Main/PowerIsSexy


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Sinfest}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/totally_hot.jpg]]]]
6
7	->''"Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac."''
8	-->-- '''[[KavorkaMan Henry Kissinger]]''', U.S. Secretary of State 1973-1977
9
10	What is it about power that can make someone weak in the knees? Perhaps it's the control issues, to be dominated by someone that's just ''more'' than you, or is it something that just brings out our primal lust?
11
12	Naturally, the SuperTrope of many dominant/subordinate relationship-based tropes. This trope is often used to explain the KavorkaMan and AllGirlsWantBadBoys. Compare and contrast InLoveWithYourCarnage; also compare PowerDynamicsKink, when someone is "turned on" by being subjugated and punished.
13
14	TruthInTelevision.
15
16	----
17	!!Examples:
18
19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
22	* Discussed by Kaguya in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' (she doesn't actually mean it though, she's just using the discussion to hide the fact that she's in love with Shirogane). No matter what kind of power a person comes across (wealth, physical, mental, etc.) ultimately she argues that it's the main attraction factor for men. Since they're secure in their field, a woman would feel safe under their care and feel like they can depend upon them for whatever comes next in their relationship.
23	* In ''Anime/TransformersCybertron'', this is one of Thunderblast's defining traits; whenever Megatron (later Galvatron) demonstrates his [[OneManArmy considerable power]] she'll start fawning over him. Of course her loyalty to him only lasts as long as he remains the most powerful transformer in the universe, [[IFightForTheStrongestSide and she'd happily trade him in if someone stronger ever came around.]]
24	[[/folder]]
25
26	[[folder:Comic Books]]
27	* ''ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}'': Almost all of Kate Kane's relationships have been with women who hold some type of power: Sophie Moore was a fellow high-ranking West Point cadet, Renee Montoya and Maggie Sawyer are cops, Safiyah Sohail was the de facto ruler of a pirate nation, and she's dated at least one lawyer. This attraction also extends to ''super''powers, as Kate has expressed desire for both Wonder Woman and Zatanna (though she's not been in a romantic relationship with a meta yet). On a more physical basis, she tends to be attracted to either women of color with wavy dark hair, or short-haired blonde women.
28	* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': Serial killer PJ Maybe, who is masquerading as Mayor Byron Ambrose at that time, privately voices his attraction to Chief Judge Hershey, specifically because of her bossy demeanor.
29	* ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'': Torquemada's wife Candida admits that she's primarily attracted to him because of his power when pressed why she's staying with a psycho fanatic.
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Fan Fic]]
33	* ''FanFic/TheBridge'': Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, leaders of Equestria, are widely considered stunners with a wide assortment of admirers. Princess Celestia jokingly laments at how many courting attempts she'd gotten over the millennia.
34	* ''Fanfic/{{Luminosity}}'': Once Bella has settled to her own satisfaction that Edward isn't going to eat her if her scent is blown in his face, she finds that she quite enjoys being held in his arms to run.
35	--> In an odd way, it was pleasant to be so securely held at such a high speed. It was poking some subconscious reptile-brain piece of me, I guessed, some part that wanted a protector and wanted to be sure that protector would suffice in extreme circumstances. The reptile-brain piece did not have the sophistication to realize that its would-be protector was also causing the extremity of the circumstances. It just noticed that I was going abnormally fast, and that a person it had other reasons to like was holding me nice and tight, preventing the speed from bringing me to harm.\
36	And this was accompanied by a nice, warm feeling that quite compensated for the whooshing wind.
37	* ''Fanfic/SpiderManFindingHome'' has Peter, Kate and Yelena each being particularly turned on by witnessing a display of power from Peter and Yelena in particular;
38	** Alexei challenges Peter to arm-wrestling, bragging about being Russia's first and only super-soldier and warning Peter not to forfeit. Peter, fed up with a lot of things at this point, gives it his all. Alexei is thrown to the floor, Yelena’s table is smashed, and Yelena responds by grabbing Peter and passionately making out with him.
39	** After Yelena [[spoiler:gets the White Tiger amulet]], Peter notes the she didn't need to get more scary, "but it's kinda hot."
40	** Yelena takes down and pins Jessica Jones (without the White Tiger amulet) and forces her to apologize for being mean to Kate and Peter. Once Yelena lets Jessica up, Kate is all over her. Their makeout session is so intense Peter and Jessica have to break it up so they can get on with their mission.
41	** TheirFirstTime, Kate asks Peter to use his super-strength to rip her clothes off. When he effortlessly does do with her jeans, she muses "this is a thing for me now." Peter advises they get cheaper, more disposable clothing for future instances.
42	* In ''Fanfic/ThePowerOfSeven'', Demelza and Susan each seem to be attracted to power, which Harry possesses in great quantity, even as their attraction also [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan focuses on his compassion]]; Demelza in particular is often shown reflecting on how Harry could easily overpower her but would only ever use that strength to protect her.
43	* ''FanFic/ProfessorArc'':
44	** [[TheVamp Cinder]], believing [[FakeUltimateHero Jaune]] to be a man of cunning and power, starts trying to seduce him into joining her.
45	** [[spoiler: After becoming the Hero of Vale and being promoted to headmaster, Jaune receives ''wedding proposals'' from those eager to share in his fame and power]].
46	* In ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' fanfic ''FanFic/{{Shatterheart}}'', Syaoran notes that both his love interests are higher ranked than him. Syaoran's middle-class, his FirstLove Sakura is royalty and SecondLove [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Kurogane]] is nobility.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
50	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', Bob Parr (as Mr. Incredible) meets Mirage in a volcano and asks why the operation is situated in such a place. She responds, "[My boss] is attracted to power. So am I."
51	-->'''Mirage''': It's a... weakness we share.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
55	* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', this appears to be the reason why the blond secretary flirted with Steve. During the debriefing scene with Colonel Phillips, she couldn't keep her eyes off of him. And later, when Steve asked to speak with Howard Stark, she wasn't even about to give him the time of the day until she recognized him. When she did, she was all over him.
56	* In the spoof film ''Film/EpicMovie'', Mystique dismisses Peter's advances as he's very unpopular and considered a wimp. However, when it turns out he's gonna become the king of Gnarnia, she pulls him into a tent where she plans to have sex with him, even saying she'll shapeshift into whatever he wants. He chooses a [[BreastExpansion bigger breast size, a bigger ass size,]] [[FanDisservice a monobrow]], and [[ChubbyChaser "big flabby grandma arms"/"Bingo wings like a fat blue Britney Spears".]] Despite the odd requests, she still does all of them and is still attracted to him, wiggling her tongue after turning fat and getting it on with him soon after.
57	-->Mystique: So... you're gonna be the king of Gnarnia?
58	-->Peter: That's what they say.
59	-->Mystique: Mmm...I think that's so hot. (Grabs his arm) Why don't we get out of here? (She chuckles and pulls him into the tent. The next shot between the two is her throwing him down on a bed and making out with him.)
60	* In ''Film/FierceCreatures'' a woman is kneeling behind a bush appearing to 'service' billionaire Rod [=McCain=] (it's actually his son preparing to imitate his dead father, and the woman is trying to get his zipper done up), his bodyguard looks on admiringly and says "Power- gets them every time."
61	* ''Film/MacheteKills'' has the President of the United States in bed with three beautiful White House interns.
62	* Parodied in ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', as [[NerdInEvilsHelmet Dark Helmet]] play this very straight in his pathetic and very private ShowWithinTheShow: He's playing with dolls, and the doll representing the princess falls for the doll representing himself on the basis of him being so powerful.
63	-->'''Dark Helmet:''' ''[as Vespa]'' Oh no! I hate you I hate you I hate you! Leave me alone! And yet... I find you strangely attractive.\
64	'''Dark Helmet:''' ''[as himself]'' Of course you do! Druish princesses are attracted to money and power, and I have ''both''.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Literature]]
68	* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', ladies' man Beckram mentions that being of Hurog blood gives one a certain reputation, "like owning a dangerous animal" that makes him popular with the ladies. However, actually ''owning'' castle Hurog doesn't seem so interesting, as "no woman would want to live there" (it is in a very cold and remote part of the country). That's why he wants his cousin Ward, the protagonist, to do the actual owning. It is mentioned that the king has lots of (male) lovers, although it is not entirely clear as to whether that is due to this trope, or whether they're just trying to gain influence over him.
69	* Various entities in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' world seem drawn to power, especially when it's expressed through violence. For one example, near the beginning of ''Cold Days'', Harry wins a fight in the Winter Court of the [[TheFairFolk Sidhe]], proclaims that the abuse of mortals stops now, and [[KilledMidSentence scatters a flash-frozen Sidhe noble across the dance floor]] when he starts to do the usual "[[PunyEarthlings pathetic mortal]]" routine. He promptly finds himself the focus of rapt attention from several superhumanly gorgeous Sidhe ladies, with his mortal [[spoiler: (technically)]] date (and physical therapist) Sarissa explaining that this trope most definitely applies in the Winter Court. While Harry is initially half tempted, his next thought is, "nope!"
70	* This is referenced in ''Literature/HighSchoolDXD'' when Ddraig tells Issei that powerful dragons (like Issei) are always surrounded by women.
71	* ''Literature/SaintessSummonsSkeletons'': After Sofia kills [[spoiler:over 440000 Ebb-infested monsters in one night]], Nicet hesitantly informs her that he has a cousin who is looking for a bride.
72	--> '''Nicet:''' Oh, you don't have to pay it any mind, but he would be interested I'm sure, and he would probably kill me if he knew of today's event and that I didn't… So, yeah.
73	* In ''Slave World'', one of the main reasons Jenny falls in love with Lady Isobel is seeing her power over other people. An even greater aphrodisiac is that her discreetly forceful attitude makes it clear that she's ''used'' to having people bend to her will.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
77	* On ''Series/{{The 100}}'', Bellamy establishes himself as the leader of the 100's camp early in Season 1, and he's quickly shown to have a borderline harem situation going on.
78	* A good example is found in Francis Urquhart, the scheming Tory politician, in ''Series/HouseOfCardsUK''. To assist his bid for political power, he has an affair with a young and attractive journalist. At an early stage in this process, she comments on his attractiveness and one of her colleagues mentions the charismatic effect of power.
79	* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': Robin cites this trope as the reason she starts sleeping with an intern Ted hired. While the intern's power is minor (he can deny people access to the bathroom), she finds this sexy. When Ted fires him and he loses what little power he had, she loses interest in him.
80	* In the ''Series/NightCourt'' episode "The Price of a Guy", Christine's reaction to a Polynesian RoyalBrat interrupting her leads to this:
81	-->'''Christine:''' Hold it buster, I wasn't finished!\
82	'''Prince:''' In Kapua, no woman dares speak to a man that way.\
83	'''Christine:''' Well you're not in Kapua now, Chicken Legs, you're in America. And furthermore, my sex has no bearing on the fact that I'm a highly trained attorney, so pipe down and let me do this!\
84	'''Prince:''' I have never been spoken in this way by ''anyone''. ''[beat]'' I ''like'' it.
85	:: And his attitude towards her for the rest of the episode is gushing and fawning, eventually trying to bribe her into being his wife. (She declines.)
86	* Parodied in-universe in ''Series/TheThickOfIt'', where Ollie and his then-girlfriend have some flirty banter about how he's gotten promoted and how the additional power makes him attractive. However, since Ollie is neither particularly powerful nor attractive, and both of them are fully aware of that, they are both clearly just joking. It's actually one of the few times where a genuinely light-hearted joke is made that both sides find funny, in comparison to [[SadistShow the cock-ups and humiliations that are the usual source of humor]].
87	* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''Series/TheWestWing'' by President Bartlet himself in "Process Stories", when he, Leo, and Bruno Gianelli all flirt with their womenfolk using data from that night's landslide election victory.
88	-->'''Bartlet:''' I won the Dakotas. The Badlands. The Black Hills. But let's go down, way down, to the Deep South and the humid bayou of Louisiana and its nine electoral votes. What manner of man it must take to win the state. Which by the way is the only one operating under the Napoleonic Code of France, and I still don't know what that's all about, but back to me...\
89	'''Abbey:''' Hon, this is like, [[GeekyTurnOn hot nerd talk]]?\
90	'''Bartlet:''' ''(handing her a drink)'' Who's your [[LampshadeHanging commander-in-chief?]]\
91	'''Abbey:''' ''(taking it)'' You are.\
92	'''Bartlet:''' [[LampshadeHanging And do the women like him? Oh yes]] … to the tune of fifty-eight percent!
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Radio]]
96	* ''Radio/BleakExpectations:'' In series 4, when Mr. Benevolent nearly conquers Britain (again), Pippa notes that the closer he comes to success, the sexier she's finding him. In fact, he admits it's working on himself as well.
97
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Roleplay]]
101	* In ''Roleplay/EmbersInTheDusk'', a couple of apocryphal omakes show that combat prowess certainly is. One is about a sexy reporter interviewing an offworld Avernite who describes how he slew an Ork Warboss (because that's what the Governor would have done), and fainting as she begs to have his babies. Another is Rotbart's wife watching on TV as her husband performs a ColossusClimb to deal with an IncendiaryExponent mile-long SandWorm, and having a major Soaked-Panties-Moment (her visiting friends do too, but she doesn't share).
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Theatre]]
105	* In ''Theatre/JasperInDeadland'', Gretchen has this impression of Jasper due to him still being alive.
106	-->'''Gretchen:''' You’re so dangerous. It’s really doing it for me. I’m like, into it, but I’m like, afraid of it… I like, wanna get near you, but I think I wanna stay over here.
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Video Games]]
110	* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', a female Warden can make a remark to this effect when Alistair reveals his heritage.
111	* In ''VideoGame/OmegaLabyrinthLife'', Mei is initially openly, unambiguously hostile towards the protagonist, Hinata. After the latter manages to use an incredibly powerful secret technique, Mei does a complete 180, swearing her life (and heart) to Hinata, not that she [[ObliviousToLove particularly notices the depths and nature of Mei's devotion.]]
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
115	* Invoked in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' by [[spoiler:Dr. Mosely/Zeta as the reason for picking Ms. Walsh to teach her summer school class. The idea is that the incompetent Ms. Walsh would leave a leadership vacuum which the protagonist would fill, thus making the girls more likely to sleep with him.]]
116	[[/folder]]
117
118	[[folder:Web Comics]]
119	* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', EvilOverlord [[spoiler:Tarquin]] has had many wives... though some needed a little "[[ColdBloodedTorture convincing]]".
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Web Original]]
123	* Discussed in this [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18866_5-reasons-women-are-as-shallow-as-men-according-to-science.html Cracked article.]] (Like we said, this trope is TruthInTelevision.)
124	* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'' names this trope as one of the reasons why the fangirls go for Loki in ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}}''.
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Western Animation]]
128	* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', Peter and the guys play "who would you do?"
129	-->'''Peter:''' Hey, you guys, here's one for you. Let's say none of us were married, all right? If you could have any woman in the world, who would it be?\
130	''[...]''\
131	'''Cleveland:''' I would go with UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher.\
132	'''All:''' Margaret Thatcher?\
133	'''Peter:''' Why the hell Margaret Thatcher?\
134	'''Cleveland:''' Oh, so nobody here thinks power is sexy? Not one of you finds power sexy?
135	[[/folder]]

Context Main / PowerIsSexy