History Main / FeeFiFauxPas

* What exactly qualifies as a major faux pas is subject to ValuesDissonance between gender groups: studies by social psychologists found that in traditionally patriarchal societies like the west, predominantly female social groups are typically much less forgiving of faux pas than predominantly male ones as a knock-on effect of said social structures, and as a result what might seem like an inconsequential slip-up to a guy actually can be hugely jeopardizing to a girl among other girls (this is where the stereotype about girls being "overly sensitive" about stuff like a single pimple or wearing the same color of shirt as a friend stems from). Studies on autistic and/or otherwise neurodivergent women in particular note that this difference makes it harder for them to effectively socialize with same-gender peers compared to neurodivergent guys, often with far more severe repercussions on their mental health.

* On ''Series/{{Castle}}'', an actress visits Rick Castle at home, thanking him for their relationship and her part in Castle's new movie. She walks out the door:

* FreudianSlip (naturally)

See also ForgotAboutTheMindReader, where the character doesn't even have to speak. IMeantToDoThat is when the character pretends the blunder was in fact done on purpose in order to mitigate the embarrassment. Compare ProtocolPeril, which is what happens when a particular faux pas is treated as a life or death matter.

A character [[DidIJustSayThatOutLoud says something inappropriate]] or embarrassing [[RightInFrontOfMe to the wrong person]] or [[RightBehindMe within earshot of the wrong person]]. They mention having taken a woman's virginity in front of said woman and her new boyfriend. They [[FurAndLoathing wear fur in the presence of an overzealous animal lover]]. Or they [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking eat peas with their knife]]. And now [[PassingJudgment the eyes of the world are upon them]], sneering and/or laughing contemptuously at their little (or not so little) faux pas.

* In TheFilmOfTheBook of the first novel in the Literature/EarthsChildren series, ''[[http://jabootu.net/?p=556 Clan of the Cave Bear]]'', lead character Ayla must, within sight of her tribe, save a child from a wolf using her advanced hunting skills, skills which it is not lawful for a woman in her society to have.

-->'''Gordo Cooper''': Rookies? Now hold on, sis. You are looking at a whole new ballgame here now. In fact, in a couple of years, I bet you're even gonna immortalize us by putting our pictures up there on your wall. {''cue horrified stares from everyone at the bar'') What, I say something wrong here?

* ''Literature/AmeliaPeabody'' pulls out a big one in ''Crocodile on the Sandbank.'' An acquaintance confesses that she's been seduced, is therefore DefiledForever, and fully expects to be kicked out on the street.[[note]]In the series' timeframe, this is a rather realistic assessment of the probable outcome of this conversation.[[/note]] Amelia's word vomit response boils down to: "Is sex enjoyable? Because between what [[LieBackAndThinkOfEngland my sisters in law say]] and the looks on the village girls' faces when they've sneaked off into the meadow with their sweethearts, I'm getting mixed signals here." Not exactly acceptable conversation from a respectable Victorian lady.

-->'''Ellie:''' [[spoiler: Thanks, Frank.]]

--->'''The Doctor:''' Rory! ''[…]'' We need to have a talk about your fiancée. She tried to kiss me. Tell you what, though, you're a lucky man — she's a ''great'' kisser.\\
''[silence falls over the room, and someone [[DramaticDrop drops a beer glass]][=]=]''\\

'''Rosamund:''' ''[smiling, stamping her walking stick into the ground with a grandiosity befitting her mother]'' Lady ''Rosamund''.

-->'''Raymond:''' [regarding a man Robert arrested who was "flashing gang signs"] He wasn't breaking the law, was he?\\

'''Shelby:''' (''grinning'') Good, Because I intend to convince Captain Picard that I'm the right choice for the job.\\

(''Riker glares at her'')\\

-->"...it's upside-down, isn't it."

* ''WesternAnimation/YogiBear'', in "A Bear Pair" wins a vacation to Paris, and while dining, asks for ketchup to put on his escargo, leading to a international scandal.

* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', [[WrenchWench Agatha]] makes quite the social blunder when she asks [[GodEmperor Queen Albia of England]] for a dance. As pointed out by Tarvek, when Albia is sitting on her balcony, people are supposed to pretend she's not in the room. Then Agatha turns a clank she built into a HumongousMecha that can match Albia's size, upon which Albia starts laughing at Agatha's [[RefugeInAudacity sheer audacity]] and [[SubvertedTrope happily accepts her invitation.]] [[TimeAbyss Having lived for thousands of years]], Albia is always pleased to meet people who can surprise her. She is especially amused to learn that Agatha did so, along with unleashing a horde of ([[{{Cosplay}} fake]]) [[SuperSoldier Jägers]] upon the ball room, just so that [[WarriorPrincess Zeetha]] and [[AlmightyJanitor Higgs]] could have a socially acceptable excuse to dance together.

* ''LightNovel/ExpectingToFallIntoRuinIAimToBecomeABlacksmith'': There is a bit of a RunningGag about how people handle the fact that insulting the stuck up First Prince Arc is lese majesty, with Kururi's father openly saying he wishes Arc's younger brother Rhasa would be heir to the throne instead, and Kururi's anger building over not being able to completely tell off Arc as much as he wants to.

* ''LightNovel/TheVillainousDaughtersButlerIllCrushTheDestructionFlags'': Heavily featured and discussed, usually stemming from Alicia or Prince Alforth not recognizing DoubleMeaning or subtext they are expected to converse with by court culture, justified in that they're each around twelve.

* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', [[WrenchWench Agatha]] makes quite the social blunder when she asks [[GodEmperor Queen Albia of England]] for a dance. As pointed out by Tarvek, when Albia is sitting on her balcony, people are supposed to pretend she's not in the room. Then Agatha turns a clank she built into a HumongousMecha that can match Albia's size, upon which Albia starts laughing at Agatha's [[RefugeInAudacity sheer audacity]] and [[SubvertedTrope happily accepts her invitation.]] [[TimeAbyss Having lived for thousands of years]], Albia is always pleased to meet people who can surprise her. She is especially amused to learn that Agatha did so, along with unleashing a horde of (fake) Jaegers upon the ball room, just so that Zeetha and Higgs could have a socially acceptable excuse to dance together.

'''Glenda''': Is this "faux pas" that [[NoPronunciationGuide looks like it should be pronounced]] "forks pass"?

* Like Daredevil above, Toph from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is prone to being on the receiving end of blind-insensitve comments. Of course, she also loves setting people up (Sokka mostly) to walk right into this situation. She even pulls this on herself where she makes the assumption that Katara's suggestion that she team up with Sokka to hang posters throughout the city was because Katara thought she was too weak to be left alone in the city and not that the fact that correctly hanging posters involves sight, as she immediately demonstrates by gluing one to the wall, blank-side-out.

* Like Daredevil above, Toph from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is prone to being on the receiving end of blind-insensitve comments. Of course, she also loves setting people up (Sokka mostly) to walk right into this situation. She even pulls this on herself where she makes the assumption that Katara's suggestion that she team up with Sokka to hang posters throughout the city was because Katara thought she was too weak to be left alone in the city and not that the fact that correctly hanging posters involves sight, as she unintentionally demonstrates.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Being an arrogant and sadistic RoyalBrat, Joffrey Baratheon is incredibly prone to making disgustingly insensitive gaffes that would probably get anybody else beaten to death. This is bad enough when he's merely a spoiled prince mistreating servants and the like, but becomes downright catastrophic when [[TyrantTakesTheHelm he becomes king]] and ''keeps'' doing it to powerful nobles and knights that could very easily destroy him. Before too long, his inept rule and constant thoughtless comments (like [[SpeakIllOfTheDead openly denigrating the recently deceased]] [[spoiler:Renly Tyrell]] ''right in front of his still-living family'') plunge Westeros into a brutal civil war.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'':

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E6TheVampiresOfVenice "The Vampires of Venice"]]: The Doctor has just [[JumpingOutOfACake jumped out of a cake]] at Rory's stag party...

* ''WesternAnimation/YogiBea''r, in "A Bear Pair" wins a vacation to Paris, and while dining, asks for ketchup to put on his escargo, leading to a international scandal.