History RealMenWearPink / Literature

* A line in ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' become HilariousInHindsight when you learn that Quirrell used to press flowers before he snuffed it. Let me remind you this is the same bloke who lived a year with the Dark Lord, a man who does not love and is evil incarnate, sticking of the back of his head. Pressing flowers.
** This recently became AscendedFanon: on Pottermore pressing flowers is listed as one of Quirrell's hobbies.

* In the ''PhulesCompany'' novels, Sgt. Escrima is an [[SupremeChef exceptionally talented chef]], and chose his Legion name for his preferred fighting style (involving two sticks), which he teaches to other members of the company. Do ''not'' criticize his cooking unless you enjoy pain, since he's been known to [[BerserkButton hospitalize would-be food critics]].

* Literature/{{Discworld}} is ''full'' of people who fulfill this trope.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' features many examples of this trope. Knights in Westeros pimp out their armor to show off their wealth, often covering themselves in garish colors. Renly Baratheon wears green armor to bring out his eyes, and Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers, covers himself in roses, his house symbol. Thoros of Myr takes the trope literally by wearing his red robes long after they have faded to pink. House Bolton takes the trope to an extreme level. One of their house colors is pink, meant to represent the human skin that they ''flay from their living enemies.'' In the Slaver Cities, the warrior caste subvert the trope by wearing ridiculous hairstyles...and leaving the actual fighting to the slaves.

* Benet in ''Literature/TheMagicThief'' is hired muscle for the main character's mentor. He's big, he's quiet, and he's known for glaring angrily at just about everyone. He also makes yummy biscuits (for which there is a ''recipe'' included in the back of the book) and knits in his spare time.
* ''My Princess Boy'' is one of the first children's books for and about little boys who just happen to like frilly princess dresses and sparkling tiaras. Written by Cheryl Kilodavis and illustrated by Suzanne De_Simone, it was inspired by Kilodavis' son Dyson, who at a very early age told his mother "I am a princess boy."
* ''Literature/PaladinOfShadows'': It's revealed in ''Choosers of the Slain'' that Mike Jenkins is, in addition to being a {{Badass}} AntiHero, a good cook, and not of simple meals like one would expect of "bachelor chow".
* In the ''Literature/RainbowMagic'' series, Jack Frost and his goblins like dancing, fashion, and pop stardom, among other things.
* Peter Norton wears a pink shirt on the cover of his 1983 ''Programmer's Guide to the IBM PC''.
* ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'': In a ''Grantville Gazette'' short story, downtime experimental aviators tend to wear pink scarfs, reasoning that Jesse Wood, the 17th century's first pilot, made the first aircraft pink because it's the color of courage. The actual reason it's pink, however, is because of the Formica counter top material he used for part of the construction of the aircraft's fuselage, not out of any particular emotional reasoning regarding the color.

* Rhett Butler of ''GoneWithTheWind'' is a pretty BadAss guy who's known for fighting, messing with loads of girls and general illegal stuff. He also reads Shakespeare, always knows the latest fashion trends, comforts his daughter when she gets scared of the dark, and often chats with women about parenthood. This book actually lampshades the fact that no one wants to confront Rhett over his 'sensitive' traits because he's so BadAss.
** He also takes the opinions of women seriously, treats them as thinking beings, and isn't afraid to ask them for advice. By the [[DeliberateValuesDissonance standards of the time]], this makes him ''very'' effeminate- any man who didn't consider himself superior to women was thought by other men to be weak and ridiculous.
** Ashley may also count. He's a quiet, poetry-reading intellectual who believes that WarIsHell (and gets shouted at by other men for this), but he readily decides to fight in the war and joins the Klu Klux Klan. (Again, DeliberateValuesDissonance.)
* In ''Literature/CaptainUnderpants'', the school football team are such fans of Barney CaptainErsatz Boomer the Purple Dragon that they change their team name to the Purple Dragon Sing-Along Friends. As the author points out, who's going to argue with a bunch of linebackers?

* In the ''PhulesCompany'' novels, Sgt. Escrima is an [[SupremeChef exceptionally talented chef]], and chose his Legion name for his preferred fighting style (involving two sticks), which he teaches to other members of the company. Do ''not'' criticize his cooking unless you enjoy pain, since he's been known to [[BerserkButton hospitalize would-be food critics]].
* Zillah from ''Literature/LostSouls'' by Poppy Z. Brite is an incredibly badass vampire who impregnates several women throughout the story, who's always described as "beautifully androgynous" with long hair he ties back with a purple scarf.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' features many examples of this trope. Knights in Westeros pimp out their armor to show off their wealth, often covering themselves in garish colors. Renly Baratheon wears green armor to bring out his eyes, and Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers, covers himself in roses, his house symbol. Thoros of Myr takes the trope literally by wearing his red robes long after they have faded to pink. House Bolton takes the trope to an extreme level. One of their house colors is pink, meant to represent the human skin that they ''flay from their living enemies.'' In the Slaver Cities, the warrior caste subvert the trope by wearing ridiculous hairstyles...and leaving the actual fighting to the slaves.

* This is what happens when [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Gilbert Blythe]] pledges a fraternity in [[Literature/AnneOfGreenGables L. M. Montgomery's]] ''Anne of the Island''
--> As a preparatory initiation ordeal he had to parade the principal business streets of Kingsport for a whole day wearing a sunbonnet and a voluminous kitchen apron of gaudily flowered calico. This he did cheerfully, doffing his sunbonnet with courtly grace when he met ladies of his acquaintance. Charlie Sloane, who had not been asked to join the Lambs, told Anne he did not see how Blythe could do it, and HE, for his part, could never humiliate himself so. "Fancy Charlie Sloane in a `caliker' apron and a `sunbunnit,' " giggled Priscilla. "He'd look exactly like his old Grandmother Sloane. Gilbert, now, looked as much like a man in them as in his own proper habiliments."
* The YA novel ''Flipside'' gives this an interesting spin. The protagonist has spent most of his life as a wallflower, and timidity is built into his basic identity. When [[WholesomeCrossdresser in female clothing]], however, he no longer feels like himself, so he can adopt any identity he wants--and the identity he wants is an assertive, dominating one. In other words, dresses make him more manly!
* The third chapter of ''[[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Please, Jeeves]]'' opens with Jeeves reading a romance novel instead of one of his "improving books". [[IKnewIt Because we all knew that that Rosie M. Banks collection didn't really belong to his aunt.]]
* According to the novelisation of ''Film/IronMan2'', Ivan Vanko likes ''Animation/NuPogodi'', and when he fails to find it in America, gets his cartoon fix from ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'' amongst others.

* In Patrick F. [=McManus=]'s story "The Blue Dress," Rancid Crabtree has his clothes stolen while swimming and is lent a blue dress by a widow to wear while he hunts down the thieves. He tells the kids that all he had to wear when he was in elementary school was a "purty polka dot dress" handed down from his sister Clementine. When asked if he got laughed at for wearing a dress, he answers "only once."
* Chris Wohl from DaleBrown's books, a big and fearsome Marine, knows how to look after kids.
* In Creator/AaronAllston's ''Literature/GalateaIn2D'', C.J. not only teaches them all guns, he does all the cooking -- recruiting Dylan, the only other competent cook as backup.
* Finny from ''Literature/ASeparatePeace'', in one scene, shows up to a school function in a pink shirt and with his school tie as a belt. This only makes him stand out a lot more.
* In ''[[Literature/IntoTheLookingGlass Vorpal Blade]]'', former Command Master Chief Miller is working as a florist after leaving the US Navy, at least in part chosen because it's a job where he's not going to wind up meeting people that wind up dead. Later he's shown making a floral arrangement to pass the time while aboard the titular spacecraft.

* Gem from the ''Dancing Shoes'' series of books is a preteen boy who does ballet. Except he's not gay and a typical boy his age who is the love interest for the main girl Lucy.
* In DeanKoontz's ''Whispers'', one of the side characters is a former drug-dealing ScaryBlackMan who got out of prison and made a fortune designing dresses and other women's clothing. He mentions that even before he was arrested, his girlfriends always got more compliments when they let him pick their outfits.

* A minor character in ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' called Butch, a bulky dude with a shaved head and a face like a pile of bricks. His mother is Iris, the Rainbow Goddess. Got a problem with that?
* Thanks to the revelation that [[Literature/HarryPotter Snape]] is the Half Blood Prince and Hermione's analysis in the book that the handwriting looks more like a girl's than a boy's. Fridge brilliance can now tell us that Snape has girly handwriting.
** Hagrid is a mountain of a man, with wild, untamed hair, who loves to care for horrifically dangerous beasts. However, he's also fond of knitting and has a pink flowery umbrella. Apparently, the author based his character after the time she overheard a grizzly biker worrying about his petunias.
* Aerich in the ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'' series' "Khaavren Romances" is a stoic, badass warrior who in keeping with the traditions of his [[PlanetOfHats "house"]], is extremely {{cultured|Warrior}} and wears a skirt as part of his battle dress. When not active, he knits for relaxation.
* A sailor in ''TheAbandoned'' is described as "an enormous giant of a man, whiskered like a Highlander, with arms like the branches of oak trees, horny hands with red, bony knuckles, and fingers as big and thick as blood-pudding sausages." He embroiders detailed flowers on linen cloth. When a new sailor ridicules him, Angus punches him out, and the other sailors tell the newbie how foolish he was not because the mockery earns him a blow, but because when the ship docks Angus can take his embroidery to a certain place and get paid handsomely for it.
* While Karrin Murphy of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' is obviously not male, she works so hard on fitting in with the boys-club CPD that when Harry finally sees her house - and it's ''adorable'' - he can't help but [[SnarkKnight comment]].
* Referenced in the thoughts of Nasuada in ''Inheritance'' of ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'', who recalls learning from some of the men in her army who seemingly only had an interest in "women, wine and war" how they have a fondness for memorizing romantic poems, or petting hounds.
* It's revealed in ''[[Literature/PaladinOfShadows Choosers of the Slain]]'' that Mike Jenkins is, in addition to being a {{Badass}} AntiHero, a good cook, and not of simple meals like one would expect of "bachelor chow".
* Peeta Mellark of [[Literature/TheHungerGames The Hunger Games]] is an amateur wrestler who carries 100 pound bags of flour over his head without a problem, is deadly with a knife and spear, [[spoiler:kills big, tough Brutus during the Quarter Quell]] and whose masculinity is never questioned in the book. He also loves decorating cakes and bakes flower shaped cookies.
* ''My Princess Boy'' is one of the first children's books for and about little boys who just happen to like frilly princess dresses and sparkling tiaras. Written by Cheryl Kilodavis and illustrated by Suzanne De_Simone, it was inspired by Kilodavis' son Dyson, who at a very early age told his mother "I am a princess boy."
* In the ''Literature/RainbowMagic'' series, Jack Frost and his goblins like dancing, fashion, and pop stardom, among other things.
* Patricia Wrede's ''[[Literature/TheEnchantedForestChronicles Enchanted Forest]]'' side-story ''Utensile Strength'' has the royal family trying to find [[TheChosenOne the proper wielder]] for a literal enchanted FryingPanOfDoom. To do this, they hold a "barbarian cook-off", drawing competitors from across the land. Even after the pan's true wielder is found, the barbarians themselves insist on completing the contest.
* ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'': In a ''Grantville Gazette'' short story, downtime experimental aviators tend to wear pink scarfs, reasoning that Jesse Wood, the 17th century's first pilot, made the first aircraft pink because it's the color of courage. The actual reason it's pink, however, is because of the Formica counter top material he used for part of the construction of the aircraft's fuselage, not out of any particular emotional reasoning regarding the color.
* Peter Norton wears a pink shirt on the cover of his 1983 ''Programmer's Guide to the IBM PC''.

* ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'': In a ''Grantville Gazette'' short story, downtime experimental aviators tend to wear pink scarfs, reasoning that Jesse Woods, the 17th century's first pilot, made the first aircraft pink because it's the color of courage. The actual reason it's pink, however, is because of the Formica counter top material he used for part of the construction of the aircraft's fuselage, not out of any particular emotional reasoning regarding the color.

** He also takes the opinions of women seriously, treats them as thinking beings, and isn't afraid to ask them for advice. By the [[DeliberateMoralsDissonance standards of the time]], this makes him ''very'' effeminate- any man who didn't consider himself superior to women was thought by other men to be weak and ridiculous.
** Ashley may also count. He's a quiet, poetry-reading intellectual who believes that WarIsBad (and gets shouted at by other men for this), but he readily decides to fight in the war and joins the Klu Klux Klan. (Again, DeliberateMoralsDissonance.)

** In ''Discworld/WitchesAbroad'' Nanny Ogg mentions that her [[GentleGiant gigantic hulking barge]] of an eldest son, the town blacksmith Jason Ogg, knits socks in the evenings. Of course, he's still, you know, a guy with minivans where his biceps oughta be; the socks he knits can stand up without feet in them, and can be used to kick down walls in times of incarceration or boredom. He is also known as the kindest and gentlest person around, explicitly because no-one dares to mock him for it.

* ''My Princess Boy'' is one of the first children's books for and about little boys who just happen to like frilly princess dresses and sparkling tiaras. Written by Cheryl Kilodavis and illustrated by Suzanne DeSimone, it was inspired by Kilodavis' son Dyson, who at a very early age told his mother "I am a princess boy."

** In ''Discworld/WitchesAbroad'' Nanny Ogg mentions that her [[GentleGiant gigantic hulking barge]] of an eldest son, the town blacksmith Jason Ogg, knits socks in the evenings. Of course, he's still, you know, a guy with minivans where his biceps oughta be; the socks he knits can stand up without feet in them, and can be used to kick down walls in times of incarceration or boredom.

* Rhett Butler of ''GoneWithTheWind'' is a pretty BadAss guy, known for fighting, messing with loads of girls and general non-legal stuff. He also always knows thesculinity.

* Rhett Butler of ''GoneWithTheWind'' is a pretty BadAss guy, known for fighting, messing with loads of girls and general non-legal stuff. He also always knows the latest French fashion trend, which he's willing to share with anyone who cares to listen. The book even makes a point of the fact that despite that, no one doubts his manliness.

* GlenCook's ''Literature/GarrettPI'' series has a pair of twenty foot tall grolls (half-giant, half-troll) DumbMuscle brothers named Doris and Marsha.

* Finny from ''Literature/ASeparatePeace'', in one scene, shows up in a pink shirt and with his school tie as a belt.

* How have we managed to get this far without mentioning Finny from ''Literature/ASeparatePeace''? Doesn't anybody remember the scene where he shows up in a pink shirt and with his school tie as a belt?

* In ''[[IntoTheLookingGlass Vorpal Blade]]'', former Command Master Chief Miller is working as a florist after leaving the US Navy, at least in part chosen because it's a job where he's not going to wind up meeting people that wind up dead.

* Benet in ''TheMagicThief'' is hired muscle for the main character's mentor. He's big, he's quiet, and he's known for glaring angrily at just about everyone. He also makes yummy biscuits (for which there is a ''recipe'' included in the back of the book) and knits in his spare time.

* Zillah from ''LostSouls'' by Poppy Z. Brite is an incredibly badass vampire who impregnates several women throughout the story, who's always described as "beautifully androgynous" with long hair he ties back with a purple scarf.