Not Tropeworthy: X that is coincidently Y

I'm not sure I'm using right procedure, but I think I complain about them all at once. We have lots of pages that are just that: Two traits mushed together. Without any implications or something.

Most hair color tropes fall under this category. For example:

• Red-Headed Hero, Evil Redhead - hero or villain happen to have certain hair color. How does it contribute to their characterization? Heroes Want Redheads - hero's love interest happen to have red hair. So what?
• Blonde Guys Are Evil - villain is blond. That's all.
• Dumb Blond, Brainy Brunette, when talking about men. For whatever reason only women's intelligence is associated with this phenotype, but even in this case use is dubious.

Attractive person who is coincidently have certain position. Especially pointless as actors are rarely ugly, so pretty much everyone on TV is attractive.

• Hot Mom - woman is attractive and coincidently have children.
• Fair Cop - person is attractive and coincidently work in law enforcement
• Good-Looking Privates - or serves in military
• Hospital Hottie - or is a doctor or a nurse
• Hot Scientist - or doing science.

And, as borderline example

• Teens Are Short - when used as a character trope (Or in averted with ones, but played straight with others kind of entry). This way it becomes a teen, who is coincidently short. While it was supposed to describe practice of having all teens short to distinct them from adults (while they should already reach their maximum height), some tropers use it to describe individual characters, while it's not applicable to entire work. That is - teen who is coincidently was born shorter then average person.

I strongly agree that X That Is Coincidentally Y is not a trope, but I think we have to take these one at a time. Each will spark a debate on whether they're just two traits intersecting or something more. Perhaps we can have a single discussion for Hot And X though - I've discussed that in a few different threads.

edited 5th Aug '12 5:35:02 AM by Routerie

I would agree that these are better to bring up each on their own, as they all have their own reasons for why they're tropes.

Just as a few examples and not bothering with such pesky details as actually reading the tropes, red-headed heroes are hotheaded, a common archetype, or red hair may symbolise some demonic trait, good for villains. There is a blond guy villain stereotype. Men can be referred to as dumb blonds. Someone who's given birth is not expected to look good. Hospital staff and scientists are expected to have a long education, so they're not supposed to look young (i.e. attractive).

In short, there's an argument for each of those, and whether they should be cut, redefined, or simply cleaned is something that isn't a good idea to take up in a single thread.

Teens Are Short is definitely tropeworthy, it's just misused and needs a good clean-up both on-page and in the wicks. A rename can be in order as well, to make sure people don't use it as a charcter trope.

I think this is more Special Efforts material. TRS is more for individual articles.

Sorry, Glucharina. We aren't going to pile six or a dozen or more unrelated tropes in one thread. I'm locking this.

Pick the one you want to start with and make a thread for that one. Explain in your Opening Post what you think is wrong with it. Make sure that you're making your case based on what the page actually is, not what you assume it means from the name.

edited 5th Aug '12 5:51:07 AM by Madrugada