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There is a tendency, especially in animated works involving animal characters on the Sliding Scale Of Anthropomorphism from Nearly Normal Animal to Petting Zoo Person, to cast characters of some species as more commonly male and characters of some species as more commonly female. This is about an animal species that has both biological sexes in Real Life, but has one gender overrepresented in fiction due to stereotyping.

Usually the more ugly, masculine-looking, or androgynous-looking animals (like rhinos, pigs, gorillas, Ravens And Crows, Frogs And Toads, dogs, donkeys, turkeys, and walruses) are more commonly male, while the more beautiful, graceful, or feminine-looking ones (like cats, ladybugs, swans, giraffes, gazelles, and ironically peacocks and male-plumaged ostriches) are more commonly female. If butterflies are shown as adult butterflies they're all female, but when an "ugly" catepillar is shown it'll be male, and one of the few male butterflies. Some species can be either/or gender wise (like mice, foxes, rabbits, squirrels, kangaroos, and snakes).

There are exceptions to the "graceful animals are female, big stompy animals are male" part of the trope. Hippos for examples are quite often female in fiction and if so will be cast in the Fat Girl role.

Apex hunters such as wolves, bears, and lions tend to be portrayed as male (while unfortunately also being portrayed as "evil" in an anthropomorphic society). Generally, villains, especially in youth-oriented works, are more likely to be male, especially when non-human. However, more mature and realistic works know that in many cases, it is the female who tends to be more dangerous. As an exception to the "predator" category, big cats other than lions (tigers, pumas, etc) are equally likely to be female, reflecting their grace and agility.

In animals which engage in complex courtship rituals, such as most birds, the males tend to be larger and more vibrantly coloured. But because these are more "pretty", they tend to be portrayed as female, especially if the bird in question is a peafowl.

The opposite is true with insects, where females tend to be bigger and stronger and more likely to have distinguishing marks while males are tiny and nondescript. Because of this insects like mosquitoes, mantises, ants and bees are usually portrayed as male. Spiders seem to come out all right, though. It's become common knowledge that the female attempts to eat the male during/after coitus, so spiders tend to be portrayed as vamps, especially the Black Widow, probably thanks to her very indicative name.

Anytime a large population of a given species is present, there will be a more realistic balance of males and females to accurately reflect the human population. Thus in films like A Bugs Life (ants), Bee Movie (bees), Antz (ants), and Disney's adaptation of Tarzan (gorillas), males and females are seen together. It's still not realistically in the case with eusocial insects (like A Bugs Life, Bee Movie, and Antz), as the different genders tend to have widely different roles and appearances.

This trope can also be combined with Animal Motifs and Transformation Conventions. Subtrope to Species Coded For Your Convenience. See also Animal Stereotypes, Animal Gender Bender, Peacock Girl, Insect Gender Bender, Female Feline Male Mutt, and Gender Equals Breed. Related to and usually a subtrope to Women Are Delicate. Related to Pale Females Dark Males and Masculine Lines Feminine Curves.

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Notable Examples, Subversions, Aversions, and Exceptions:

[[folder: Animated Film]]

• Madagascar has Alex the male lion, Marty the male zebra, and Gloria the female hippo. However, Melman is a male giraffe.
• Kung Fu Panda is a near-perfect example, with a male panda bear, a female tiger, female snake, male monkey, and male mantis.
• A Bugs Life has ants of both genders (although, naturally, the protagonist is male), as well as a female spider, male caterpillar, male mantis, and female butterfly. However, it also has a subversion in the form of Francis the male ladybug, who is constantly being mistaken for a girl.
• Tarzan subverts this trope with the two female gorillas Kala and Terk because gorillas are usually portrayed as male.

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[[folder:Western Animation]]

• Subverted with Rhonda, the female walrus in one episode of The Penguins Of Madagascar.
  • Also subverted with two female badgers in one episode, two female baboons in another episode, and a female chimp in yet another episode.
• Subverted with Jenny the female donkey in the Donald Duck cartoons, "Don Donald" and "The Village Smithy."
• Played straight with Magic, Eva's two henchdogs, and the dog palace guards being male and Princess Ava, her sister, Eva, and the cat palace guards being female, but subverted with the female crow in Puppy In My Pocket Adventures In Pocketville.
• Besides a male cat as the main character, Cats Dont Dance is a near perfect example, with a male elephant, penguin, goat and turtle, and a female hippo, cat, and fish.

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