History Main / BrawnHilda

* In ''Manga/FairyTail'', the {{Gonk}} fetishist has a couple of these in his employ, but the summon spirit Virgo takes the cake; she's approximately the size of a minivan, with a face like a pug that hates everyone in the world, alarmingly out-of-place GirlishPigtails, and such an expansive bosom that [[AbsoluteCleavage her blouse's buttons burst]]. Later, when Lucy makes a contract with her, it turns out she actually can look very attractive if she wants, but she always takes on the form she thinks will please the contract-holder. Contrary to Natsu's observation, [[MusclesAreMeaningless she's not any less powerful in a more compact form.]]

* One of these appears as a wedding singer in ''WesternAnimation/TheIllusionist''.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Incredibles 2}}'': One of the new Supers recruited by DEVTECH is Brick, a large top-heavy woman with strength and durability comparable to Mr. Incredible and a vaguely European-sounding accent (though she turns out to be from Wisconsin).

Of course, both in RealLife and in-universe, you can always expect ''someone'' to [[HasAType find this type very appealing]]. In-universe examples, whether a male badass has finally found the other half of his BattleCouple or simply a {{Chubby|Chaser}} AmazonChaser has found his dream girl, may even be played as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} as Hilda finds someone who truly appreciates her for ''all'' of her qualities.

Brawn Hilda is essentially a strong, mannish, usually foreign woman (often Slavic, Germanic or Nordic). However, she's ''not'' an AmazonianBeauty, her strength is seen as unattractive, as she usually (purposely or not) "emasculates" the hero by beating him up or outdoing him in "manly" activities (such as arm wrestling, boxing, hot dog eating, pretty much anything unfeminine really). She usually has a thick stereotypical accent, a masculine face, and is often a stereotypical female immigrant (maid, mail-order bride, ''etc.'') or some sort of hardcore Olympic-esque athlete.

Of course, both in RealLife and in-universe, you can always expect ''someone'' to demonstrate [[RulesOfTheInternet Rule 36]]. In-universe examples, whether a male badass has finally found the other half of his BattleCouple or simply a {{Chubby|Chaser}} AmazonChaser has found his dream girl, may even be played as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} as Hilda finds someone who truly appreciates her for ''all'' of her qualities.

Unrelated to the comic/series ''ComicBook/{{Hilda}}''.

* Lady Cluck, Maid Marion's Lady In Waiting in ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'', is a chicken, and thus looks quite stout for her size. She is also easily a bad ass, shooing away her charge when the archery tournament breaks down into chaos before diving into the fray to help Little John against the Royal Guards - who are rhinos.

** The hard-drinking, homely KnifeNut Sister Finland also counts as one of the few people who can put her brother in his place has a fierce, aggressive nature, and was even drawn with a more mannish build according to the author.

** The titular acrobat in "She Was An Acrobat's Daughter" sports bulging biceps, BoobsOfSteel, a ButterFace, and FanDisservice-y circus tights.

** This trope holds for most of the {{Gonk}} type women among the Kuja, however to they themselves it can be considered as an aversion in universe; in the eyes of the Kuja tribe, strength itself ''is'' beauty. Most outsiders will likely disagree, however, with the exception of Boa Hancock, who just so happens to be beautiful in the conventional sense ''and'' the strongest woman on the island.

Brawn Hilda is essentially a strong, mannish, usually foreign woman (often Slavic or Germanic). However, she's ''not'' an AmazonianBeauty, her strength is seen as unattractive, as she usually (purposely or not) "emasculates" the hero by beating him up or outdoing him in "manly" activities (such as arm wrestling, boxing, hot dog eating, pretty much anything unfeminine really). She usually has a thick stereotypical accent, a masculine face, and is often a stereotypical female immigrant (maid, mail-order bride, ''etc.'') or some sort of hardcore Olympic-esque athlete.

* Doctor Robotnik's mother in ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' is clearly one of these. The most effective description of her is "Robotnik, complete with his {{bald|Women}}ness and [[GirlsWithMoustaches moustaches]], but twice as big, and with breasts [[TertiarySexualCharacteristics and dainty eyelashes]], crammed into a pink dress".

* In ''Film/{{Deadpool 2016}}'', the title character delivers some jabs towards Angel Dust being too masculine, at one point in the trailers even saying that she's "way too much dude for me". A lot of his jokes about her were [[{{Improv}} ad libbed]] by Creator/RyanReynolds, and HilariousOuttakes actually has him apologizing to Creator/GinaCarano after the "less mean looking Creator/RosieODonnell" line.

* In ''Film/GrownUps 2'', Beefcake Kitty is mocked by others for her muscular physique. There are some jokes implying she has a penis. They're usually made by other characters. But there was one implying she needed a jockstrap. However Marcus seems quite into her, but that was played for laughs couple of times.

* Coach Balbricker in ''Film/{{Porkys}}''

* Nurse Nina of ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' is a BattleAxeNurse who is large, strong, speaks broken English with a thick Eastern-European accent, and is regarded as both terrifying and not especially attractive.

* Monstress of the post-''Zero Hour'' ''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' is a girly-girl type who was accidentally mutated into a tall, stout, and very muscular Brawn Hilda build. The comic refrains from depicting her strength as particularly unattractive--she doesn't humiliate any male teammates and pseudo-{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Element Lad seems to find her appealing - but she's definitely no AmazonianBeauty either. Her personality is largely that of a teenaged ApronMatron. Judging by her original green skin color, the idea seemed to be, "What would ComicBook/SheHulk look like if she actually had a physique like the Hulk?" Later, Element Lad changed her skin color to orange (probably a ShoutOut to [[ComicBook/FantasticFour the Thing)]] and she decided she liked it.

If a [[AllCavemenWereNeanderthals cave woman]] is not a NubileSavage, she will probably be this instead. Contrast with AmazonianBeauty, when she's attractive ''because'' of her masculine traits; with TheBaroness, who is the classic East-European ''FemmeFatale''; with the BigBeautifulWoman, whose bulk is considered attractive in and of itself, and who is often non-European. GonkyFemme is when a character looks like this but is actually feminine. Compare NoGuyWantsAnAmazon, when this keeps her from finding a man; ButchLesbian, if she prefers the ladies, and VasquezAlwaysDies, where the Brawn Hilda dies first when the less-brawn female character survives. See also LadyLooksLikeADude.

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' plays this for laughs with two of Alex Louise Armstrong's sisters, Strongine and Amue, who both look just like Alex (except in dresses and sans facial hair). Alex's other sisters avert this: his eldest sister, Olivier, is a strong yet beautiful woman; while his younger sister, Catherine, is petite (but no less strong than her elder siblings).

The {{trope name|rs}} is a reference to the Icelandic queen Brunhild[[note]]whose name means "the hill of battle"[[/note]] in the German epic ''[[Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}} Das Nibelungenlied]]'', the TropeCodifier, if not ''{{Trope Maker|s}}'', for such characters. In the story she challenges men who attempt to wed her into warlike games, throws boulders with ease, and even ties her own husband up and hangs him on the wall. These traits, combined with the large women who usually play her in operatic adaptations, have led people to commonly assume she's an unattractive, mannish woman, even though the story actually [[InformedAttribute describes her]] as more akin to the TheLadette trope. Big women (like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfv7POg6deE Frieda Leider]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRj9f3PCe0M Birgit Nilsson]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swTTWurVnKc Jessye Norman]]), however, [[AbilityOverAppearance play her in the operas]] because they're usually [[RequiredSecondaryPowers the only ones with the vocal vigor to take on Brünnhilde's role]]. Specifically, singing those long sustained Wagnerian phrases is apt to develop your chest, back and shoulder muscles, making you look more like this even if you aren't fat.[[note]]This happened to Kirsten Flagstad, an active gal who when she first took on the role of Isolde was nonplussed as all her dresses started splitting down the back.[[/note]] "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" is likely a reference to Brünnhilde's famous (and memetically [[GlassShatteringSound glass shattering]]) immolation scene in Music/RichardWagner's ''[[Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung Götterdämmerung]]'' adaptation of the story, fully capable of making a lesser woman simply collapse under the effort -- in essence, to sing the part of Brünnhilde you have to ''be'' a Brawn Hilda.

Brawn Hilda is essentially a strong, mannish, usually foreign woman (often Slavic or Germanic). However, she's ''not'' an AmazonianBeauty, her strength is seen as unattractive, as she usually (purposely or not) "emasculates" the hero by beating him up or outdoing him in "manly" activities (such as arm wrestling, boxing, hot dog eating, pretty much anything unfeminine really...) She usually has a thick stereotypical accent, a masculine face, and is often a stereotypical female immigrant (maid, mail-order bride, ''etc.'') or some sort of hardcore Olympic-esque athlete.

** Wodehouse's description of the Bellinger (in ''Very Good, Jeeves!'') is priceless:

* Louise Erdrich's ''Love Medicine''.

* Massha from the ''Literature/MythAdventures'' series is big, fat and assertive. A mean-spirited guest at her wedding quips to his companion that the feast won't be over until she sings. Bunny, when hearing this, [[DudeNotFunny goes to have a serious talk with him.]]
* Clarisse from ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' also qualifies for this. She is a daughter of Ares, and the children of him are very often muscular, and also stronger than the other demigods, which are already superhuman strong. Most of Ares' daughters are this trope or [[AmazonianBeauty Amazonian Beauty]].
* In Eduard Uspensky’s ''Prostokvashino'' franchise, there is Aunt Tamara, a retired colonel with a ''heap'' of military medals and orders, and so fat she requires a double bed all for herself. She has a HiddenHeartOfGold but advocates draconian military discipline, which is why the protagonists have a much better relationship with her when she is ''not'' visiting them.

* Brienne of Tarth from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' is something of a deconstruction of the trope. She's a huge, ugly and tomboyish woman who desperately wants to be a knight, but who constantly suffers for not fitting society's mold. Her IronicNickname is "Brienne the Beauty."

* [[{{Ambadassador}} First-contact specialist]] JD Sauvage from Vonda N. [=McIntyre=]'s ''Starfarers'' quartet plays with this. She's a swimmer who's repeatedly described as big, husky, and plain; however, at very least [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent Zev]] and Victoria are romantically interested in her.
* Though not foreign, Lieutenant Violette Retancourt, a recurring character of Fred Vargas' crime novels, is positively huge, often described as unattractive (and disliked by some of her fellow policemen solely because of her appearance) and physically stronger than any of the men at the Brigade. While she is not portrayed very sympathetically when she is first introduced in ''Have Mercy On Us All'', the main character, [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg]], eventually develops a [[VitriolicBestBuds vitriolic friendship]] with her, and her incredible strength and resilience become essential points in some novels (especially ''This Night's Foul Work'').
* The sci-fi writer Creator/PoulAnderson wrote a comedic short story entitled "Wherever You Are" in which a woman of this type is stranded among Bug-Eyed Monsters along with a milquetoast man. Ends like you'd expect, but manages to subvert most [=BEM=]-cliches in the process.

* Sakura Ogami from ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' is built like an Olympic body builder, is covered in scars, has a deep gravelly voice and generally looks like she walked out of an episode of ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', to the point that her sailor fuku uniform and noticeable breasts (when she's not covering them with a BadassArmFold) are the only major indications that she's actually a girl (Ishimaru mistook her for a guy at one point regardless).