Basic Trope: Femininity in women is treated as negative.
- Straight: Tomboyish Action Heroine Alice is presented as more admirable than Betty, the Team Chef.
- Exaggerated: Alice is Lady Looks Like a Dude who has Boyish Short Hair, never wears dresses, makeup or pink, is solely interested in machinery and guns, would starve to death in a fully equipped kitchen, physically attacks men who express attraction toward her, and is Loved by All because of it. Betty, on the other hand, a Housewife who wears dresses or cooks, is treated as utterly contemptible by everyone or even she is The Load of the team (perhaps with any traits meriting contempt being an Informed Attribute, perhaps with no traits other than femininity to warrant it).
- Downplayed:
- Tomboy and Girly Girl duo Alice and Betty are presented as friends and equals, but Alice is a bit better at fighting than Betty, which is presented as more important than Betty's domestic and interpersonal skills.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak Alice wears a dress and enjoys it, but it's short and plain, and she refuses to wear anything too fancy. Betty is an Elegant Gothic Lolita full-blown Girly Girl without any tomboyish traits.
- Alice, a loud Girly Bruiser Action Heroine with a tomboy streak who enjoys drinking and sports, is considered more relevant than a meek, Proper Lady mage Betty who lack of physical fighting skills.
- The Lad-ette Action Heroine Alice is presented as more useful than the Housewife Betty, but her Jerkass and aggressive personality cause everyone to become stoic toward her, meanwhile, Betty is a Nice Girl and receives some adoration despite people still tell her to not engage in the fighting fields.
- (Inversion of the above) Tomboyish Alice is portrayed as an incompetent and inexperience member, but her kindness and her awareness of her shortcomings still gives her loads of admirable reactions, Action Fashionista Betty, on the other hand, is only superior to Alice in terms of intelligence and skills which makes the team members become less friendly toward her despite still treat her as a useful member.
- In the No Woman's Land, all women of any occupation are given slave treatments, frequently beaten and raped by male citizens of every social rank, but by comparison, female soldiers receive better food quality and safer environments than the Housewifes.
- Justified:
- Because The Team constantly finds themselves in situations where fighting is necessary, having a capable Action Girl is much preferred than the feminine woman who cannot help in the battle (and thus treated as The Load).
- Typical gender roles are reversed in this society, so wearing makeup and dresses is for men, and women who do these things are considered against the norm and unacceptable (and vice versa).
- The story is set in Lady Land which masculine women take the role of He-Man Woman Hater while feminine ones are required to Stay in the Kitchen.
- The team fears that they would be Distracted by the Sexy if a feminine woman of the team were nearby them during the battle.
- Inverted:
- Alice's masculinity is treated as a flaw which nobody adores it and the other characters force Alice to behave like Betty, a Supreme Chef Proper Lady.
- Magical Girl Warrior Betty with her self-made powerful pink frilly dresses is considered the best fighter and even The Ace of the team. Meanwhile, The Lad-ette self-proclaimed fighter Alice, though no slouch in combat herself, turns out to be too much of a headstrong, "charge-first-think-later" fighter. Alice always finds herself badly outmatched in a fight and only was spared from the fate of PFC Janette Vasquez by Betty's intervention.
- Mary Sue Classic: May be described as conventionally feminine, beautiful, and lovable by everyone. Some
Mary Sue is considered androgynous on the Tomboy and Girly Girl scale, but tomboyish sue is rarely seen.
- Gender-Inverted:
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man duo Adam and Bob go through life together with the feminine action guy Adam being treated positively as The Ace from day one, meanwhile, the manly full-bearded Bob, is seen as ugly, expendable, and even a pervert He-Man Woman Hater, and he is constantly corrected for not being a Sensitive Guy, or even treated as All of the Other Reindeer.
- The Pretty Guys Are Stronger
- Real Men Don't Wear Loose And Bagging And I's and T's.
- Subverted:
- Betty, the cook, is shown taking decisive command after some trouble.
- Faye might be a noncombatant … but her healing powers prove rather useful.
- Alice is actually quite feminine off the clock.
- Double Subverted:
- But she reveals that she was pretending to be the cook so no one would take her seriously; actually she got that pathetic loser Carol to do the cooking.
- Even though the narrative acknowledges the importance of Faye's healing powers, she is still treated as inferior to the active combatants.
- It's suggested Alice is "redeemed" for her femininity because she's so useful in battle.
- Or by comparison, her girly streaks aren't that much when compared to Betty.
- Parodied:
- When Alice's gun jams from all the accumulated dirt, she explains that cleaning is something she refuses to be stereotyped into doing.
- Betty wants to join Alice's Amazon Brigade, but they refuse because she's too girly. Then at a later point, Alice finds out to her horror that Carol knows how to cook, and promptly kicks her out. Soon afterwards the team chucks out Diane because she's not a lesbian, then Emily because they find out she wore a dress to a formal event once... Finally, Alice is the only one left. She goes to fight the Big Bad alone, only to learn Betty has already defeated him singlehandedly. Alice doesn't react well.
- The only people who are treated as "real women" are, in fact, Transgender men. "REAL WOMEN GET PHALLOPLASTIES!!!"
- Alice wears a dress and makeup to a formal event once, and it's treated as a capital crime.
- The second Alice puts on a dress, her knowledge and skill drop like an anvil and her reading and writing skills are booted pack to preschooler levels, however when she takes off the dress her skills return to normal.
- Zig-Zagged:
- The Action Girl, Alice, is treated badly by the men because she's very feminist. The ladies treat her badly for the same reason too. A Crowning Moment of Awesome leads the men to treat her better, but the ladies still aren't convinced. Later, one of these ladies, Diane, must defeat the Big Bad in a test to prove her badassery. She learns that Alice defeated him with no trouble. Diane initially wants to commit suicide, but Alice convinces her to embrace her feminism. Then Alice goes into a nearby bathroom and blows herself up with a grenade. Why? Because she was actually ashamed to be a feminist.
- In the Town Girls trio, The Social Expert Street Smart Carol is the most admirable member, leaving The Lad-ette Action Girl Alice and Betty the Team Chef being treated as All of the Other Reindeer. Sometimes her wiseness is considered more feminine than Alice, and others are presented as more masculine than Betty.
- (Inversion of the above) The average girl Carol is treated as The Load of the team, when she asks Alice why she treats her like that, the answer is because Carol is too feminine, however, she still receives an All of the Other Reindeer treatment from Betty, claiming that Carol isn't a real woman because she isn't feminine enough.
- Averted:
- Alice and Betty are both lovable, tough, and capable fighters.
- Alice and Betty are both The Load Faux Action Girl of the team and/or refuses any single fight.
- Alice is more competent than Betty, but both of them are either Tomboy or Girly Girl, or the competence even has nothing to do with their personalities and interests.
- No female members are presented as useful members altogether, regardless of her tomboyishness or girliness.
- Enforced:
- Author Tract by a Female Misogynist.
- "A strong and assertive as well as pretty, feminine, and admirable female character? that sounds too perfect and unrealistic, let's give more focus on the tomboyish one!"
- Lampshaded:
- "Pffft! Look at this doormat playing the harp, wearing those swishy silken dresses, looking all fragile and shit! Let's beat her up! It's not like she'll be able to fight back anyway..."
- "Femininity is about being weak, incompetent and useless. When was the last time you saw a woman achieving something great for the world by being feminine?"
- Invoked:
- Military academies strongly remove women's femininity and emphasize they can only be equal if they become more masculine.
- Alice and her team carry a Freudian Excuse of Alpha Bitch who used to mock non-feminine girls and plain-looking guys, so they form a team to win over feminine women.
- Exploited:
- It turns out that Betty is the most badass of them all and has been perfectly fine using the assumption that no badass would be feminine as cover.
- Either the Heteronormative Crusader or the Straw Feminist convince Betty to switch sides, claiming that they will treat her like a queen for her femininity.
- Defied:
- Despite jeering, Betty cooks, doesn't fight, and still runs the team.
- Alice scolds her friends for looking down on Betty because she's more feminine while Alice's a tomboy, saying that real women are not defined by ass-kicking. In fact, for her, Betty is more of a real woman than her because Betty is pretty by her feminine nature, and Alice has a personal complex about 'not being a real woman'.
- Betty starts training and working hard to prove that she is much more than the chef.
- No matter how hard and well Alice works, the team refuses to praise Alice, and they pay more attention to Betty instead due to she is kindhearted, prettier, sweeter, and more well-manner compared to the rough and tough Alice.
- The team establishes the rule that prevents insulting femininity, if anyone treats feminine women badly or refuses to be like that one, they will be rejected from the team.
- After Alice runs the team, she starts undergoing Girliness Upgrade and using her standout status to make her teammates pay attention and worship her.
- Betty proves herself to be just as strong, competent and empowered as Alice because of her femininity, not despite it, being a Magical Girl Warrior who cooks Power-Up Food.
- Discussed:
- "You ever notice that women don't seem to be allowed to be feminine around here anymore?"
- "I can't cook. It will turn me all girlie and then I won't be able to fight!"
- Conversed: "Why is it such a bad thing to be feminine?" "Because it makes you look weak and incapable."
- Deconstructed:
- Alice eventually wears down Betty and persuades her to give femininity up, leading to them going hungry in a filthy house, until the team breaks up because everyone refuses to be considerate to each other.
- By treating any traditionally "feminine" actions as stereotypical and demeaning, the supposedly badass and "hardcore" women are reinforcing the same negative stereotypes they claim to be rallying against as feminists.
- (for Justified #2 and #3) Betty is harassed by the local Jerkass who views her as a Category Traitor of their society.
- Because of this treatment, Betty's experiences with the team become a Freudian Excuse of her foul feminine Face–Heel Turn actions, and she either becomes The Mole that secretly and intentionally destroys the team, or leaves the team and side with the (Not-So) Well-Intentioned Extremist who considered only feminine women are real women. As a result, Betty becomes a prominent member of her new team, and she even manipulates them to kill all members of Alice's team.
- Carol wants to undergo Tomboyness Upgrade, but Diane tell her not to do it, because this trope makes Diane assume all Tomboys are Female Misogynists and she will be shunned for being too feminine, causing Carol to suffer from Unwillingly Girly Tomboy.
- Tomboyish Action Heroine Alice is presented as more admirable than Girly Girl Betty, however, these positive treatments are just Condescending Compassion from her Femininity Failure, and Alice isn't comfortable with it.
- Alice suffers under toxic masculinity just as much as she would under traditional gender norms, because it's impossible for anyone to meet the standards 100%. She has to avoid cooking and cleaning, yet somehow be completely independent. She has to be openly sexual, while caring nothing for how attractive she is. And she has to have a high-stress job while not suffering psychologically in any way. Hence, no matter what she does, she's doomed to fall short of being a "real woman".
- Betty is a trans woman, and femininity is an important part of her identity. After Alice bullies her into looking and acting more traditionally masculine, Betty gets misgendered a lot for it, and experiences severe dysphoria.
- Reconstructed:
- The team only agrees to work together when household chores are handed out as official assignments. The Action Girl will gladly do the laundry if it's an order as opposed to female obligation that carries a "girlish" stigma. Whereupon everyone complains about the shoddy housekeeping and they have to crack down and ensure that they are done well.
- Alice understands that her hardline stance on feminine behavior is damaging to her cause, and no longer seeks to punish it. But she also admits she has zero-to-no interest in enacting any of it herself.
- Betty leaves the country to a place where feminine women are considered real women.
- Alternately, the Butch Lesbian Nice Girl saves Betty from being attacked, later, the Opposites Attract is formed and they become a Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple.
- Alice and the team realize how bad they treat Betty only because of her interests, so they try to defeat betty to make her realizes that she is still an important part of the team.
- Played for Laughs: Idiot Hero Bob is struck dumb when he sees Action Girl Alice in a dress — not because She Cleans Up Nicely, but because "OMG you're wearing a dress! I thought you were badass!" Alice promptly puts his head through the nearest wall.
- Played for Drama:
- Alice feels she has to fit the "strong woman" stereotype to be taken seriously or have any worth as a person, so she gives up all her feminine interests (even though she really enjoys them), refuses to have anything to do with men, and acts like The Stoic all the time. This takes its toll on her psychologically.
- Alice, a Lady of War, is given All of the Other Reindeer treatment for her femininity, even though she's just as competent as the men and the tomboyish women.
- Played for Horror: Alice and her team carry a Freudian Excuse of Alpha Bitch who used to mock non-feminine girls and plain-looking guys, so they form a team and plan to hunt all feminine women.
- Implied: Alice and Betty aren't especially characterized beyond their clothing and activities, but the team members are a lot more friendly to Alice.
- Untwisted: Alice stops grooming herself and learns how to hunt food because the Crapsack World makes everyone less caring about their appearances, and the cost of cosmetics and pretty clothes are rapidly increased because companies are too busy to trade their resources to survive, also, most cooking skills are nearly improbable due to lack of food and everyone must hunts and eat everything without traditionally preparing and proper manners.
- Unparodied: The only people who are treated as "real women" are Transgender men. So Betty starts going by "Ben", undergoing flawless gender transitions, doing harsh training, and becoming a muscular Wholesome Crossdresser Agent Peacock who is much more feminine than his past self, and everyone starts praising him for this process because he isn't a pathetic Damsel Scrappy for them anymore!
Go back to Real Women Don't Wear Dresses, you weak doormat! And take off that sissy, frilly dress while you're at it, bitch!
