Why is Beauty, Brains, and Brawn Always Female?

Beauty, Brains, and Brawn is listed as an Always Female trope, but it doesn't really explain why men can't form such a trio. I've had a (minor) disagreement about this on the Brains Versus Brawn TLP draft and it would be nice to have an explanation so I can know whether or not it's okay to add male characters to the trope (since Always Female can allow rare male examples).

Guessing it's because of the "Beauty" part? Female characters who fill the "Beauty" role are a dime a dozen. Male characters...not so much.

But why do the "Brains" and "Brawn" members have to be female too?

I don't honestly get it either. Is it because most examples are all-female? If so, do we have evidence that:

• 1: That is the case, and
• 2: That it actually matters?

On top of that, I'm seeing a lot of the same problems Five-Man Band has replicated on this page (indentation, little context on how they work together, ect.)

Edited by GoldenCityBird on Sep 23rd 2021 at 4:33:16 PM

Always Female tropes do allow all-male examples as gender inversions, and the description mentions them...kinda. For example, it would be difficult to argue an all-male trio comprised of a campy fashion designer, a tough martial artist, and a brainy scientist doesn't qualify as this.

I am more wondering why it has to be all the same gender.

The example I was contesting had two male characters and one female.

Does the trope deserve TRS at this point to clear up the gender problem?

Maybe. A wick check would definitely help. As I've said before, a lot of ensemble tropes seem to have similar problems. Maybe a dedicated cleanup project for them, in the vein of the appearance tropes cleanup, could be started.

As much as I hate Ensemble Tropes, I don't think a massive thread for them will work since a lot of them have unique problems.

If I had to guess why mixed gender examples aren't considered, maybe it's because mixed gender groups of three tend to be Love Triangles as opposed to a cohesive group. Again, that's my guess. I also can't really think of a group that's Beauty, Brains, and Brawn that's mixed gender.

Well, there's the one I mentioned in the OP, from Dr. STONE with Senku as the brains, Taiju as the brawn, and Yuzuriha as the beauty. It's also not a love triangle, since it's clear from the start that Senku has no romantic interest in either of them.

My only guess for why it's supposed to be one gender is because it helps further the contrast... especially since, stereotypically, allowing a mixed gender group would mean the Brain and Brawn are almost never female, and the Beauty never male.

I would at least support the addition of fully gender-inverted examples. I think that's compliant with the principle of Tropes Are Flexible, no?