History Main / SleepingTheirWayToTheTop

* Music/LanaDelRey, "Fucked My Way to the Top".

Characters who have done nothing of the sort could also get accused of Sleeping Their Way To The Top, usually as an underhanded tactic by their adversaries or rivals to tarnish their reputation, or just as an insult said out of spite.

* ''Series/AgentCarter'': Peggy Carter is frequently put down by her coworkers because they view her only as a lucky secretary who got her job by sleeping around with Captain America and other men. Worth noting here that Peggy was in a position of authority with the [=SSR=] ''before'' Steve finally got himself enlisted (she was his instructor in Basic Training), and there's absolutely no evidence she got there through any means other than her own merit. She spends much of the first season fighting to prove that she's every bit as competent as they are but ultimately learns to ignore her lack of recognition and trust herself.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'': Tala is a powerful sorceress and dangerous villain in her own right, but she also makes a point of attaching herself to the most powerful man in the villainous hierarchy. To the point that she switched her loyalty from Grodd to Luthor the instant Luthor shot Grodd. While Luthor definitely enjoyed the benefits, he clearly didn't forget her fickleness, as his plan in the finale relied on [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves rewarding her as a traitor deserves]], so this tactic wasn't the best strategy for her.

* In ''Manga/MariaNoDanzai'', Maria secures her job as the [[SchoolNurse nurse]] of the school Kiritaka's bullies go to by giving the principal a blowjob in his office. She hides her disgust well while in his presence, but later goes to vomit at a restroom. She still considers this to have been the "easiest part" of her plan, and thinks the principal a foolish man for being such an easy obstacle to overcome.

* ''ComicBook/LargoWinch'': Sybil Lockwood sleeps with her husband John's bosses in order to advance his career and her own agenda. It is not clear if the henpecked John was aware of this, but he is so infatuated with Sybil that, when he discovers that she has committed major embezzlement and left him for good, he commits suicide (in ''Red-Hot Wrath'').

* Surprisingly averted in another [[UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra pre-code movie]], ''Film/BlondieJohnson''. Blondie becomes a gangster and decidedly rejects ''all'' sexual advances, preferring to use her wits to get to the top - so much so that her friends actually ask her why she won't give the guy she likes a tumble.
* Subverted for laughs in ''Film/Boomerang1992''. Ladies man Marcus tries to get an edge when his company merges with the famed Lady Eloise by sleeping with the kinky, quirky much older woman. He smugly tells new co-worker Jacqueline that he expects a promotion thanks to his "insider edge." Marcus is stunned when Jacqueline breaks it to him that Lady Eloise is nothing more than a figurehead/face of the company and has ''no'' actual power whatsoever. She bursts out laughing when she sees Marcus' face and realizes what's going on.
* ''Film/{{Disclosure}}'': The antagonist, Meredith, is believed to have gotten where she is in this manner, as opposed to Kaplan, who worked hard and repeatedly got looked over.

* In ''Film/LiarLiar'', Fletcher Reede, [[AmoralAttorney a chronically lying lawyer]], has sex with his (female, good-looking) boss in the hope that it'll help him get promoted. Unfortunately for him, his son's birthday wish ([[CannotTellALie that his father would stop lying]]) takes effect just after he finishes. While making pillow talk after the fact, Reede tries to compliment her, but instead says [[BrutalHonesty "I've had better,"]] completely torpedoing his chances of a promotion.

* Discussed in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novels. [[AristocratsAreEvil Captain Lord Pavel Young]] is convinced that the title character must be sleeping with Admiral Courvosier, her mentor and patron, along with a number of other senior officers that have helped foster her career. He is so convinced that he even spends time and money trying to find evidence of the affair so that he can publish it and ruin them both. Courvosier, however, just has tremendous faith in her aptitude, and views her as the daughter he never had.

* In ''Series/{{MASH}},'' more than once other staff members make remarks suggesting that Margaret has slept around to help her career. And while it's never shown (or confirmed by "Hot Lips"), it is made clear she has had sexual relations with high-ranking officers. Of course, this is all the old Margaret of the early years, not the later, one-of-the-gang Margaret. But even in her Hot Lips days, it was suggested she only slept with high ranking officers because that's just the kind of men she likes, and that she hasn't used it to her advantage - the show does make it clear, and always did, that she is extremely good at her job.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': In the cut-throat MirrorUniverse, the KlingonPromotion is true for ''all'' species, not just Klingons. However, Starfleet commanders have on-board [[TheMistress concubines]], who can double as full-duty crew members themselves. In the ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", Hoshi Sato starts out as Captain Forrest's mistress, then jumps back into bed with Commander Archer (whom she previously used in the same manner), then later [[spoiler:seduces Sergeant Mayweather to help her in her murder of Archer to take over not only the ship, but the entire Empire!]]