Men's General Etiquette: To strike another man's groin is to be lower than a snake.
"But the ball! His groin! It works on so many levels!"
It's not always played for comedy, but seeing someone get struck in the crotch is usually just plain funny. Whether the object doing the striking is an errant piece of sports equipment or a deliberately placed foot, the end result is going to be grown man doubled over and trembling with pain. Bonus points if he then hobbles away and
says something in a high-pitched voice. Not only will everyone find this hilarious, but tape it and play it back for the guy and
even he will probably laugh. At least, once the swelling goes down.
A subversion of this is
Balls of Steel, where a character - for whatever reason - does not take damage from a Groin Attack.
Of course, this usually only applies to men, as women seem to be immune to the trope. Any female martial artist (or anyone with a working knowledge of what nerve endings are) can tell you that a properly applied Groin Attack on a woman is definitely
not painless, but the humor doesn't come from the pain, just from the specific reaction of a guy clutching his nads and doubling over. And while that's the go-to reaction for male recipients of a groin attack in comedic works, the female recipient of such a blow is likely to shrug it off as though nothing even happened. There are exceptions, though.
Also see
Standard Female Grab Area (which is
not the same area),
Eye Scream,
Fingore, and
The Tooth Hurts are other
primal fear reactions. The
Distaff Counterpart to this trope is
Breast Attack. Often utilized by a
Combat Pragmatist, and commonly followed up by
Instant Soprano and/or
Share the Male Pain.
WARNING, Reading these may cause extreme paranoia about injury to the pubic area and wincing in sympathy pains. Yes, even if you're female.
Examples belong in subpages:
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